Back to business!
Hi guys!
I'm excited to be getting back to home-brewing, I've been out of the game for a couple of years as life got in the way, my son came along and I had amassed a ridiculous amount of brewing gear that took over the garage! I had some hits and misses with brews previously, built a few things like "The MaltMother" and a CFC, but ultimately struggled with a lack of space to clean all the brewing gear and since moving back to Wolverhampton (hard water) from Birmingham (soft water), struggled to produce decent pale beers (could make a good stout though!). I had bought John Palmer's water treatment book but took the decision that I didn't have time to concentrate on beer. I ended up with three brewing systems I built, fermenters everywhere, six corny kegs, a keezer, a kegerator, 4 beer taps etc and just had a total clearout.
So, this time round, I promised myself it would be different. No more endless purchasing of gear. Just concentrate on the basics. Utility sink in the garage now so cleaning is much easier. I started with converting a free Thermos cooler into a mashtun (which holds temps better than anything else I've used before), a 50 litre Bergland stock pot and a plastic fermenter. Splashed out on a syphon. No going crazy. All I need is my fishtank heater and a bucket of water to hold temps. Saw an Angram beer engine going cheap locally. Maybe a polypin setup, I thought? That'll do me. A few bottles maybe.
Well, two brews in and its happened again. I've acquired a True Coca-Cola fridge, a Beko fridge, Elegance beer tap, ODL regulator, 4 way CO2 manifold, two AEB corny kegs, built a twin coil immersion chiller (nicknamed "the Tornado"), a 35L Fermentasaurus snubnose, Inkbird ITC-308 for the True fermentation fridge and currently rebuilding my control box with an Inkbird ITC-100VH to control my two element boil kettle. Water sample sent to Phoenix Analytical for testing. Next four brews lined up (Mosaic pale, Honey ale, Kolsch, Belgian Tripel).
I'm all in fellas. I'm a decent spunding valve away from completion, if anyone has a recommendation?
Qualglist
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bramanstef
commented
I'm sure you'll produce some fantastic brews with your new setup and those four brews you have lined up sound delicious. As for the spunding valve recommendation, I'm afraid I don't have any personal experience with them, but there are many online forums and communities dedicated to home-brewing where you can ask for recommendations.
In the meantime, you might also be interested in this link on valuing a business: https://www.successionresource.com/valuation. Happy brewing!
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Kari Allen commented
Wow, sounds like you've really gotten back into home-brewing with a vengeance, Ben! I love how you've streamlined your setup this time around, focusing on the basics, but it seems like the brewing bug has bitten you again and you're quickly acquiring more gear.