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Reflex

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Joined
Dec 6, 2016
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Location
Manchester
Hi guys

I am a relative newbie from Greater Manchester. I have been brewing kit beers for about 12 months and I am now looking to get into trying a brew from extract.

I came across this place whilst looking for some information on cost effective boilers as I was considering buying a wort pan and getting a valve welded on or possibly repurposing a tea urn. Anybody got any recommendations for the best and most cost effective way for me to take the next step I would really appreciate some input from someone who has been down this route before!

Thanks and look forward to chatting to some of you!

Rx
 
Hi reflex welcome to the forum, where abouts in Greater Manchester are you? How about you skip extract altogether and go all grain. get a biab starter kit cost you about £100 with an all grain recipe thrown in. Some one will put a link up I'm sure, I don't know how to on my phone. that's what I did after two kit brews now I've got a mash tun and hlt but still use the boiler and wort chiller.
 
Hi guys thanks very much for al the information! I'm kind of in two minds now between buying a big stock pot and going for a ME brew or simply forking out the extra for a BIAB kit. I think I'll probably treat myself to a BIAB kit as an early Christmas present though!

stigma, I'm from Didsbury area of Manchester, you know Manchester well?
 
Hi guys thanks very much for al the information! I'm kind of in two minds now between buying a big stock pot and going for a ME brew or simply forking out the extra for a BIAB kit. I think I'll probably treat myself to a BIAB kit as an early Christmas present though!

stigma, I'm from Didsbury area of Manchester, you know Manchester well?
Go BIAB, ME brews are then still an option if you want a shorter brew day.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
 
Hi guys thanks very much for al the information! I'm kind of in two minds now between buying a big stock pot and going for a ME brew or simply forking out the extra for a BIAB kit. I think I'll probably treat myself to a BIAB kit as an early Christmas present though!

stigma, I'm from Didsbury area of Manchester, you know Manchester well?

Go on reflex you won't regret it all grain rules, you should come to the Manchester homebrew meets usually 3rd Sunday of the month at Cafe beermoth in town. No meet this month though with it being Christmas.
I'm living in Glossop now but work in Denton. So not far from you there is a thread on here somewhere with a map showing some of the forum it's locations.
 
I'd definately consider skipping the extract brewing and go straight to AG BIAB . Very easy if you have the time.... Often considered the 'poor relation' to the 'three vessel' AG brewing, probably because of the relatively poor 'efficiency' of proper BIAB brewing, ie, the ability to extract the sugars from the grain during the mash period. I overcome this by just adding an extra 500g of crushed barley (50p).
True BIAB requires no sparge of the mashed grains (rinsing), and therefore makes the brew day much quicker and simpler.
I use a 50 litre pot with a hop filter and tap, plus a strong grain bag and a wort chiller, all done on a 20 quid gas burner from eBay . All in around 150 quid...
Look at the 'Malt Miller' website for ideas.
The alternative, as mentioned, is to use an electric boiler, though these generally have a smaller capacity for true BIAB and you will have to use sparge (rinse water) to make up your volume, therefore adding time and a bit more hassle to your brew day . I start with 32 litres for my mash and by the time the grains have absorbed and after the boil I am generally left with 23 litres or so into my FV.
The results are remarkable, even considering today's kits, which are way better than they used to be... Same price too as a cheap one can kit !

All this from a fairly recent AG convert who ain't ever going back to kits...

Nuff said,
Hope that helps.

P.s Worcester Hop Shop do AG kits for around 12 quid, all you need and nothing you don't. A very good intro into AG brewing and takes a lot of the guess work out as a beginner....
 
Go on reflex you won't regret it all grain rules, you should come to the Manchester homebrew meets usually 3rd Sunday of the month at Cafe beermoth in town. No meet this month though with it being Christmas.
I'm living in Glossop now but work in Denton. So not far from you there is a thread on here somewhere with a map showing some of the forum it's locations.
You've also got Chorlton Homebrew Club, think they meet at The Font.

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Hi
i went frrom a few kits to extract and now to AG/BIAB small brews.Have made some (imho) really decent beers with extract and steeped malts. I still throw the odd extract brew in, infact just bottled a bitter up brewed with ESB yeast and will be doing a small BIAB batch of a 1936 Mackeson tweaked brew in the morning.
I personally found extract brews to be useful for experimentation and you don't need to do full boils either, easy to do on the stove.:thumb:
 
Thanks again guys!

Sadfield, I think the Chorlton club would be brilliant for me as I can get there in 5 minutes on my bike, any information on where I can find out more about them? I've been looking for a good BIAB starter kit online, can anyone recommend anything better than this one

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk...iler-chiller-mashing-bag-mash-kit-p-2426.html

Or are they all much the same? Also will I need gas burner? Or could I achieve this on my gas stove if I turn one or more rings on? My plan was just to try and boil a load of water in the pot when I get it to test out if I can get a good rolling boil, but if anyone can enlighten me with their experience that would be brilliant!
 
Thanks again guys!

Sadfield, I think the Chorlton club would be brilliant for me as I can get there in 5 minutes on my bike, any information on where I can find out more about them? I've been looking for a good BIAB starter kit online, can anyone recommend anything better than this one

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk...iler-chiller-mashing-bag-mash-kit-p-2426.html

Or are they all much the same? Also will I need gas burner? Or could I achieve this on my gas stove if I turn one or more rings on? My plan was just to try and boil a load of water in the pot when I get it to test out if I can get a good rolling boil, but if anyone can enlighten me with their experience that would be brilliant!

Im in Chorlton myself so will try to get down to the next meeting, was all up for the last meeting and something came up. Unfortunately no meeting date on the FB page as yet. Font isn't bad for a scoop or two as well!
 

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