Upgrading my equipment, but what to get

I have been home brewing kits for a couple of years now and am looking to get a bit more equipment, so thought I would ask what peoples preferences are.

I have:
FV, I only have one which has a tap and bottling wand.
PB which isnt very good, I've bought a new tap and will try it again but the last time I had to move it to bottles
Bottles - 80 PET bottles
Heat belt on a STC 1000 and an as yet unused fridge until my next brew
Hydrometer

I am planning on getting a 2nd FV so I can rack to a secondary and choices are bucket or wide necked, tap or siphon?

Bottles, corny keg, mini keg or barrels? I'm reasonably happy with PET bottles but not sure what to add. I know there are threads on these so the question is not about the +'s and -'s on each, just a straight whats best.

If I go to glass bottles I will need a capper as well. Is it worth the extra for a bench capper or is a twin leaver one just as good?

And when an inheritance comes through Im waiting for I will be getting a grainfather or similar, maybe the bulldog brewer as its a lot cheaper.

What would I be best of spending a little bit on until I make the big purchase?

If you're new to AG brewing then I would get a biggish stockpot to try a few small batches before getting a Grainfather type thing. Another FV is always good. Even if you just use it for racking from your primary FV to secondary fermentation. If you want glass bottles but don't want to cap or buy a capper you could always get swing tops. I don't use PBs or cornys so I don't know much about them but I'm sure someone who does will be along shortly. Hope this helps.


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Second FV is definitely a good idea. I have a bucket and one of those 25lt wine fermenters with the wide cap top plus handles. I don't use either for fermenting now since I've moved on to a conical fermenter, but I do use both on every brewday (all grain) for different purposes (and one as a bottling bucket on bottling day) so can't see you going wrong there. I found the cheap plastic cappers were OK at first, but wear out (or stretch or something) especially if you try to cap bottles with suboptimal neck configurations. I bought one of those two handed capper made of metal a couple fo years ago...only cost a fiver more but so far mine has lasted a good 2 years with no sign of failing.
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Steel_Beer_Crown_Capper.html

TartanSpecial said:

Second FV is definitely a good idea. I have a bucket and one of those 25lt wine fermenters with the wide cap top plus handles. I don't use either for fermenting now since I've moved on to a conical fermenter, but I do use both on every brewday (all grain) for different purposes (and one as a bottling bucket on bottling day) so can't see you going wrong there. I found the cheap plastic cappers were OK at first, but wear out (or stretch or something) especially if you try to cap bottles with suboptimal neck configurations. I bought one of those two handed capper made of metal a couple fo years ago...only cost a fiver more but so far mine has lasted a good 2 years with no sign of failing.
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Steel_Beer_Crown_Capper.html

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I was thinking the type you suggest or one this type
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Manual_Bench_crown_capper.html

Razor said:

If you're new to AG brewing then I would get a biggish stockpot to try a few small batches before getting a Grainfather type thing. Another FV is always good. Even if you just use it for racking from your primary FV to secondary fermentation. If you want glass bottles but don't want to cap or buy a capper you could always get swing tops. I don't use PBs or cornys so I don't know much about them but I'm sure someone who does will be along shortly. Hope this helps.


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The large stock pot is an expense not worth paying if I will get the grainfather type thing soon anyway. I have thought about swing tops as an option.

Ale said:

I was thinking the type you suggest or one this type
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Manual_Bench_crown_capper.html

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I haven't tried one of those but I think they would be good and probably be capable of dealing with a wider range of bottle neck configurations (note: hobgoblin are the worst in my experience)

Ale said:

The large stock pot is an expense not worth paying if I will get the grainfather type thing soon anyway. I have thought about swing tops as an option.

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I got one in Argos for about £20 I believe. Perfect size for 1 gal batches and I can just use it for cooking if it's still in decent enough condition when I upgrade.


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Razor said:

I got one in Argos for about �£20 I believe. Perfect size for 1 gal batches and I can just use it for cooking if it's still in decent enough condition when I upgrade.


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I already have a 5l one which is enough for any cooking for the family. I have used it for AG. When I get my inheritance (which to be honest Id rather not to be getting, but Im not going into it) I will have enough that the grain father will be affordable.

If the intention is to go to a GF then consider now what you are going to do for sparge water, if you are ok with using hot water from your tap then the next bit isn't important, if you aren't happy to use hot tap water and want to use water that is at the correct ph level etc then consider something like a peco boiler or a DIY alternative to it, you will need in the region of 20l at 70c for sparging with. A peco now will let you do a few all grain BIAB brews and once you get your GF it will still be useful for either heating sparge water or heating strike water for a second brew, this saves you a lot of time for very little outlay.

How you consume the beer is down to you, if you have the cash, space and can source Co2 then cornies are the way to go and once setup they are very low maintenance, PET bottles are ok and useful if you want beer to grab and go someplace whereas with swingtops there a bit on the pricey side to be leaving lying about, my last choice in bottles would be crown cap just for the simple reason they are a constant expense and by most accounts need a decent bench capper for reliable capping.

Everyone has a different take on what is ideal for them, if you don't mind spending several hours bottling then go for those, if however you have the cash but not the time then perhaps cornies or minikegs may suit you better.

For FV's i quite like the Youngs wide neck twin handled ones, always airtight enough and have a good headspace in them for a 23l brew, they do a spot on them to add a tap if you want, i don't as its more cleaning.

If at all diy inclined and have the space on the patio or in a shed/garage for a 2 or 3 pot brewery then you could save a good few hundred pounds on buying a g/f or similar.

you will need in the region of 20l at 70c for sparging with.

Is it really that much? If you use 20l for sparging alone how much wort do you make in total. I'll be looking at doing 23l brews.



If at all diy inclined and have the space on the patio or in a shed/garage for a 2 or 3 pot brewery then you could save a good few hundred pounds on buying a g/f or similar.

I brew in my garage. With my multigym, treadmill, exercise bike and few other gym bits; tools; gardening equipment; bikes; a project 125cc motorbike that didnt get very far and a few bits stored in there space it at a premium. (The bike will be going to a mechanic to finish off when I get the money and put an MOT on. I never did my bike licence when I messed about on them when I was younger. Its either a direct access course or use that for a few months before the full licence). I'm also planning some new sheds to increase storage for some of that stuff.

The set up I am looking at will be minimum footprint with a grainfather stored on top of the larder fridge fermentation fridge, other equipment on some shelves when being stored and a folding workbench to use when brewing.

fair enough, you cant beat the g/f for small footprint and a compact tidy away.

ha i have a Honda 1976 750 F1 sat in my garage.. bought on a whim in me 40's as it was the bike i had promised myself as a snotty kid nose up against the plate glass window experiencing LUST without realising it..
Scares the b'jesus of me round corners its SO damn heavy.. Its had about a dozen outings since i got it and stood still at least a decade ;(

I have 24 brews on my GF now and if you can afford it, it is great ! I get 26 liters in the FV regularly, I use the GF sparge water heater, it tops out at about 19liters and on lighter brews where there is very little water in the mash I have sparged over the 19 liters it can hold, I just add the extra water into the the sparge water heater as soon as there is space. One feature I really like is the ability to fill up the GF the night before and set the timer, I wake up in the morning and it is @65degrees, I dough in and let it do it's thing while I get the kids off to school, my brew day is done by 12:00, clean up and all. The chiller gets a full batch down to 19 degrees in about 20 minutes. Don't bother with hop spiders or bags or anything, even with 200 grams of hops in a big IPA, just give it a big whirl pool whilst chilling it in the GF with the chiller down to 80, let it sit for 10 minutes and then cont. to chill it as it goes into your FV.

If your looking at FV's, have you considered the FastFerment ? No need to rack to secondary (gives you time to use some of the Gym equipement) and super easy to harvest yeast, that alone will save you what it costs for fastferment over time.

If you have any more questions about the GF I will be happy to help.

Ale said:

you will need in the region of 20l at 70c for sparging with.

Is it really that much? If you use 20l for sparging alone how much wort do you make in total. I'll be looking at doing 23l brews.

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Typically it's about a 31l total for mash and sparge water combined, some is lost due to grain soaking it in, with boiling time at around an hour (longer boil time will mean slightly higher total volume) minimum for most brews you will lose some water due to evaporation and there is also some loss when you pump out most of which will be gunk that you don't want in the FV anyways, those 3 things will bring the brew down to around 23l. There is a calculator on the grainfather website that will do the sums exactly for you. https://www.grainfather.com/brewing-calculators

If you max it out the grainfather can get as much as 27 into the FV for brews with not too much hops in, this reduces the amount of gunk left and maybe you start the boil with it really full, like only 3 cm or so from the top, I have been testing to check if two brews will fill the 64l Brewtech Chronicle, but you have to be on top of it when the boil starts !

chewie said:

Typically it's about a 31l total for mash and sparge water combined, some is lost due to grain soaking it in, with boiling time at around an hour (longer boil time will mean slightly higher total volume) minimum for most brews you will lose some water due to evaporation and there is also some loss when you pump out most of which will be gunk that you don't want in the FV anyways, those 3 things will bring the brew down to around 23l. There is a calculator on the grainfather website that will do the sums exactly for you. https://www.grainfather.com/brewing-calculators

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So you mash with a total of about 11l and sparge with 20l.

Brett74 said:

If you max it out the grainfather can get as much as 27 into the FV for brews with not too much hops in, this reduces the amount of gunk left and maybe you start the boil with it really full, like only 3 cm or so from the top, I have been testing to check if two brews will fill the 64l Brewtech Chronicle, but you have to be on top of it when the boil starts !

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The latest version of the grainfather is now £870. I'll probably look at the bulldog brewer which is available at £375. It only has a 30l capacity to the rim so wont do quite that much. I dont drink as much as a lot on here so am happy to do smaller batches.

Ale said:

The latest version of the grainfather is now £870. I'll probably look at the bulldog brewer which is available at £375. It only has a 30l capacity to the rim so wont do quite that much. I dont drink as much as a lot on here so am happy to do smaller batches.

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It's £679 on Brew UK. Can get the old ones on lovebrewing for £595 too.

Ale said:

So you mash with a total of about 11l and sparge with 20l.

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Depends on on your grain bill, the mash water volume is in relation to your grain in kg's, put in how many kg's and you get how many liters, then the sparge water is calculated on what is left to get you to your desired output after boiling.

IainM said:

It's �£679 on Brew UK. Can get the old ones on lovebrewing for �£595 too.

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Thanks for that. When I actually have the money in my bank account I will be looking for the best option/prices. I will be very thorough and will probably do a post on here for advice.

Options are grainfather, bulldog brewer, other one pot machine, or maybe re-organise my garage and get rid of some stuff so I can go for the 2/3 pot set up. Not getting rid of my gym stuff though.