So I now have 8 batches under my belt and want to step it up. I see several on here have said that they wish they went ag sooner but almost everyone loves their kegs as the best investment ever. The only bad thing is if I go keg system it will prob take a year to get set up (life waits for no beer :cheers: cheers
Go AG! Worry about how you’re brewing and getting the basics of AG down before going and getting a bunch of “toys” and then after a couple of batches go get those kegs
After weeks of reading forums and books trying to learn how to keg I finally kegged my first batch about a week ago and I’m enjoying a pint right now ( very satisfying) It’s so much easier than I thought it would be and sure beats cleaning all those bottles. I’m still extract brewing because I don’t really have the space to AG brew , but hopefully I will be going AG early next year. Since it would take you so long to get your kegging setup going I say give AG a try. Both can be as inexpensive or expensive as you want them to be :cheers:
Thought I might throw another option out there, just to make things more complicated. I’m currently working on implementing step 2 of a 4-step plan:
- Brew in a bag
- Kegging
- Propane burner
- Mash cooler
I had originally been cooking up a different plan, until I found out how unpleasant it is to try and do full volume boils on a kitchen stove. Plan B is turning out to be a pretty good one, though. BiaB is working well for me, and it let me jump into all grain without setting me back too much on affording a keg system.
Oh, and kids really are indispensable on bottling day. Whatever you do, don’t sell them until you’ve got your keg kit all laid out. :twisted:
Cooler MT’s can be made very cheap and you’ll have the money to spend on a kegging setup.
Going AG or kegging are both great, but both come with additional costs, potentially. If you have a limited budget, figure out which you can do cheapest. For AG, you’ll need a bigger pot for full boils, a mash tun, a way of cooling the larger volumes, a little more space and a little more time. For kegging, you need kegs (you can never have enough), CO2 bottle, regulator and a fridge to put it in.
Kegging is so much easier than bottling and I wish I’d switched sooner. When I was still doing extract, I was making good beer with my own recipes. You said you’re 8 batches in, which means you more than likely still have a lot to learn (as we all do). My recommendation would be to start kegging, and focus on learning some other basics about brewing, unless you have already. Temperature control during fermentation, proper yeast pitching, yeast harvesting, etc. These skills are very important to brewing good beer whether it’s all grain or extract.
AG 1st then Keg.
Why?
-
They both cost cash to get into - but the AG system can be built for around 150.00 (less if you have a cooler on hand already. Kegging takes a bit more $$ than that to get set up.
-
After paying the cash to get into AG it WILL save you money you can then put towards the kegging. Kegging wont really save you any money, it will save you time and annoyance.
Barry
I would Keg then A.G because thats what I did. There is nothing cooler then asking a new friend if they want a beer and pouring it from a tap. I hated it when I would get someone a beer from a bottle, have to pour it super slow so that I didn’t disturb the yeast and If you did they would look at the glass like someone just took a shit in it.
Do you have a fridge and temp controller? I would get that before either kegging equipment or all-grain equipment if you don’t have it.
I would spend the money on the temp control and get a Brew in a Bag bag. that way you can get used to the mashing process.
Then a Blichmann burner 
…good way to cut the time of your brewday in half as it can get 5 gallons from mash temp to boil in about 15 minutes.
Speaking of, is it true that it’s also a lot more efficient? I’m still trying to figure out what burner to save up for, but at the moment I’m leaning toward splurging on a Blichmann. Judging from the graphs they post on their website, it seems like they use enough less propane to pay for themselves in only a season or two’s worth of brewing. But I’d be curious to see what a third party has to say.
Speaking of, is it true that it’s also a lot more efficient? I’m still trying to figure out what burner to save up for, but at the moment I’m leaning toward splurging on a Blichmann. Judging from the graphs they post on their website, it seems like they use enough less propane to pay for themselves in only a season or two’s worth of brewing. But I’d be curious to see what a third party has to say.[/quote]
dude, just pull the trigger if you have the money and are looking to make brewing investment. Unlike many homebrewers, I find gear/equipment/toys to be nothing more than clutter a lot of the time. My Blich burner however is my best investment next to my chest freezer and temp controller.
I typically get between 7 and 9 5-gallon brews per propane tank (filled at Ace Hardware, which I’m told, like most retailers, but UNLIKE gas distributors, don’t fill tanks all the way), usually with 90 minute boils. My understanding is that is about double what you would get from a Bayou or other turkey-frying setup.
I have been brewing in a bag for the last 10 brews or so, and its awesome (again, less ‘gear’), and with my blichmann, my brewdays are usually 4-5 hours MAXIMUM with cleanup. Less time heating strike water and bringing wort to boil.
So my vote for you would be brew in a bag setup to go all grain (assuming you have temp control AND a minimum 10-gallon kettle), then go ahead and grab yourself 75,000 BTUs of DMS-evaporating, iron-melting, pyro-engorgifying firepower to go under your kettle.
Speaking of, is it true that it’s also a lot more efficient? I’m still trying to figure out what burner to save up for, but at the moment I’m leaning toward splurging on a Blichmann. Judging from the graphs they post on their website, it seems like they use enough less propane to pay for themselves in only a season or two’s worth of brewing. But I’d be curious to see what a third party has to say.[/quote]
dude, just pull the trigger if you have the money and are looking to make brewing investment. Unlike many homebrewers, I find gear/equipment/toys to be nothing more than clutter a lot of the time. My Blich burner however is my best investment next to my chest freezer and temp controller.
I typically get between 7 and 9 5-gallon brews per propane tank (filled at Ace Hardware, which I’m told, like most retailers, but UNLIKE gas distributors, don’t fill tanks all the way), usually with 90 minute boils. My understanding is that is about double what you would get from a Bayou or other turkey-frying setup.
I have been brewing in a bag for the last 10 brews or so, and its awesome (again, less ‘gear’), and with my blichmann, my brewdays are usually 4-5 hours MAXIMUM with cleanup. Less time heating strike water and bringing wort to boil.
So my vote for the OP would be brew in a bag setup to go all grain (assuming he has temp control AND a minimum 10-gallon kettle), then go ahead and grab himself 75,000 BTUs of DMS-evaporating, iron-melting, pyro-engorgifying firepower to go under your kettle.[/quote]
I set up a keg system after my 6th batch, I could see that bottling was probably going to cause me not to brew as much. I had an old fridge so I didn’t have to shell out any scratch for that. I got 4 kegs, tubing, disconnects, a couple picnic taps and a used 5# tank for ~ $125, of course kegs were less than half of what they are these days, but they’re still a good investment.
I went AG about 3 months later for next to nothing as I was already doing full boils, had an old cooler laying around and the valve and fittings since I’m a plumbing and heating contractor.
Quote/ "I typically get between 7 and 9 5-gallon brews per propane tank (filled at Ace Hardware, which I’m told, like most retailers, but UNLIKE gas distributors, don’t fill tanks all the way), usually with 90 minute boils. My understanding is that is about double what you would get from a Bayou or other turkey-frying setup.
I have been brewing in a bag for the last 10 brews or so, and its awesome (again, less ‘gear’), and with my blichmann, my brewdays are usually 4-5 hours MAXIMUM with cleanup. Less time heating strike water and bringing wort to boil.
So my vote for the OP would be brew in a bag setup to go all grain (assuming he has temp control AND a minimum 10-gallon kettle), then go ahead and grab himself 75,000 BTUs of DMS-evaporating, iron-melting, pyro-engorgifying firepower to go under your kettle.[/quote][/quote]
My Bayou Classic is 210,000 BTU’s, and can handle a 45 GAL pot.
I bought it right here on NB.
That Blichman is mighty pretty though, but at just 75,000 btu and pricier I had to opt for the Bayou.
[quote=“Tullybrook”]Quote/ "I typically get between 7 and 9 5-gallon brews per propane tank (filled at Ace Hardware, which I’m told, like most retailers, but UNLIKE gas distributors, don’t fill tanks all the way), usually with 90 minute boils. My understanding is that is about double what you would get from a Bayou or other turkey-frying setup.
I have been brewing in a bag for the last 10 brews or so, and its awesome (again, less ‘gear’), and with my blichmann, my brewdays are usually 4-5 hours MAXIMUM with cleanup. Less time heating strike water and bringing wort to boil.
So my vote for the OP would be brew in a bag setup to go all grain (assuming he has temp control AND a minimum 10-gallon kettle), then go ahead and grab himself 75,000 BTUs of DMS-evaporating, iron-melting, pyro-engorgifying firepower to go under your kettle.[/quote][/quote]
My Bayou Classic is 210,000 BTU’s, and can handle a 45 GAL pot.
[/quote]
What the what!!!??? 210K!? I stand corrected. With brewing equipment (and many things) form follows function.
Really? 7 to 9 batches per tank? I would definitely upgrade if others can confirm they have the same experience. I get 3-4 using my Bayou.
I would go AG first and then keg, although for the record I did it in the opposite order.
AG can be done really cheap, especially this time of year and after christmas because the cost of a turkey fryer that comes with a pot (technically) big enough comes crashing down as the holidays are over. I originally paid 40$ for my first pot and burner. A decently sized cooler can be had for about 20-25 bucks at any Wal Mart etc and prices are low on that right now too because it is not summer time.
Finally spend 50$ tops on a coil of copper and make a wort chiller and you have an AG setup for 100$ tops. This will end up saving money because extract is expensive and you can now buy bags of 2 row or MO and just crush what you need as you go. (assuming LHBS has a mill which they should)
Now that you are making AG beer you can keep your eyes out on craigslist/ebay/thrift stores etc and piece together a kegging system. Keep your eyes out for deals on co2/regulators, kegs, fridges, taps etc. You can spend a little bit here and there until you eventually have enough to put everthing together. Patience will be a huge benefit to you during this time. But it will save you a lot of money.
As stated above, you can never have enough kegs, i would literally plan on doubling the amount you THINK you will need, and then get a few more. The market on these kind of goes back and forth on pin lock vs ball lock as to what is cheaper, and as a ball lock guy it sure seems like pink lock is a heck of a lot cheaper right now.
Are BTUs really everything, though?
If all 210,000 are going into the water then by my back-of-the-envelope calculations you should be able to get 5 gallons from room temperature to boiling in less than two minutes with the thing going at full blast.
If not, well, at least it’s a fun way to burn propane. 
I dont understand, how is it 210K BTUs? and the Blichmann is more than half. They use the same burner
Ok, Thanks everyone for lots of good advice, i was planing on buying a propane burner in jan anyway and i already made a ic even though i was only doing 3 1/2 gal boils (nice to cool wort in 15 min) thanks to my friend who got me into brewing. I do not have a old fridge or control so it would seem that ag may be the way to go right now :lol: Cheers
