In detail, here is what you need to brew. This completes my promise, made many years ago, to post Equipment for brewing II. Now, updated and detailed.
Fermenting Fridge:
Get a fridge on which you can successfully install a temperature controller. I get the temp controller from www.shivacontrols.com and they can work only on refrigerators that don’t have a separate door for freezer. (Check with them). Get the temp controller and ask them to set at 1 degree Celsius cut off. Basically, if you set the fridge at 18c, you want the compressor to start at 19c and stop at 17c. Thus giving you good control. If you can do at ½ degree, nothing like it.
Blender / Food Processor:
Preethi brand makes a good blender that gives a nice crush. Else, use one you have at home. Don’t crush too fine like powder. Don’t leave big bits. Check visually. Every grain of malt must be broken up. 10% powder. 20% fine. Rest coarse bits.
Weighing scale for malt:
Any kind that can weigh a minimum of 1 kg at least and has only 5 grams error. Fairly cheap as it is not a very accurate scale. Test with weights before buying.
Do a search for ‘donos born mash tun’ on google. All instructions are there on the page. Or, if you are in Mumbai, I could get it made for you at cost. You buy the beers!
Fermenting Fridge:
Get a fridge on which you can successfully install a temperature controller. I get the temp controller from www.shivacontrols.com and they can work only on refrigerators that don’t have a separate door for freezer. (Check with them). Get the temp controller and ask them to set at 1 degree Celsius cut off. Basically, if you set the fridge at 18c, you want the compressor to start at 19c and stop at 17c. Thus giving you good control. If you can do at ½ degree, nothing like it.
Blender / Food Processor:
Preethi brand makes a good blender that gives a nice crush. Else, use one you have at home. Don’t crush too fine like powder. Don’t leave big bits. Check visually. Every grain of malt must be broken up. 10% powder. 20% fine. Rest coarse bits.
Weighing scale for malt:
Any kind that can weigh a minimum of 1 kg at least and has only 5 grams error. Fairly cheap as it is not a very accurate scale. Test with weights before buying.
Small
scale for salts / hops & yeast:
This
needs to have good accuracy. Perhaps 10 milligrams accuracy. Can be
expensive. Test with 1 milligram or 10 milligram weight when you buy.
Three
Stainless Steel 10 litre Topias / Pots (1 for boil, 1 for water and 1 for
grain):
Make sure they are not too wide nor too
tall. Take a shape in between. For 5 litre batches, 10 litres is more than
sufficient. Get an 8-9 litre one and that will work as well. You can use pots
you have at home as well. Make sure you calibrate volume using a stick or long
knife and do a boil off test to see how much gets boiled off in 1 hr after a
boil has been achieved.
Salts:
Ideally food grade or lab grade with 99% purity:
Chalk CaCO3, Gypsum CaSO4 *2H2O, Calcium Chloride CaCl2*2H2O, Epsom Salt MgSO4 *7H2O, Baking Soda NaHCO3, Canning Salt NaCl
Mash
/ Lauter Tun:Do a search for ‘donos born mash tun’ on google. All instructions are there on the page. Or, if you are in Mumbai, I could get it made for you at cost. You buy the beers!
Pipe
for Lauter Tun:
1 meter silicon or rubber tube (food grade)
to attach at end of spigot /valve on Lauter Tun.
Thermometer,
Refractormeter:
Get an alcohol thermometer of a good
quality. Don’t get the one that has mercury as it is difficult to see. Get at
least 2. Refractometer should have at least 0 – 30 brix with scale as
0.2,0.4,0.6 etc., all the way to 30. The scale may be labelled only at units
rather than decimals. Get one with Automatic Temp Control if you can.
Three,
500ml plastic / glass beakers graduated:
Use for preparing yeast, fermenting a
sample etc. Can get glass but easy to break.
Two,
5 litre plastic beakers graduated with handle:
To measure water volume, prepare
sanitization solution etc. Make sure it has a handle and is graduated.
One,
2 litre plastic beaker:
Same purpose as the 5 litre ones but since
2 litres is lighter, makes life easier.
Siphon
for racking beer:
Don’t take the hard vinyl piping that comes
standard with this at many shops. Get 2 meters of silicon / rubber food grade tubes. Cut each
into 1 meter and attach a glass tube, 8-10 inches in length, at each end of the
rubber tubing to provide rigidness.
Glass
tube for whirlpool racking:
Get another meter or more of silicon /
rubber tubing with glass tube ends at each side. This is used to siphon hot
wort after whirlpool into cooling pot. Alternately, get a valve attached to the
side of the boiling pot and use that outlet after whirlpool. Much easier. But
make sure you attach the spigot/valve at the lower end of pot so there is not
wastage of wort. Also, make sure it sits on your gas even with the valve.
Two
or more, 5 litre, glass fermentors and 1 plastic funnel:
Quite cheap but glass quality not the best but I use them.
Can also use steel pot with lid or new packaged water (Bisleri, Acquafina) cans. Get a plastic funnel that
will help you fill beer into these fermentors.
Bottle
capper / Bottles / Caps:
MM Buxhaboy and co. Look for them on the
internet. Shop is at Crawford market. Make
sure to take a beer bottle and try the capper several times to ensure it works
well.
Bleach
Liquid:
5% chlorine bleach solution called sodium
hypochlorite OR 5% solution of paracetic acid if you can find. Use 100-200 ml
in 5 litres of water. Chlorox bleach without any scents also works in the same
manner. After soaking vessels / equipment etc. for 20 min, do not wash with
water. Just let it drain out or shake excess off. Don’t sanitize everything.
Only things that you use on the cooled wort. Don't ever sanitize your refractormeter.
All of the above are available in various shops at Princess Street, Mumbai. Check a few shops first and then buy. Drop me an email to confirm / check and then buy. Don't rush as they may not take things back.
Cheers!
1 comment:
Hi Navin,
I created a post with details of where to get all the needed equipment and ingredients in Pune.
http://punehomebrewer.blogspot.in/
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