Hi, thank you, and need some advice

[blanstuf]

First off, this is my first post and I wanted to say thank you to everyone on this forum for all of the great information. I've been reading through the forum, articles, and wiki pretty regularly for the past few months and have learned a great deal.

I have brewed 5 extract batches, two are bottled and ready to drink, two more were bottled this past weekend and the fifth is in secondary to bulk age for a month or so. I have several more extract recipes I want to brew and eventually make the step up to all grain, once I have a pretty good handle on the process.

Now for the advice part... I currently have access to pretty much all of the basic equipment needed to brew and bottle. Some of it is mine, some belongs to a friend who doesn't use it, and my brother has basically everything needed to do all grain that he is never going to use. Last week I was unexpectedly given a $50 Amazon gift card and my first thought was to get a wort chiller (none of us have one). However, this morning I thought maybe I should use it to get a really nice thermometer.

Up until now, I have been doing partial boils on the stove and cooling in an ice bath but with the warmer weather (I REALLY hate the cold) I will be more willing to brew outside with a turkey fryer and full boils. This makes me think a wort chiller would be in my best interest. On the other hand, the thermometer I am using is a simple grocery store thermometer. It does the job but I am wondering if I should upgrade that before attempting all grain.

Do you think I should go with a wort chiller, a nice thermometer, or some other piece of equipment the I really should have? Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[Yooper]

That's a hard one- as I think you need BOTH.

A good thermometer is critical for all grain, but so is a wort chiller (unless you do no-chill brewing).

As long as you're doing extract batches, I'd go with the wort chiller. You don't really need a good thermometer for extract batches, just one to use to make sure your wort is cool enough before adding the yeast. So that's what I'd suggest at this point.

 

[tarikapak]

How big are your batches going to be? If you are brewing 1 or 3 gallons, then an ice bath would work fine for chilling.

Otherwise, I also think that you'll need them both.

 

[unionrdr]

I too say you really need both. I use a floating thermometer lashed to the BK/Mt handle with a few twist ties while mashing BIAB style (PB/PM). I use my new dial type currently to monitor the sparge water temp,which I now know I can start about 45 minutes left in the mash. So they're both in use at the same time. I gave up on trusting grocery store thermometers a long time ago. And a wort chiller would be a huge improvement in my quest for clear PM BIAB beers. I've added fivestar super moss as of my latest brewing effort. It'll be in primary two weeks this Sunday.
So thermometer & wort chiller I say!!

 

[beergolf]

First off, let me welcome to the great place of HBT. It is a great forum, lots of good people and a wealth of information.

That's a hard one- as I think you need BOTH.

A good thermometer is critical for all grain, but so is a wort chiller (unless you do no-chill brewing).

I agree with Yooper, you really do need both if you are going to do all grain.

 

[unionrdr]

Or partial mash,for that matter. Sure makes things a bit easier.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I'd go with the wort chiller first if you're not going to be going all-grain right away so you can at least start doing full volume boils with extract.

 

[blanstuf]

Thanks for the replies. I know a good thermometer would be pretty important for mashing so I did a little research here on HBT. It seems like the thermapen is about the only thermometer that more than one or two people agree to be the best. Unfortunately it isn't sold through Amazon, so for now I think I'm going to get a chiller and probably another cheap thermometer with a probe that I can leave in the MLT. I'm sure if I ask for a thermapen for my b-day/holidays, someone will get me one although that is a long time to wait.

 

[5oBrewing]

I just transitioned to no-chill brewing, theres a good thread on it somewhere in here. Saves some effort at the end of the boil and the beer tastes the same. You just have to adjust the hop schedule a bit.

It might be cheaper to just buy the copper and make your own chiller too, i made my first wort chiller and with a little help from a friend its pretty easy.

 

[mike_in_ak]

Thanks for the replies. I know a good thermometer would be pretty important for mashing so I did a little research here on HBT. It seems like the thermapen is about the only thermometer that more than one or two people agree to be the best. Unfortunately it isn't sold through Amazon, so for now I think I'm going to get a chiller and probably another cheap thermometer with a probe that I can leave in the MLT. I'm sure if I ask for a thermapen for my b-day/holidays, someone will get me one although that is a long time to wait.

I think the cheap thermometers with probes from the grocery store don't have submersible/water proof probes and are actually pretty bad. I mean the tip is fine, but I would expect things to go wrong when you attempt to leave it in mashtun.


I would stick with a better hand held.

 

[KyGooglenerd]

I made a wort chiller myself for about $40 using 3/8 copper refrigation tubing from lowes. I just tightened the coils up abit around an ice cream churner bucket and added hose fittings. It will cool a 5gal batch in 20 minutes. Point is that you can make one pretty cheaply by not buying coffee for a week.

I say go for the thermapen.