Is this a good deal?

[koolcat5290]

So I'm pretty new to brewing and I'm really interested in it. My dad's friend is selling all his equipment for $1500, and I'm wondering if this is a reasonable price.
The list:
· 5 gal hot liquor tank

· 15 gal hot liquor tank

· 5 gal tun

· 10 gal tun

· Steam injection system

· Brew house

· Brew house tree

· 2 burner stove

· Fermentation cabinet – Hot and cold - 2’ wide

· 4 foot wide Keezer

· 7 port manifold

· 7 5 gal kegs (2 converted to fermentation tanks

· Separate blow off bottle

· Pressure gauge ( set to 15) Krausen effect ( can move from tank to tank without syphoning)

· Blixman Bottling gun injects Co2

· 7 lb CO2 bottle

· Grain containers for 50 lb sacks

· Food grade holders for 50 lbs sacks of grain

· Sanitizer container

· 2 O2 bottles ( oxygenate wort for yeast)

· Container for grist mill

· Grist mill

· 2 grants

· 50’ copper wort chiller

· 25’ copper pre chiller for tap

What do you guys think?

 

[pfgonzo]

What do you mean by "Brew House" ?

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah really. Brew house,brew house tree? You mean bottle tree? Steam injection system? That bottling gun is intended to fill bottles with kegged beer. Sounds to me like that's a high-end price that'd be a lot like buying them new.

 

[Greyhound]

I can't tell from the descriptions whether or not $1500 is a good deal. What I can tell you is that I've been brewing for 5 years (all grain for 4) and I'm sure I haven't spent over $1000 on equipment yet.

My advice would be to start small and add equipment as you go on. That way you'll only buy what you need and as you learn the hobby you'll gain a better idea of what upgrade equipment you want.

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Yeah the price is questionable because of the items that don't really explain themselves like the ones mentioned above. Plus, there are alot of little things that he should be adding in there if he is selling his whole set up. Ex hoses, connectors, pumps, etc because maybe it's just me, but those small things add up in price over time.

One idea for you to do is to research how much it would cost to buy most of those things from somewhere and get the prices as comparison and then keep in mind your friend should be discounting the prices based on being used items.

Wish we could help more but without getting exact names and conditions and a real full list it's hard to judge. Two people could be selling you a 5gal kettle for the same price but if one is a blichmann and one is a Home Depot turkey fryer... Big difference. Good luck tho let us know if you need any fine tuning help with the values.

 

[IslandLizard]

This ^

Of the bigger items, look them up on the internet from some of the larger home brew stores, and put a price on each piece. That will give you an idea of what kind of deal this is.

You can start home brewing with $200 (or less) worth of equipment, but that will not include kegging.

Many home brewers will buy used equipment, and expect to pay way less than list price. Well used 5 gal ball lock corny kegs are $45 street price, but brand new shiny ones will run you over $100 per.

 

[koolcat5290]

What do you mean by "Brew House" ?

Yeah really. Brew house,brew house tree? You mean bottle tree? Steam injection system? That bottling gun is intended to fill bottles with kegged beer. Sounds to me like that's a high-end price that'd be a lot like buying them new.

I believe it is a brew house tree with a steam injection system. He also has a two burner stand. That comes with stainless steel tuns. and the Hot liquor tanks are igloo coolers.

 

[koolcat5290]

Yeah the price is questionable because of the items that don't really explain themselves like the ones mentioned above. Plus, there are alot of little things that he should be adding in there if he is selling his whole set up. Ex hoses, connectors, pumps, etc because maybe it's just me, but those small things add up in price over time.

Yeah, I'm going to go check the gear out before I actually hand him a check. I think the list was just a basic list that he made. He sent me a couple picture that were blurry but it looked like it was worth the $1500.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[unionrdr]

I believe it is a brew house tree with a steam injection system. He also has a two burner stand. That comes with stainless steel tuns. and the Hot liquor tanks are igloo coolers.

Mash tuns & boil kettles were steam heated in victorian era breweries. Pretty much everything ran on steam back then. But I've never heard of a modern brew sculpture that ran on steam???
The cooler tuns are ok,many use them modified on here. But they don't cost much. Home Depot has a whole isle full of that stuff.

 

[koolcat5290]

Mash tuns & boil kettles were steam heated in victorian era breweries. Pretty much everything ran on steam back then. But I've never heard of a modern brew sculpture that ran on steam???
The cooler tuns are ok,many use them modified on here. But they don't cost much. Home Depot has a whole isle full of that stuff.

Yeah, Im not talking to the guy directly. So all I hear is what I hear through my dad. But from what he has told me is that, he uses steam injection. But I'm meeting the guy on Saturday to check it out.

 

[woozy]

Addition: Erk! Your dad's *friend*. Completely different story!

Never mind!
------



Wait. Your *dad* is selling it to *you*? Don't. Nothing but hard feelings that way.

*unless* you know your dad is getting on and can't continue to brew and trying to scrape up enough dignity by deluding himself into mastering one last good business transaction. In which case *do* buy it before he faces the crushing attempt of selling on Craigs List and discovering he can barely *give* it away.

When buying stuff from family members, the value and price is always the least important concern.

 

[koolcat5290]

Oh no, not buying from my dad. Its One of my dads coworkers. He can't drink beer anymore for health reasons so he is selling all his stuff.

 

[bluelimbo]

Wowzer. $1,500 buy-in to a new hobby. That is a hell of an investment all up front. Just buy the parts you need. You will find you will want to tweak things to the way you want to do them and buying this guys entire brew setup, you will spend a lot of time in the future tweaking and spending more money to have it the way you want it.

If you can get a deal on some individual items, great. Otherwise, plopping down all the coin... I wouldn't.

 

[koolcat5290]

bluelimbo- I'm not exactly new to the hobby. I have a basic kit. The thing is he is selling it as a package deal, so i can't part it out. But thanks for the advice!

 

[freisste]

If you've got the money, the storage space, and you think you'll use it, go for it.

One thing to think about is that if everything he had was desirable, he would probably make more money selling it part by part because a lot of people would get sticker shock from 1500 even if it was a good deal. If you only use 1/3 of the items, you will probably sell the other 2/3 for a few hundred tops. Do you think 1/3 of the items are worth 1200? That is probably effectively the deal you will end up with. Granted, you kind of need to see the items and the condition to determine if it is worth it or not.

Maybe this is a great deal and maybe this guy has $500 dollars worth of good stuff and $1000 worth of unsellable crap. That's for you to decide. Good luck.

P.S. A great point was made that you may spend a bunch of money making someone else's system work well for you. Again, I've never seen it. Maybe this is a turnkey system perfect for your needs. If that's the case it may be a great deal.

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Yeah, we aren't trying to oppose you getting the system, just our two cents on how we would feel w that description and price tag. But as mentioned above. You can see things that you don't plan on using and also you'd be surprised how many things can become pieces you will use for other projects. If in your heart you think about those items and don't think 1,500 is much for them, then go for it! But remember, a basic principle of buying used stuff is the bargaining so even if you can get it down to 1,400 or 1,300 that's a good amount. Let us know if you get it, post some pictures up! Cheers

 

[koolcat5290]

I decided to get it. It is mostly DIY stuff, but in the end it is a better system then what I have been using. I will be using the setup in the next couple of weeks, any ideas on what I should brew, just to get comfortable with the setup?

 

[DrunkleJon]

Looks like you did pretty well for yourself. The chest freezer (looks to be 12-13 cu ft itself usually costs $200-250 new before temp control, the kegs which look to be ball lock go for $45-50 apiece. Brew stands usually run at least a grand. Looks like you did pretty well.

As for what to brew, what kind of brewing are you currently doing? Extract/PM/BIAB/AG? If new to AG, I would suggest something simpler to start. Maybe the Cream of 3 Crops in the recipe by BierMuncher? It has a simple grist (2-row, flaked corn, flaked rice) that does not cost all that much and tastes good. Plus if you are feeling really adventurous you could make a 10 gallon batch to get those kegs filled up more quickly.

Do you have fermentation temp control? That is the only thing I do not see listed. Maybe use the keezer for that until you get a batch completed? you should be able to fit at least 3 maybe 4 buckets in there.

 

[koolcat5290]

Thanks! The chest freezer and fermentation freezer does come with temperature control, so no worries there.

Well I just started getting into All grain. I have done mostly extracts and partial mash, and one brew in a bag. I was thinking like a basic IPA or something. But I'll look at the Cream of 3 crops as a good start too. Just need to get comfortable using this new equipment.

 

[Bradyfumbled]

Seems lie a good deal to me as long as you have the dough to spend. Congrats on the new toys.

 

[eric19312]

so what did "steam injection" turn out to mean?

 

[koolcat5290]

so what did "steam injection" turn out to mean?

He used a pressure cooker to make steam and then inject it into the mash if the mash got below temperature. I don't remember if there was another reason why he used steam injection. Ill have to ask him again. I believe he also used the pressure cooker to sterilize vials for yeast. He was telling me how he got so efficient that he was making 5 gallons a beer for $8. By growing his own yeast, buying grain and hops in bulk.

 

[eric19312]

Dang it now you have me thinking about a whole new DIY project and sure enough there are a bunch of threads here Ive not seen before than will need to be read...

 

[kh54s10]

Sounds great. As to what to brew. Pick a style that you like and make a fairly simple version. Keep good notes on what you have done so that you can fine tune your processes.

I was going to say to offer lower and see where you end up. You know the deal. He wants $1500 you offer $1000 and end up at $1250.

 

[koolcat5290]

Dang it now you have me thinking about a whole new DIY project and sure enough there are a bunch of threads here Ive not seen before than will need to be read...

Haha, Are you going to look into steam injection? I can post some pictures of the setup I got.

Sounds great. As to what to brew. Pick a style that you like and make a fairly simple version. Keep good notes on what you have done so that you can fine tune your processes.

I was going to say to offer lower and see where you end up. You know the deal. He wants $1500 you offer $1000 and end up at $1250.

Thanks, Yeah going to start off with a pale ale first to get comfortable then probably a cream ale. And I will be keeping notes. That is one thing that I have started to realize is that its best to perfect your recipe instead of trying something new every time. But right now I just want to get comfortable with the equipment first.

I really should of bargained but I was just too overwhelmed.