Moving on up.....

[pengins27]

I would consider myself a MrB Seasoned Brewer now with 15 or more batches under my belt. I am thinking about moving up to making ACTUAL beer - moving up to the big boy - 5gal carboy

1) I have no clue where to start, tho i have watched every episode of both seasons of BrewDogs
2) do any of you guys have a thought on how to not let this hobby be overbearing for the wife (large messes, etc)
3) Do you guys have any pictures of your setup?

Thanks for alllllllllll of your help always

[jimjohson]

All I use are 6.5 gal ale pails (2 and 4 lbks) and single stage ferment, meaning: I'm lazy and don't rack to a secondary. Keeps the cost and the work down, the beer's just as good.

[gwcr]

I would consider myself a MrB Seasoned Brewer now with 15 or more batches under my belt. I am thinking about moving up to making ACTUAL beer - moving up to the big boy - 5gal carboy

1) I have no clue where to start, tho i have watched every episode of both seasons of BrewDogs
2) do any of you guys have a thought on how to not let this hobby be overbearing for the wife (large messes, etc)
3) Do you guys have any pictures of your setup?

Thanks for alllllllllll of your help always

1-Start where you are comfortable. Have you done any steeping grains or partial mashes with your MB brews yet? Safest option would be a 5 gallon starter kit from your LHBS of choice (or online like Midwest, Austin, Northern, etc). Buckets are way easier to clean and work with IMO. BIAB is an easy and cheap entry into AG. That was how I started moving away from MB. As for BrewDogs, I would suggest not trying to brew while driving a race car/truck...
2-Keep everything clean and hide/disguise all the purchases you will be making. Make something she likes.
3-No current pics, but here is one from when I branched out from MB.

Doesn't get any more simple that that setup (this was BIAB).

Bottom line is you can make good beer with any method. Find the one that works best for you and perfect it.

[Dawg LB Steve]

+1 what gwcr said!
And Brewdogs as entertaining as they are that is mostly what that show is, but they do have some informative segments.

[BlackDuck]

I do all grain recipes. So I use a mash tun, boil kettle and hot water pot. In the picture; the mash tun is the cooler, the boil kettle is the large one with the spigot that is connected to the tun and the hot water pot is on the turkey frier. In this picture, I am just about ready to start the sparge process. The hot water pot will go on top of the trash can and I will siphon on top of the grain in the tun while it is slowly emptying through the hose and into the boil kettle. And I ferment in 6.5 gallon plastic fermenting buckets.

brew1.jpg (82.11 KiB) Viewed 577 times

You surely don't need to go this elaborate either. You can easily start out with extract and steeping grains without making too much of a mess in the kitchen. If your going to use the 5 gallon carboy, I would recommend formulating your recipe at the 4 gallon level as you'll need space in the top of the carboy for all the foamy goodness your yeast will create.

A few posts since I started beat me to it. As GWCR said....you can make good beer with any method.

[D_Rabbit]

As most have implied. The easiest and most basic next step up is to do a BIAB (Brew in a bag) beer. If you want to do AG than I would recommend going to home depot or lowes, buy a paint strainer bag and do BIAB. That will allow you to get your feet wet with AG. If you want to move up to 5 gallons that I would recommend doing the set up as GWCR or blackduck. My wife was happy as a clam when I started brewing outside and leaving her kitchen alone. Although I did a 150% clean of the entire kitchen when I was done she hated the smell of the brewing that lingered afterwards.

Get a turkey frier and 8 gallon brew pot and make a simple 5 gallon mash tun with a round cooler. There are many threads on how to build a simple on or you can buy one online. I would show you my set up but it is well beyond what your looking for at this moment.

[RickBeer]

2) do any of you guys have a thought on how to not let this hobby be overbearing for the wife (large messes, etc)

REALLY? You're asking for marital advice from us?

I just added another freezer from my in-laws, so you really aren't asking the right people.

[braukasper]

I would try a 2.5 gal partial mash first. You get to use what you have and that could help you decide if you want to go the all grain route. When first starting AG as other have stated try the BIAB before outlaying for the equipment. As far as help out with the wife's kitchen, I can't. Other than holiday baking the kitchen is mine

[Kealia]

I would echo the recommendation to try BIAB, too. You can do this by simply buying a paint strainer bag if you already have a pot big enough. Lots of people do for frying turkeys or something similar.

This gives you a chance to explore the world of AG without diving into the deep end of the pool from a cost, time or equipment point of view.

[BlackDuck]

The turkey fryer works great for BIAB...that's how I started too. And if your fryer comes with a large fryer basket, it works awesome. Just put the paint strainer bag in the basket and then it's easy to lift out of the pot.

[philm00x]

I don't use LBKs anymore, but I still brew Mr. Beer-sized batches (2.5 gallons) fermented in plastic buckets. Because I still brew smaller batches like this, I can use smaller kettles and a 5-gallon cooler for a mash/lauter tun.

[Ibasterd]

I'm doing all grain BIAB. I still use the Mr. beer LBK as a fermenting vessel for convenience and due to the face that I like brewing smaller batches. All you need is a 5 gallon brew pot and a straining bag. It really is easy and not that big of a jump, especially if you have been doing steeping grains.

[JohnSant]

I just went to grain steeping last week. I had done 4 Mr. Beer kits prior to that. I have 3 LBK's so not a problem to do a 5 gal steep kit and divide between 2 LBK's. I was a nervous wreck when I started my boil but by the end of the boil I couldn't understand why. I ended up splitting my wort into 2 LBK's and using the yeast that came with the kit on 1 LBK and purchased another type of yeast for the other LBK. They are Vienna Lagers so I will be using a bottling wand to transfer to my last LBK and washing that tank to transfer my #2 LBK for secondary fermentation and Lagering.

[swenocha]

I'll echo several here and say that though I still do small batch for the most part (Mr. B fermenters, as well as 1 gallon jugs, 3 gallon better bottles, and 5 gallon buckets), I do all-grain (except when clearing out contest Mr. B HMEs). I have a 7.5 gallon bucket, but I tend to only use it when I have a friend over to brew and intend to split the batch with them. My equipment is perfectly sized for the smaller batches, but I tend to have to partial mash (add LME/DME) to fill the 5 gallon batches out. I use the electric turkey fryer and really have had great success with it. And, as mentioned, the wife totally appreciates the aroma being out of the kitchen (and permeating thru the rest of the house).

[JimH]

If you are ready to move up and you want to go in steps, you can make "real" beer using the MrB fermenter. I started by steeping a little grain and a 3lb pack of DME or a 3.3lb jug of LME. Add in a hop boil and you are set. I was doing that for quite a while before i stepped up to partial mashing and 5 gallon batches. It would be pretty easy to grab a 3lb bag of Dark DME, an ounce of Target or some other hop, and you can make a real nice porter/stout out of that. Then, fill the LBK to the top of the Q for a 2.5 gallon batch. No need to rush out and buy new equipment, all you need is enough room to boil 1.5 gallon or so. Keeps the wife happy as you progress along.