BeerBorg

Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

I've been playing and teaching guitar professionally for over 40 years. I can get the job done with just about any combination of guitar,amp or effects. My students however ( especially adults ) always feel the need to get the latest and usually most expensive gear.

I see myself falling into the same trap when it comes to brewing beer.
I'm sure if I got into photography it would be the same.

I have a feeling that the very experienced brewers on this forum can get by with much less (and much less expensive) equipment than I am considering.

Just a thought.

Go to Denny Conn's website sometime. He has more brewing experience and knowledge than all of us do collectively. He still uses very inexpensive DIY equipment. And his website tells you how to build it all.

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

Is that his web page?

Monty

WOW what a great topic to post BJG.
There has been a lot of posts about brew gear on the Borg lately and of course we all share our methods and what gear we use which among us is not the same.
It is the deeper question that within the Borg we all support and most importantly learn from each other from posts like this as to why and or how we develop our brew day methods.

The gear we choose to buy is going to be based on the type of brewing we do; by that I mean that some of us are all grain, some are strictly extract, and some are HME brewers.

It is all about time, opportunity and budget for us but we, on the Borg, are all still "together" when it comes to solving/resolving brewing questions.

Some of us might decide we can benefit from a "gear heavy" brew method but there are as many brewers on this forum that make great beer with minimal equipment.

You as a brewer might advance from one method of brewing to another (e.g. HME to partial mash to all grain) and your interest and comprehension of the process changes which could lead to a desire to advance by buying new equipment but there will always be Borg members who are making great beer without a "bunch of stuff".

I know this sounds like babble but I am remembering all the newbie posts from the MB forum where they were living in apartments and had no room for a bunch of brew gear but the Borg still helped them make beer.

Well this sounds babblish to me because I'm worn out but I hope got the point across.

Brewbirds wrote:WOW what a great topic to post BJG.
There has been a lot of posts about brew gear on the Borg lately and of course we all share our methods and what gear we use which among us is not the same.
It is the deeper question that within the Borg we all support and most importantly learn from each other from posts like this as to why and or how we develop our brew day methods.

The gear we choose to buy is going to be based on the type of brewing we do; by that I mean that some of us are all grain, some are strictly extract, and some are HME brewers.

It is all about time, opportunity and budget for us but we, on the Borg, are all still "together" when it comes to solving/resolving brewing questions.

Some of us might decide we can benefit from a "gear heavy" brew method but there are as many brewers on this forum that make great beer with minimal equipment.

You as a brewer might advance from one method of brewing to another (e.g. HME to partial mash to all grain) and your interest and comprehension of the process changes which could lead to a desire to advance by buying new equipment but there will always be Borg members who are making great beer without a "bunch of stuff".

I see your point about everyone having different equipment based on the method they use to brew.
I've already have much more equipment than I ever thought I would have when I started last year.
I'm not even commenting on what other people have in their set-up. I'm just trying to slowdown and get the equipment that I need and not chase after expensive items that won't necessarily improve my beer.
What I really need is experience and knowledge.

I love the diy projects. Building the equipment is as much fun as brewing for me.

Sounds like a referral to the SMIEBBs (?) thread is in order. You certainly can meet brewers who will tell you that thousands of dollars in gear are necessary to make great beer. I tend the other way, though I readily admit I am still an apprentice brewer. I boil on the stove, BIAB, temp control in a 52qt cooler. I probably have about $200 in equipment, some of which is second-hand, most serves more than one purpose. If I had a big automated set-up and kegging I would have to give up the boat. And while I enjoy brewing, I'll give up beer and women before sailing. Your mileage may vary.

John Sand wrote:Sounds like a referral to the SMIEBBs (?) thread is in order. You certainly can meet brewers who will tell you that thousands of dollars in gear are necessary to make great beer. I tend the other way, though I readily admit I am still an apprentice brewer. I boil on the stove, BIAB, temp control in a 52qt cooler. I probably have about $200 in equipment, some of which is second-hand, most serves more than one purpose. If I had a big automated set-up and kegging I would have to give up the boat. And while I enjoy brewing, I'll give up beer and women before sailing. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks John.
I read that the SMIEBB a couple of weeks ago and forgot about it. I have the equipment to make a 2.5. gallon batch. The water calculations are a little confusing to me.

I am going to brew a 2.5 gal. Moose Drool.( I haven't found a recipe yet.) I would like to go all grain. It looks like I could use my stove.
If I want to test to see how much time it would take to bring water to a boil how much water should I use?
I also need to figure my boil off .

The only new equipment I need is some kind of strainer to sparge though.

Try just about 3 gallons. For most 2.5 gallon batches, an hour long boil loses about a half gallon of wort in my stainless steel pot.

I will throw my 2c into the pot. As others have said, it does not take expensive equipment to make good beer. I have made quite a few award winning beers with nothing more than a $65 electric turkey fryer. Could I have stayed with this equipment? Sure, but I love to tinker with stuff and build things, so I built an automated eBIAB system. Does it make better beer than my old turkey fryer? I don't think so. Is it more flexible, and allows for better control and repeatability? You betcha!

I think the beauty of this hobby is that you can use just about anything to make damn good beer, and grow your equipment as you see fit.

All true Russki. I'm not criticizing better equipment. If I could afford stainless fermenters and kegging, I'd do it. But I also enjoy the simple nuts and bolts approach in everything.
Banjo, I put measurement markings on the outside of the brewpot and top off as necessary. Or, if my conversion is low, I keep some LME handy to add. As for straining, a 5 gallon fabric paint strainer costs less than two bucks at the paint store. And it works to strain out hops and break too.

This tends to become a problem for me. I own 10 pairs of skis, 4 of which I hope to be able to use this upcoming winter. 6 pairs of ski gloves, 4 pairs of goggles, 2 helmets, 3 jackets, the list goes on and on.

I've been making a shopping list for my trip to lhbs tomorrow. The main priority to purchase a 5 gallon beer making kit. I'd like to be making more beer. In terms of equipment, the only two "nice to have" items I want are a Vinator bottle washer and 5 dual scale thermometers for my other small fermenters.

Root Skier wrote:This tends to become a problem for me. I own 10 pairs of skis, 4 of which I hope to be able to use this upcoming winter. 6 pairs of ski gloves, 4 pairs of goggles, 2 helmets, 3 jackets, the list goes on and on.

I've been making a shopping list for my trip to lhbs tomorrow. The main priority to purchase a 5 gallon beer making kit. I'd like to be making more beer. In terms of equipment, the only two "nice to have" items I want are a Vinator bottle washer and 5 dual scale thermometers for my other small fermenters.

I would say the bottle tree and vinator were probably my favorite gear purchases. And a plastic bottle crate was the best freeby piece of equipment. Because I use them both on bottling day and when washing bottles it makes everything much easier.

Most of the stuff I got was just to make a brew task easier now that I think about it. When I was using MB HMEs I bought a can opener that opens the can from the side because a lot folks on the old Borg had posted that paper was falling into the wort. It is now my kitchen can opener and was well worth the 12 bucks or so I spent on it.

I remember when I was just starting out and reading the old forum seeing where someone posted (I think it was Gymrat) that "you don't want your beer to taste like last night's Linguine in clam sauce" so I went through all my kitchen stuff and "stole" pots, spoons, spatulas, tea balls and all kinds of stuff to have as dedicated brew gear.

Root Skier wrote:This tends to become a problem for me. I own 10 pairs of skis, 4 of which I hope to be able to use this upcoming winter. 6 pairs of ski gloves, 4 pairs of goggles, 2 helmets, 3 jackets, the list goes on and on.

I've been making a shopping list for my trip to lhbs tomorrow. The main priority to purchase a 5 gallon beer making kit. I'd like to be making more beer. In terms of equipment, the only two "nice to have" items I want are a Vinator bottle washer and 5 dual scale thermometers for my other small fermenters.

In light of this, I confess that I own 9 boats. (Though only 1 is over 20' long) But I swear I needed each of them at the time of purchase.

Who am I to talk. The latest gear list:
(3) banjos
(4 ) mandolins
( 2 ) classical guitars
(2 ) steel string acoustics
(3) archtop jazz guitars
(1) twelve string
(5? ) electrics ( I would have to count )
(12-15) harmonicas
(1) travel guitar
(1) lute
(1) Cuban tres
(2 ) ukes
(10) guitar amps

I won't even start in with distortion pedals ,phase shifters, chorus pedals ect...

GAS is a horrible disease !

I say if you work for something and can afford it, go for it and enjoy it, whether it is a necessity or not.