So for Valentines Day, my brew wife got me an AWESOME gift certificate for my LHBS! This is $20 that HAS to be spent on brew supplies. While it's tempting to put it towards a brew session, I decided that I am going to spend it on a few odds and ends items I have been eying there at Ed's.
Since it's $20, I am looking for a little feedback on things that I am considering getting. Here are the contenders:
First up is this 12" funnel with a screen for my buckets (yea I am not rolling in a pre-civil war cotton fortune like the guys at MNB and I still use the modest bucket) - My thought on this is that I have not been crazy about the method that we use for our hops which is steeping them in the brew. With this I would like to filter the wort as it comes out to catch as much of the hops as possible and we could just dump the hops directly into the kettle.
Yea, I know, everyone has carboy handles. Well not me. Since I now have three 5 gallon glass carboys and one 3 gallon glass carboy, I was thinking about not tempting fate anymore and getting some decent handles for them.
The ever important brew spoon. My current brew spoon is plastic and I have been using is for a good 4 years and I think it may be time to retire it. Now on his website Ed only has plastic spoons, but I know he has stainless steal ones at the shop so I was thinking about a 18" stainless steal spoon as another option.
In the end, I am probably going to get all this stuff and just using the gift certificate towards it, why? Why not? I am still interested in hearing some arguments for or against any of the items listed.
Cheers!
5 comments:
Get the spoon! You're going to need it for brewing a halfway decent IPA. Still, not even a stainless steel spoon will put you up for contention in the Regional Beer Wars. Game on, bitch.
"I'm going to carve your heart out with a spoon!"
Yea it's on like donkey Kong my little southern bitches.
A plastic spoon is useless. Get the stainless super long handled spoon (21"?). I really like how it cuts through the mash like a knife.
If you get a funnel, make sure it is the larger size, but unfortunately the diameter of the screen isn't any larger.
Though it is more difficult to get on and off, I'm using a brew hauler cause its much safer. However, I do use the orange handles to place a full carboy onto my skateboard. Then I just roll it to where I need it. Then I just lift it with that sissy handle straight up onto the counter top.
Anyways. Gotta have then all.
My take on the carboy handle (I have one that I don't use) is that if you use a carboy drying ring thing you have to take the handle on and off each time because it won't fit onto the drying ring. For that reason I tempt fate like a real man and bear hug those bitches. And I've only dropped one...and it sucked.
On second thought Ted's solution might be the best, the brew hauler might be the way to go.
I might have to get the funnel and strainer, my ghetto muslin bag over the funnel doesn't really work well. Don't buy the siphon/spraying nozzle for transfering the wort either. The siphon gunks up with hops quickly. And I think shaking the carboy aerates it fine.
ok asshat, i'm following you on twitter. we'll see if you have anything interesting to say.
Post a Comment