DIY'ing Brewing

I think that there's a pretty strong correlation between being an engineer and enjoying homebrewing. Part of the fun (at least in my book) is getting to build your own gear. Some of the nicer commercially produced stuff out there is pretty expensive but not all of it is as nicely made as the Blichmann stuff... So since I'm kind of cheap, have a pretty substantial collection of tools, and love making stuff, I've built or modified a decent amount of stuff at this point which I use on a regular basis. There's something particularly satisfying about not only making beer but making beer with a brewery you've assembled partially by hand.

To date (in rough chronological order) I've DIY'd the following:

• Wort Chiller (Bad design, ultimately replaced with a commercially made immersion chiller which I have plans to Jamil-ify this winter)
• Kegerator (With disconnects for Corney and Sankey kegs)
• 10 Gallon Rubbermaid cooler mash tun
• 5 Gallon Rubbermaid cooler HLT / sparge tank
• Hose-friendly water filter
• A Keggle

Over the next couple of weeks I'll post more in-depth articles on some of the above.