First Time Brewer, Which Kit to Buy?

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Raider21

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Good morning fellas,

I am looking for some suggestions on picking a brewing kit. Planning to spend between $150 and $300. I have found several kits, shown below, but don’t know about the quality or the advantages of one over the other. Any feedback on the following kits, or recommendations of another manufacturer would be greatly appreciated.
Oscar

Here's what I've found in my price range:
Austin Homebrew Supply Deluxe Brewing Kit - $240.49
The kit includes:
• 7.9 gallon plastic primary fermenter
• Your choice of a 5 gallon glass or plastic carboy secondary fermenter. See menu below.
• 3-piece airlock
• 3/8" standard auto-siphon
• 6 feet of 3/8" siphon hose
• Spring-loaded bottle filler
• Nylon grain bag
• 21" stainless steel spoon
• Triple scale hydrometer
• Fermtech Thief
• Floating thermometer
• 7 gallon bottling bucket w/spigot
• Bottle capper
• Bottle caps
• Cleaner/Sanitizer
• 33' wort chiller
• Faucet adapter
• Advanced Homebrewing Book
Toll-Free Technical Support

Brewers Best Advanced Home brewing system $169.95
Beer Making Plus Kit with Secondary Fermenter and Ingredients
Includes:
• 6.5 gallon fermenter with lid
• 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with spigot
• Two 3 piece air-locks
• One-step sanitizer
• Siphon unit (racking cane, 4 ft. hose & springless bottle filler)
• Crystal thermometer
• Triple scale hydrometer
• Bucket clip
• Quality bottle capper
• 50 Bottle Caps
• Bottle brush
• "Home Beer Making" book
• 21" Stainless steel spoon
• Fermtech Auto-Siphon
• John Palmer's "How to Brew"
• 5-gallon Better-Bottle plastic carboy
• Rubber stopper
• Your choice of one Alpine Brew Kit
• Step-by-step instructions


Midwest Homebrewing Supplies - $169.
The Complete Brewing Package Equipment Kit #2 with Irish Red Ale Includes:
• Instructional Homebrewing Video or DVD
• 71 page instructional book
• 5 Gallon Glass Carboy
• 6.5 Gallon Plastic Fermenter with Lid
• 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
• 8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
• Drilled Universal Carboy Bung
• Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter)
• Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content)
• Bottle Brush
• Carboy Brush
• Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper
• Bottle Caps
• Liquid Crystal Thermometer
• Bottle Filler
• Fermtech AutoSiphon upgrade
• Siphon Tubing
• Shutoff clamp
• A 5-gallon Stainless Steel Brew Kettle
• Irish Red Ale Recipe Kit
• And 2 cases of 12 ounce bottles
 
The brewers best is WAAAAAAAAAAY overpriced. I got a similar one for about $70. The other two look good though.

The main things you need are:
1) Aluminum or stainless brew pot
Size is up to you but if you have any trouble deciding or want to use it as you get more advanced I would get at least 8 gallon
2) Plastic or glass fermenter with airlock-6.5 gallons or more
3) Bottling bucket with spigot
Not required but a huge help
4) SANATIZER (you can use bleach and vinegar safely diluted in water)
4) Siphon tubing and bottle filler
5) Capper and caps
6) Utensils and measuring devices-thermometers, HYDROMETER, stirring spoon, etc


Everything else is just toys that make the process easier or more fun. You can collect your own bottles or ask a bar/resturant/party venue for their empties.

I would personally reccomend piecing together your own kit with a brewpot add-on or buy your own from a resturant supply store, or like many of us, get a used or new turkey fryer. I personally prefer aluminum brewpots so I am going to upgrade with one from a resturant/food service supplyer. A secondary is not typically necesary and I am glad I spent money initial buying more fermenters and waiting for a carboy to pop up on craigslist for $10
 
The Austin kit looks WAY overpriced as well. The midwest one looks by far the best considering the price and that it also comes with a brew pot which the others don't. I'd go with that one or put one together yourself.
 
The Austin kit looks WAY overpriced as well. The midwest one looks by far the best considering the price and that it also comes with a brew pot which the others don't. I'd go with that one or put one together yourself.

Our kit ships for FREE. You have to add the fact that Midwest will charge you $40 to ship the kit to you. If you still think you will get a better deal at Midwest let me know. Send me a PM.
 
besides free shipping the austin kit also comes with a wort chiller unlike the others. only other thing you'll need is a kettle and I'd get at least an 8 gallon
 
Gents,
Thanks for all the feedback. I'd like to build my own kit, but can't seem to find a homebrew store in northern Virginia area. Where do the experts shop near Fredericksburg, VA?
r,
Oscar
 
+1 on germelli's first response to this post. keep it simple. you do not need to spend anywhere near 300 for equipment for your first batch. people do, but to me, it seems like you get a better feel for the basics by keeping it simple. for your first brew, personally, i'd stay away from anything called "deluxe." that is a word the marketing people of the world just love but means nothing. kettle (aluminum or steel). water. dry yeast. malt extract. hops (pellet or whole). long spoon. primary fermenter. priming container with spigot. basic kitchen strainer. siphon hose. that is ALL you need to be successful on your first try. there is a lot more that you will want on batch 2 but it's better to start with the bare minimum and then figure out for yourself what stuff will help next time. $100-$125 is all you need to brew a great 1st batch, equipment and ingredients included.
 
I am not pushing Austin but they have some good items in there. I built my own, but for a one-fits-all kit I would go with Austin.
.
 
also...you don't need a friggin wort chiller. if you've got a tub, water, and 2 bags of ice, that is fine. worry about the chiller in a few years after you've brewed a few batches.
 
If Austin's kit came with a 8gal pot as well, then it would probably be quite a good deal. But they're out of a lot of pots right now. (As are many other places for some odd reason, so it's not just them.) But I like the idea of keeping it simple for a while. After my first batch I've started to pick up the things that I felt would many things easier for tomorrow's second batch. It's way easy to get caught up in wanting all the gadgets folks talk about on here. Part of me worries about having too much equipment taking away some of the fun. ymmv
 
@baystatebrew Totally agree. I cleaned out Kmart today on ice cube trays (seriously). Bought ten to add to the four I already had. Been making ice all afternoon. :)
 
Our kits are just a guideline. You can buy individual parts as well and save money.

Forrest
 
The Natural Path brew shop is in Fredericksburg at 4413 lafaette blvd. They have kits real cheap. If you pm me I can hook you up with a old 15 gallon keg pretty cheap and you can make your own kettle.
 
also...you don't need a friggin wort chiller. if you've got a tub, water, and 2 bags of ice, that is fine. worry about the chiller in a few years after you've brewed a few batches.

of course you don't need a wort chiller but I'll tell ya what, after using one you'll never go back. just like you don't NEED a car, there's always the bus, or a horse...
 
Gents,
Thanks again for all the great feedback and I think I would like to try and build my own, but for the first batch, I think a kit might reduce the guesswork. Here's the latest kit I'm looking at. One of the challenges is S&H. If I order them individually, the S&H will add up. Any feedback on this kit would be greatly appreciated.
r,
Oscar

Northern Brewer Deluxe Beer Starter – 159.99 + S&H
Six gallon carboy (your choice of glass or plastic)
Six gallon bottling bucket with spigot
Funnel
Blowoff hose
Fermentation lock and bung
Siphon tubing
AutoSiphon
Bottle filler
Bottle brush
Carboy brush
Bottle capper
144 bottle caps
Beer thief
Thermometer
Hydrometer
8 oz Easy Clean Sanitizer
Complete instructions
Five gallon carboy (your choice of glass or plastic)
2 x Fermometer
Extra fermentation lock
Carboy dryer
Bottle capper (upgrade to red "Emily" capper)
Test jar

NOT INCLUDED:
Ingredients
A Brew Kettle
Empty Bottles -
 
I still think that price is way to high for what you are getting. It would be best if you could order from a vendor like Austin Homebrew or some place that offers flat rate shipping. Plus they give you free shipping on any order over $100
 
Ingredients
A Brew Kettle
Empty Bottles

These things are normally not bundled in a kit but are important. For a first extract brew you can get away with a 5 gallon canning pot you picked up for $20-$30 at Walmart or find for cheaper. Kettles really are a matter of preference and not a one size fits all solution. Ingredients are as easy as moving over to the kit section and adding one to your cart. Empty Bottles is the fun part. Find a beer you will drink that is in glass pop top bottles and enjoy a few while brewing. Then keep drinking for the next couple of weeks until you have enough bottles. If you don't think you can accomplish this you will have time while the beer is fermenting to order bottles.
 
MoreBeer!'s kits come with bottles and an ingredient kit, plus they are shipped free. You can upgrade the kettle as well, if you wish.

Each place has their own kit, and once you factor in shipping, selection, and amount of items you get for the cost, we are all pretty much the same. Buy what you will be happy with.
 
My choice:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/COMP...serID=3479508&jsessionid=d8305989bada14725662

brewery-complete.jpg
 
+1 for the Williams kit. Gives you a great place to start for extract brewing. Really happy with it and the Amarillo Ale kit didn't turn out half bad either.

Judging from other stuff I've purchased at Austin and Nothern Brewer, I'd say you're likely to find quality products at those sites too!
 
What I did when I started and I don't regret a bit, in fact, I actually recommend beginners to do the same is to buy the coopers kit:

http://www.makebeer.net/kit.asp

This costs $99, which is much cheaper than other kits out there. The best thing about this kit is the fermenter, which is way better than any of the plastic buckets or glass carboys included in other kits from the big homebrew suppliers. The fermenter is huge, so it brews 5 gallons of any wort type without any risk of overflow or explosion. The fermenter also has a nice spigot with sediment reducer that will save you from buying a siphon for bottling (if you decide to use a bottling bucket). You can add other things to the kit as needed but the most important stuff comes included.

BTW, I do not work for coopers or makebeer.com, but the coopers fermenter is really the best I have seen. I love mine.
 
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