New brewer looking for first kit

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Unfortunately not because my card isn't working yet, but I can make purchases right now through Midwestsupplies through paypal. Thats why I was wondering if the micro brews had all of the ingredients. Then I could do a test batch before the individual ingredients from MoreBeer come in.
 
Ill order it anyway. Whatever Im missing Ill order from MoreBeer. I want it! :D
 
It wasn't just about ordering the kit. A lot of questions about ingredients were answered along with great tips.

I went with an amber ale and cream ale for my first brew. Will order more from morebeer once I use those up
 
Support responded and said that the 1 gallon micro brew kits come with all of the ingredients necessary to brew a batch of beer. So it looks like my purchase from more beer will be put on hold until later. Hopefully I'm not missing anything important. The only thing I can think of would be the Star San that I was going to order from more beer
 
It might be a while before I order from more beer. I want to go through the first two ingredient kits that I have first. One problem, I do not have star San. Is there a local store alternative? (I don't have a LHBS) Or am I forced to make a special order just for that?
 
The reusable nylon bag is likely your grain bag. If so you'll need a few muslin hop bags. I've heard of people using nylon panty hose in a pinch.

What I did in the beginning was to use bleach water. But you don't want it to sit in the plastic too long, an you need to make sure you rinse it VERY WELL. I don't recall the dilution ratio so you'll need to Google it.
 
I know your twelve pages deep and probably have had every suggestion in the world suggested but I always point people on a limited budget to my brew pot solution. $21 8 gallon aluminum tamale steamer from target. Im only 8 batches in but so far it has been great. I couldn't afford a $100 stainless pot and am very happy with my solution.
 
Yes. The site said the reusable nylon bag could be used for both grains and hops. I've also heard people say that it's better to use that instead because the muslin bag can leave small amounts of lint in your beer
 
What should I expect to pay for star san? I see a 16 ounce bottle for $19. Good deal?
 
Thanks for the info again. My Star san is on the way. Everything I need is on the way. I'll post back once I have it set up
 
It takes a bit of time to wash out the spent grains. It can be used for that purpose too, but you also generally have 2 or 3, if not more, hop additions. It'll take some time to chase down the bag, open it, and drop these pellets in. It's far more easy to have separate bags.

I had reusable hop bags, but one tore within several months. But, with all of the other things to clean, I gave up on hop bags, and just use muslin bags.

And what I do with them prior to dropping hop pellets in is to stretch it out a bit and shake it over the trash can, which will get rid of the few strings/lint.

I have one reusable hop bag now which I use for dry hop additions only.
 
And you read all 13 pages of it just so you could leave a silly comment?

No i read the 13 pages because i found it interesting info and useful.so what exactly your problem is i have no idea.sorry for posting i guess that was a mistake.
 
Yea me too haha. Looks like it was just a misunderstanding :)

Can't wait to start brewing!
 
My kit will finally arrive tomorrow! Hoping the star san (separate order) will also come then.I would hate to look at the kit and not be able to use it because I don't have sanitizer. :/
 
My kit is here and I just started brewing my first batch. It came with a little over 2 pounds of grain, but only called for 1.5 pounds. So that's all I put into the nylon bag. Does that matter? And will I be able to use it later to add flavor?

It also came with a 2 ounce pack of oxygen wash. So I should have enough sanitizer until I need to start bottling, right? My star sanitizer Will arrive in two to three days
 
I also realized I need a better thermometer. The one I have works fine, but will be the last time I use it. :) I need one with a clip.
 
If it came with all of that grain it ought to be used now. And now is when it'd need to be utilized for anything for your beer.

The sanitizer should be enough for now and bottling day. Might as well use it.
 
Just waiting for the wort to finish boiling. Will keep you updated on how everything turns out
 
Did you only use 1.5 lbs of the grains? Curious what your OG reading will be. It would also increase the IBU's.
 
The recipe called for 1.5 lbs so I didn't want to use the whole bag. (2.09lbs)
 
Hmm…They don't come with extra. I'm guessing the directions weren't right.

Did you take a gravity reading? If so what did it say? And what did you expect?
 
I have 0.59 lbs of grain left. The recipe also said to only use half of the yeast package then "either discard or make bread with it".

Another thing that threw me off were the yeast instructions. The recipe just said to add half the package, but on the yeast it said to mix it with water and leave it sit for maybe 15 minutes or so. I didn't do that part and just followed my beer recipe.

Everything seemed to go ok though. Other than the auto siphon not working.. My wort cooled down to about 55-60 degrees because the thermometer stopped working at 80. I reheated it a bit up to 65-70. I hope that was the right choice.

Now it's sitting in the carboy with a blanket around it to block the light
 
Unfortunately because of the problems I encountered I forgot to take a gravity reading.
 
Very strange directions. I've never heard of adding additional grains that aren't used. I think they all should have been used. Were they all mixed together in one bag?

The yeast I suppose I can understand. And pouring it in warm water first is called rehydrating. It wakes it up a bit before you pitch it in your beer. It isn't necessary, but helps speed up the process.

It was good to warm it back up. Was this before you pitched the yeast? Below 60* and you'll likely put them to sleep.

I still think it's going to be a lower gravity beer with more bitterness/IBU's. Hopefully it won't be too far out of whack. Guess you'll know soon enough...
 
I didn't add additional grains, only what the recipe called for at the start of the boil.
 
Yes I heated it before I pitched the yeast. My carboy started to bubble just two hours later.
 
If you wanted you could mash those grains and add it to your fermentor as fermentation begins to decline. It's what I'd probably do, but use minimal water so as not to water it down too much.

Were the grains all mixed in one bag or did they come separately? I assume it was all in one bag premixed.
 
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