Got a $200 gift certificate to the LHBS! What to buy?

So I finished college (only took me 5.5 years...I transferred schools), and my parents got me a gift certificate to the LHBS, Keystone Homebrew. I need some opinions on what to buy, because there's so much I could buy with it. Opinions?

Realll oak kegs... ohhhhh (makes the Homer noise) i envy you...

Cheers

I think the move I made that I've been most happy with was into kegging... 2nd would be AG

well, It's hard to say without knowing what kind of equipment you already have

I was happy with my progression into kegging and then into all grain. Do the same.

Bottling sucks.

Its either keggin or AG. I say AG for sure

I voted for AG, because 1) it's fun and 2) it'll keep your ingredient costs down so you can afford the kegs!

However, I would understand if you went with kegs first then AG.

AG sure doesn't cost $200.

Go kegging. AG can be bought a little at a time.

If you start kegging it is something that improve your experience with brewing. Instead of taking an hour or more to bottle a batch it only takes a few minutes to keg.
Going all grain is something that will improve your beers taste. But going all grain also adds more time to brew a beer. Where with extract it takes about an hour and a half, all grain can take four to five hours to brew a batch.
I started kegging before going all grain and it helped me to enjoy brewing more, I always used to dread bottling day.

I voted kegging setup...

However, depending on your LHBS's prices, it may be better to buy your ingredients at the LHBS and spend the $200 you save on a kegging setup...

There are some serious deals to be had (here and elsewhere) on cornys... forget $40 each at the LHBS.....

And AG can be done cheap... if ya feel like DIYing a bunch (I plan on it when I have the $$$ to DIY it... damn bills)

onejdn said:

well, It's hard to say without knowing what kind of equipment you already have

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Good point. My primary is a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket, I have a 3 gallon kettle, one 5.5 gallon glass carboy, everything else is pretty standard. I've done four extract batches and one batch of mead, using partial boils on the kitchen stove. They've turned out well.

I've read what everyone's said so far, and perhaps I'll stick to ingredients and the more hard-to-find aspects of a kegging set-up, like the CO2 system and taps, and use cash money for the kegs and a homemade kegerator (I have an old dorm fridge that I'm going to convert into a 2x2 corny keg cooler).

Screw that. Take your $200 and blow it at the strip club!

A wort chiller, grain and hops.

then buy a turkey fryer and convert a cooler to a MLT and youre in business

kegging. Definately. I had a setup very similar to yours (had two buckets and a 6 gal carboy, 5.5gal carboy, and 3gal pot) and will be putting together my AG rig (HERMS) this coming weekend. But my second 'expansion' was kegging -and it was easily the best decision I made. Now I ONLY bottle when I wish to take some to friends (though my doctor actually gets about a third of my product and its all bottles) -or if one turns out exceptionally well, I bottle it and store it for future (private) consumption.
One goal I have for next year is to get my doc to buy a regulator, bottle, and assorted hardware and let me make him a home-built kegerator, and put my bottles in storage. I dread bottling day -just takes so much time, I usually manage to make a small mess, and its just a hassle. I'm getting more corny kegs this next year as well (only have 6 right now -I'd like to double that). AG can be done piecemeal if you want.

All grain and then put the rest of your coupon towards a kegging setup.

AG doesn't cost all that much to start if you don't get a grain mill right away.

If you can get 70lb of hops for $200 you can re-sell it and make enough to get into kegging and get a ton of kegs as well as get a kick arse AG setup. I'm pretty sure that was in jest so I'd say you might be able to do both. Really going AG unless you go all out won't cost more than $100. I got my 120qt cooler for $50 (WalMart) and it might have cost me another $50 for copper and various fittings, valve, etc at Home Depot. Look for a co2 cylinder on craigslist, I see 5# tanks for $20-30 pretty often, just takes patience. Kegs can be had for $20 each, again just takes patience. The regulator can be had for $60 pretty easily. Then figure $20-30 or so for tubing and fittings for one or two kegs. You may have to kick in a little more than the $200, but I bet you could do both or at least get started on both. Get the expensive purchases for both, you will be motivated to get the rest in short order as you stare at it every day.

If your LHBS has stuff like a wort chiller then I totally agree with BeerPressure, get that and some grains and hops and you can start working on All Grain.

However, I voted for kegging. After bottling several batches I knew I was addicted but that once classes started I wouldnt have time for all that crap, so I bought some kegs. Dont buy them locally unless you can get the for around 25 bucks though! There are some great deals online!

mmb said:

AG doesn't cost all that much to start if you don't get a grain mill right away.

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You can do AG with a paint strainer bag if you have a big enough pot. You can even use a plastic bucket as a mash tun. Heck, I could mash in my kittie's litter box... if it was clean enough. (eww)

On the other hand, it's hard to keg beer using paint strainer bags or buckets or pots.

yeah it depends on what you are paying for the kegging stuff. but most LHBS can't give you a good price. I would shop around. I keep finding stuff on craigslist.

All grain is pretty easy to convert to for cheap. I suggest a cooler and "Brew In A Bag." Then I use two 20 quart stock pots for the boil. Because I had a cooler and 2 stock pots I moved to all grain for $3 (the price of the the "bag.") I grind my grain at the LHBS the day I brew.

I personally would buy a few 6.5 gallon carboys (if you can get them), a bench capper, and maybe a turkey fryer and big stock pot. That probably put me over $200.

I voted beginning of kegging, but only cause Chiller was not up there. Just look at your brew process from heating water to cracking open a beer. What is the most annoying aspect of it all? Mine was bottling, so I went to kegging, Now mine is chilling so my next big purcahse will be a better chiller than my 25'IC. I am already AG, that why I realized my 25'IC sucks. Kegging is nice, but warrants more purchased such as a kegerator. AG equipment is nice cause you're "brewing with the big boys", Ingredients are nice, because, well, this whole thing is about beer and that doesn't happen without ingredients.
So ask the following question : What do I dislike about brewing the most?
1) Bottling
2) Not brewing enough due to lack of ingredients
3) Not having complete control over my Mash and recipe (Going AG)
4) Or any other aspect of the process like me such as chilling.

Look at it this way. You go kegging as awesome as it will be your brewing process is not going to change you just get to be lazier and trust me it is great. If you go AG you can brew almost anything. The sky is the limit on your recipes and what you can do creatively.

I was going to buy me a 2 tap kegerator system but the latest twists in US economy last week changed my mind. I will wait until I get my tax return and do it right after the 1st. I had a lot of writeoffs this year and I hope that my tax return will hopefully break 5 digits (1st time ever and due to paying real estate taxes in 2 states, writeoffs on renovations of rental property, investment losses, etc). By my calculations everything would come out close to 1000$ but I was planning on getting a premade 6.4 cf kegerator not really do DIY.

Since Costco sold out the kegerator I wanted to get within days now I have my eyes on similar one at Beverage Factory. Kegging is definitely my next project

If you shop craigslist properly, you can build a functioning keezer/kegerator for 200 bucks. Just have one tap and add more later.

If you can get hops for 2.85 per pound then blow every dime on that and then some

I voted for AG. However, I am thinking if your LHBS has decent prices you might be able to get the kegging equipment you need and still get yourself a big brewpot. That way you could start into DeathBrewer's Easy Partial Mash or even his stove top AG brewing method.

Schwind said:

If you shop craigslist properly, you can build a functioning keezer/kegerator for 200 bucks. Just have one tap and add more later.

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I am an apartment brewer, my kegerator will be in the living room and I want it to look nice and I am only getting it in stainless steel to match my custom designed kitchen. I am sure you can significantly lower the cost by getting a cheap or free fridge from CL. I just cant picture a big white with yellow spots thing in the middle of my living room I'd rather wait and buy it once but do it proper. Not to mention an old fridge thats not energy efficient can actually waste more money in electricity. Lets say you get a 10 year old fridge for free on CL that eats up $5/month more then a EE one. $5 x 12 = $60/year

Pivzavod said:

I am an apartment brewer, my kegerator will be in the living room and I want it to look nice and I am only getting it in stainless steel to match my custom designed kitchen. I am sure you can significantly lower the cost by getting a cheap or free fridge from CL. I just cant picture a big white with yellow spots thing in the middle of my living room I'd rather wait and buy it once but do it proper. Not to mention an old fridge thats not energy efficient can actually waste more money in electricity. Lets say you get a 10 year old fridge for free on CL that eats up $5/month more then a EE one. $5 x 12 = $60/year

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I have never seen a consumer kegerator with an energy star logo. All kegerators are about the same. A ten year fridge will be better than most of your consumer level mini-fridges and kegerators. A 20 year old fridge is a different story.

Even if we assume you are right a $300 kegerator (try to find a new one that cheap) would take 5 years to equal the same as a free fridge. In 5 years it could be broke.

I am sorry if that sounds mean. I am drunk, and i am a mean drunk.

Ok, the 70 pounds of hops was an exaggeration

I forgot about a wort chiller! I wanted to try to make one, but I'd most likely $@%^ it up and end up harming myself. Maybe a wort chiller, ingredients for my Belgian Tripel and a good English brown ale and a 6.5 glass fermenter will suit me well. And I'll just piece together a kegging set-up with cash money, which seems to be the consensus on how to get one.

I got my kegging setup from adventuresinhomebrewing.com They have it listed now for 89 bucks, and you can get the 4 lb c02 tank for 35.00. So you would be all set for 124 bucks.

Guys, he has a Gift Certificate to his LHBS not $200 in cash so suggestions he shops here or there online really isn't helping him much. Their on-line site is a bit thin, their homebrew kegging kit is $199.95 but it doesn't look like you get much for that. I vote ingredients.