Newbie here!! looking for a homebrew kit!

wondering what the most complete (best?) kit is for under 75$- by the way- this is an awesome forum!

Northern Brewer has a good one for about that price.

I got the Northern Brewer Deluxe Starter Kit for $139 plus shipping. I consider it a very good deal for all you get. The basic kit at NB is $62 plus shipping looks very good for the price too.

I'm very pleased with my experience with the folks at NB.

More Beer has a basic kit that looks quite similar to the NB kit. $69 and free shipping.

I started with the basic kit from Strange Brew, which is near me. They have a couple levels that add other bits and pieces. It has been great to me. I have since added carboys, etc.

See if you have a Local Home brew Supply Shop.

that'll save shipping and allow for return trips if you're missing something.

Actually, the free shipping on the More Beer kit combined with an HBS for local augmentation is an attractive route.

kits are great but go with glass carboys for primary and secondary fermentation..6.5 for primary and 5 gal for secondary...you will be hooked when you watch all the yeasties doing there job..thats part of the fun.

revrand65 said:

kits are great but go with glass carboys for primary and secondary fermentation..6.5 for primary and 5 gal for secondary...you will be hooked when you watch all the yeasties doing there job..thats part of the fun.

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That is definitely true. I sit mesmerized for minutes at a time staring at the amazing whirl of frenetic activity in my carboy when the fermentation kicks in. I imagine I'm looking into the primordial soup of 3.8 billion years ago, just after the serendipitous events that yielded life, cells capable of replicating themselves. It is fascinating.

But, to stay under $75, he'll have to defer the glass carboy initially. By the time you add the cost of an extract ingredient kit to the basic beer making kit, you're pushing $100. A plastic fermentation bucket makes a lot of sense under those circumstances.

well- i'm looking now at the deluxe kit from northern brewer ($139). its all a christmas present so there isnt toooo much of a price cap. from what i understand i'm definately gonna need a kettle. so that brings the price to about $200. but thats ok in my book. i'm definately more interested in glass though- cleanliness and interesting sights. keep me posted guys and thanks for your help!

Austin Homebrew Supply has a good kit and has some upgrades that I got. These guys are really nice and easy to work with. Here is a link:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_52&products_id=400

GTFF

For about $100, Midwest has some nice options. They have cheaper ones too, but like others have mentioned, it's fun to watch the activity

mattsredfocus said:

well- i'm looking now at the deluxe kit from northern brewer ($139). its all a christmas present so there isnt toooo much of a price cap. from what i understand i'm definately gonna need a kettle. so that brings the price to about $200. but thats ok in my book. i'm definately more interested in glass though- cleanliness and interesting sights. keep me posted guys and thanks for your help!

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Kettles get expensive fast. For now I would suggest buying a trukey fryer and using the kettle that comes with that until you either can afford to buy a new one -OR- you decide you like brewing enuff that you dont mind spending money on a good one.