Hello from Beaufort SC

NOOB here from Beaufort SC. Just moved here. Found this site this morning thanks to Google. I have been interested in homebrewing for a while now. Just did not have the time.

What equipment should I get to start? What ingredients are needed? Any locals that can recommend a good shop? I googled that as well, but only came up with a shop in Savannah.

Thanks in advance.

Bill

The shop in Savannah is really small, but the guy is nice.. I'm in Charleston and end up ordering from Northern Brewer.. They're beginners kit is just about all you'll need to get started, aside from a pot and chiller. Keep reading this forum, and then jump right in !! I read Palmer's How to Brew online, and went for all grain right from the start (I'm also a cheapskate and didn't spend much to get going) Consider moving outside right from the start with a turkey fryer. If you need a big pot, look into getting an empty keg from a scrapyard and converting it into a keggle... You'll probably end up making another for oysters when you see how nice it is !

Keep reading and good luck !

Sorry,

What is a keggle?

I already have several large pots. I cook alot. I have a 26 qt turkey frier pot and a ss 24 qt low pot. What do you use for a chiller?

Also forgot to ask which brew kit you got.

Bill

24qt ss pot will be good for "partial boils" - you basically make a really strong, small batch and add water afterward.

A keggle is a 15.5 gallon sanke keg (bud, miller light, keg party keg) with the top cut out, it basically makes a 15 gallon SS pot that's 1/8" thick for around $40 (a normal pot that size would cost $500+) There are tons of threads on here about how to go about cutting the hole, I used an angle grinder and it was really easy. You can even polish the crap out of them like BobbyM at BargainFittings and look at your face while you brew

I'd just get the basic beginners kit, it has enough of the small stuff that you need without spending the $ on stuff you don't.. there's nothing wrong with fermenting in buckets, and once you've got a couple of batches in, and more reading, you'll know exactly what you'll want to upgrade.

I built a counterflow chiller from some instructions I found on here, and it took a couple of hours, but only cost about $40.. I think they're far superior to immersion chillers. When I started, I didn't want to pony up the cash and "no-chilled" (there's a few threads to read more on here somewhere) It works pretty well, but I wouldn't go back !

Just read a lot on here, order a kit you like, and give it a shot !

Let me know how it goes !