Advice needed for first equipment purchase.

Hey Guys,i am thinking about buying some equipment to try my hand at brewing some beer.I know i do not want to bottle,or transfer to a secondary so here is what I'm thinking about buying.From my few nights of research i "Think" this kit will save me a lot of hassle.

http://www.learntobrew.com/store/item/2yu41/-_Equipment_Kits/Conical_Fermentation_Beer_Kit_with_Kegerator.html

The link appears to be down at the moment, so it's hard to say if that's a good way to go or not

Yup,the site is down now.Please take a look later.

Jason.

sorry to hijack your thread but i too have an equipment purchase question

i found a local beer store - only one in my city that sells just brewing stuff.

anyhoot

i was going to get a floating thermometer and a big grain bag.

someone told me before i do anything i should either buy or make a counterflow wort chiller before i buy anything else

said it would be the ebst investment and the key to making good beer.

comments?

Conical plus kegerator? Sounds good, but pricey! Pity link is down.



@Homeless: If you are doing extract: Not required. If you are doing all grain: Nice, but an immersion chiller works too. Really depends on what else you have/budget/skills etc.

FYI: link appears to be back up, worked for me, I am to new to give advice.

if you have the money go for it, you will probably add small bits of equipment along the way but thats not a big deal.

The site you linked to suggests that contamination is a real reason to go with their set up. True, but overstated.

Personally I am not afraid of to transfer beer and do so with glass carboys. In fact, I at times have four or five different styles of beer in various stages of fermenting or hanging out. Carboys can be found on Craig's list fairly cheaply.

Take a deep breath and a step back....then, think about what you want to do with the hobby and purchase for the long term. You do not want to buy equipment two times.

Do though be prepared to pick up equipment every now and then. It is a hobby that never appears to be, "done".


Good luck and enjoy.

The kit looks pretty decent although you'll still need a good brew pot,not to mention a fridge/freezer to convert into a keezer/kegerator.

I agree with Gammon. It's a good idea to think about where you want to take this hobby. If you have a friend with some equipment, maybe brew a few batches and see what you think. If you enjoy it and want to persue it, try to buy equipment that will compliment your brewery's expansion in the future.

Can I suggest getting a kit with a tap you can mount to the outside of the fridge?

Having to open the fridge every time you want to pour a beer will make it damn near impossible to keep a steady temperature inside the fridge.

Gammon N Beer said:

The site you linked to suggests that contamination is a real reason to go with their set up. True, but overstated.

Personally I am not afraid of to transfer beer and do so with glass carboys. In fact, I at times have four or five different styles of beer in various stages of fermenting or hanging out. Carboys can be found on Craig's list fairly cheaply.

Take a deep breath and a step back....then, think about what you want to do with the hobby and purchase for the long term. You do not want to buy equipment two times.

Do though be prepared to pick up equipment every now and then. It is a hobby that never appears to be, "done".


Good luck and enjoy.

Click to expand...

+1 I agree with this post. The risk of contamination -provided that standard cleaning and sanitizing procedures are followed- is greatly overstated on that web site. I have been brewing by totally conventional methods for over two years, have done around 50 x 5 gallon batches, and have yet to contaminate anything.

Ok,Thanks guys.I'm going to have to think about this.If i do decide to start with a few batches in buckets or carboys what else should i buy for equipment.I'm definitely going with the keg so i will not need any bottling stuff,just thermometers,siphons and stuff like that.

Jason.

What do think of this setup???:

http://new.midwestsupplies.com/everything-complete-brewing-package-equipment-kit.html
AND
http://new.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-dual-tap-draft-system-with-reconditioned-co2-tank.html

For $360 you are getting a LOT of equipment. A bucket for primary fermenting, a bucket for seconday/bottling, an extract kit, 4 gallon brew kettle, 48 bottles, bottling equipment, TWO 5 gallon kegs with CO2 and hoses.
Personally I couldn't live without bottling. Kegs seem nice to me, but what happens when you want to give away some homebrew or trade? You have to drink ALL your beer before you can refill it.. With bottles you can just throw a dozen in the closet and forget about them. I have 3 brews and 1 apple wine in bottles right now. I'd hate to think of how much that would cost me to have all of those in kegs. I don't even consider myself a serious brewer either. I'd just rather have a great selection.

You got a point about the bottles.I may just buy a complete equipment kit and add a keg later.

Jason.

If you have the money, I would go for the keg while you're in the buying mood! Some day I will get one. Some day.......
I'm not experienced with it, but I have heard of people force carbonating in the keg and then fill up some bottles with it. Fill up a couple six packs.

I have the money,It's just trying to figure out what to buy is the hard part.Lots of choices for someone that has only been researching it for a few nights.

Start reading here...
http://www.howtobrew.com/
This will give you an idea of exactly which direction you need to go. And he gives a lot of equipment info as well.
As far as where to buy, two regulars here can fix you up. Ed at Brewmasters Warehouse and Forest at Austin Homebrew Supply for pretty much everything. Keg Connection has good pricing and excellent customer service. They are on HBT as well.

Well, get what you want, and will be happy with. It's up to you.

But some good people here have voiced their thoughts and good ones they are.

Here is what I got first off.

2ea 6gal bucketts
1 glass carboy (2ndary)
Racking cane and hoze,
Air lock and stopper
Floating therm
hydromiter and flask for taking SG.
2 Keg 5lbCO2 system for kegerator.
Turkey fryer (7.5 gal al pot)

I since added a 5 gal cooler for (hot water), which I will be using for my first AG Mash Friday.

I also use a 3 gal Spag pot for heating water on the stove for Steeping.

Cheap and easy way to start, some key things to think about.

"Full Boil" is important for best flavor and Hop utilization.
Kegging solves the issues of infection in individual bottles... just think 54 12oz bottles for a 5 gal beer batch is a lot of bottles to get spotless clean to avoid infection... then there is the issue of individual carbonation of each bottle.. or 1 keg... cleaned well and CO2 adjustability.

But again, its your $$$ do what ever makes you happy.

Oops forgot.. I.C. for getting the wort down in temp. Didn't have it for my first brew but chilled with the snow outside... not easy so it was a no-brainer addition.

I would definitely upgrade to an auto-siphon. It makes life so much better

IceFisherChris said:

I would definitely upgrade to an auto-siphon. It makes life so much better

Click to expand...

The Fermtech Autosiphon came with my Midwest Intermediate Kit. It is, beyond a doubt, one of the most useful brewing accessories ever.

Yay!!!..I finally decided and ordered a bunch of stuff!!.Here is what i ordered,i Don't think I'm missing anything,if you notice anything let me know.

http://new.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-intermediate-kit-w-two-5-gallon-glass-carboys.html

http://new.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-dual-tap-draft-system-with-reconditioned-co2-tank.html

http://new.midwestsupplies.com/honey-porter.html

I'd say that's a great starter set! ...better than what I started with for sure.

Good Luck. You'll have to let us know what you think of the new set up after the first brew.

That kit is great, it is what I started out with. It definitely gives you room. Primary a beer for a week or two and throw it in a carboy until you have time to bottle it. I actually got a dented carboy (THANKS FEDEX) and emailed Midwest and recieved a brand new better bottle. So now I have 3

Those are good choices, really like the beer selection. Just wondering why you went with the kegs right out of the gate? I'm not trying to say you shouldn't, its just a question. When I started, I just did bottles. I just purchased beers that came in brown pop top bottles, cleaned them up, filled them up, capped them up, and drank them up.

I plan on having lots of beer around,hopefully multiple fermentation's at once.I drink a lot.I did not want to spend half my life bottling and get sick of it.Now from what i understand i can just force carbonate in the keg and fill some bottles when need be.Sounds way easier to me.I'm sure i will have to add a few more kegs too.

Addicted said:

I plan on having lots of beer around,hopefully multiple fermentation's at once.I drink a lot.I did not want to spend half my life bottling and get sick of it.Now from what i understand i can just force carbonate in the keg and fill some bottles when need be.Sounds way easier to me.I'm sure i will have to add a few more kegs too.

Click to expand...

That a great idea.

Excellent
Bottling does suck and I am jealous that you are starting out with a kegging system. What kind of refrigeration setup are you going to have?

I plan to use a fridge,a buddy of mine should be able to get me one free.