What was your first setup?

what was the first setup you used if you can recall...I will soon start learning to brew my own beer, and I was just wondering if any of you could give me any tips or have any of your own mistakes I might heed my first brew. Also, any literature, videos, etc. you might have to recommend would be great. There is so much out there, and I have no idea where to start. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to HBT!
I'll always recommend The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian. It is a great book for beginners and he really makes home brewing fun.

For equipment I suggest you use a basic kit with plastic bucket fermenters. They are much easier to use so it makes the process more fun for your first few brews. They have spigots on them so you don't have to siphon. You can always get carboys later as your brewing expands. Start collecting non twist off bottles now so you don't have to buy them new. This will save you some bucks.

Let us know what you decide and how your first brew goes.

Look up midwest supplies, they have a DVD that they give free with order. it helps, also check out Bobby_M's videos on youtube
I suggest getting a upgraded kit with a secondary, it will make a better beer and plus you dont want the primary tied up for that long! I started out with the basic stuff (4 batches ago) and and have since added alot more stuff. check out www.howtobrew.com . after my first batch I built a wort chiller, I think it's a must have! 2 1/2 hours opposed to 20mins is a no brainer. it costed me 20 bucks to make here is another usefull link. http://www.allaboutbeer.com/homebrew/equip/chiller.html

Also read up on sanatizing, and don't stress your self out wondering if you did it right. rember it's just beer! I tend to over analyze and that was the worst part about it. "relax and have a beer" is key from what I have learned

I would recomend lurking around the forums. I have learned a ton just reading others stories about things they did wrong or right.

I will second reading www.howtobrew.com and the complete joy of home brewing as well, my copy is in the mail.

For equipment I would check out www.midwestsupplies.com, www.northernbrewer.com, or www.austinhomebrew.com. I can not speak for the others, but austin home brew(AHB) has been great for me. One rate shipping and great customer service. They also do price matching. Look into their starter kits and decide how much you want to spend on one. I am sure you will be happy if you go with any of those three companies.

I think the most important tip is RDWHAHB - RELAX DONT WORRY have a home brew!

Welcome to the forums!

I would say that for your first beer, make sure it is a decent recipe or a kit. All malt. The one they gave me when I purchased all my equipment was a can of extract and 4 pounds of corn sugar. If you make one of those, you'll be wondering what the hell everyone is talking about and why they still brew there own beer.

Go with something like this equipment kit

And an recipe kit from Midwest.

Stick with the basic approach. All the equipment in a starter kit will be put to good use as long as you brew. Nothing will be obsolete if you decide to grow your hobby.

My first setup was a starter kit from a local shop....I am still using the majority of it over ten years later. 75 bucks well spent.

Ignoring the BrewS(u)ck, my first kit was the intermediate with buckets from Williams, plus a turkey burner and pot. I've kegged right from the beginning. First, the 5L minis & about 6 months later cornies & a kegger.

my first setup was a 1gallon jug of apple juice, 3 lbs of honey, and bread yeast...hiding in my closet when I was 17.
No airlock, and it was a GLASS jug. I'd vent it 4 times a day to prevent an explosion.

VERY stupid...but I was a 17 year old eager to make mead (I was in the SCA at the time)

My first setup was a plastic trash bin as a fermenter, a hammer actuated capper, a rubber bung and an air-lock. (The bung and airlock were used to make a starter from a bottle of naturally conditioned beer.) Everything else was borrowed from the kitchen.

-a.

david_42 said:

I've kegged right from the beginning. First, the 5L minis & about 6 months later cornies & a kegger.

Click to expand...

oooooohhhhhhhh, (on hands & knees bowing down)

I'm now worthy, I'm not worthy!

That's rockin from the get go!

:rockin:

First I had a pair of food grade buckets that came in a "kit" - from which I only use the hydrometer these days. Then I got a Better Bottle. It was better, but not good enough. So I built stuff. I'm quite happy with the DIY route, but I know it's not for everyone.

Lately I've been recommending the intermediate kit from Midwest Brewing. I think it's the best bang for the buck out there when it comes to startup kits.

A 4 gallon pot from Walmart and a starter kit from More Beer.
I highly recommend that you get a starter kit from a good
brew supplier, either online or locally. Oh, start with a
beer kit. The kits usually come with a great one page set
of instructions too. I started with a recipe and didn't really
know what I was doing. Now, with 9 beers under my belt,
I at least have a basic idea.

If you want "how to" video's check out youtube some of the guys around here have videos on there. You need to avoid a lot of the ones on youtube though, look up both Yuri Rage and Bobby_m on here and in their sigs are links to good videos. There are some others too but i can't remember right now.

Cheers

My first set up was a 5g pot for boiling and two carboys scored off of craigslist. Picked the rest of the essentials up at the local homebrew store.

In addition to Papzian and Palmer's www.howtobrew.com, the podcasts/videos at basic brewing radio are very good and range in level from begginner to advanced topics.