Starting Up...

Ok, so I'm in the middle of reading Papazian's book and I've been itching to get started with this. I'm thinking about what equipment to buy, and I was wondering what else I might need if I get this kit from AHS.

* 6.5 Gallon Glass Primary Fermenter
* 5 Gallon Glass Carboy
* Standard Universal Drilled Stopper
* 3/8-Inch Standard Auto-Siphon
* 6 Feet of Siphon Hose
* 3-Piece Airlock
* Nylon Grain Bag
* Triple Scale Hydrometer
* Floating Thermometer
* Spring Loaded Bottle Filler
* Bottle Capper
* Gold Bottle Caps
* 21" stainless Steel Spoon
* Cleaner/Sanitizer
* Beginner's Homebrew book
* Toll-Free Technical Support

I'm also picking up the Rogue Imperial IPA recipe kit for my first batch. Will that be pretty difficult for a novice? What other equipment should I be looking at getting (besides bottles, of course)? Thanks a lot!

This is highly debateable here, but I'd go with a 6.5 gallon plastic primary. Just easier to handle, use and clean. You got a brewing pot? Toss out the floating thermometer and get a better one. If your going to start with kits, which I would suggest, toss out the nylon grain sack, they will come with your kit, or should. Also the same with the bottle caps, comes with the kit most of the time. I'd also suggest a bottling bucket, that way you can use the primary for another batch once you ready to bottle post secondary.

All of your equipment looks good. That is a great place to start as long as you have a brewing pot. I don't know why you would want to get rid of anything either. You will end up using all of it. Just start with some kits and learn the basics, and then start making some of your won recipes.

It's really hard to say what a "basic" kit should be. One could always substitute or omit something.

I have like 6 primaries, 4 carboys, a dozen or so airlocks, many different bungs (for jugs too).

How about one of those plastic stands to place your hydrometer and therm in when taking samples? Better than tossing them into the brew for readings.

If you plan on using any grains I would recommend a nylon net that goes over the top of the fermenter to catch the grain and allow you to sparge (rinse) the grains off...(use clothes pins to hold the net in place because of the added weight of water and grains will force it into the bucket).

That 6' of syphon hose should be changed to about 10. Use some for your bottling wand and the autosyphon.

Bottle cleaning brush. I cut the loop off of mine so I can insert it into my drill for those tough ones.

John Palmer's How to Brew (1st Ed) book is also on-line FREE for your reading pleasure...

I don't see a bottling bucket on there. Bottling buckets are food-grade, just like the plastic primary you have listed, with a hole cut out for a spigot. You attach a hose to the spigot and the bottling wand to the hole and it makes bottling much easier than trying to siphon.

Some would tell you to get an autosiphon. Since you've got a carboy on the list, I'd buy a carboy cap. Not only can you use them to seal your carboy, you can use them to easily start a siphon either into or out of a carboy.

You need a couple racking canes to make moving the beer around easier.

If you're like most of us, you'll want to get another beer into your primary as soon as you've got the first moved to the secondary, so get yourself a second airlock (they're only a buck, you can't have too many).

Thanks for the responses, guys! Is it possible that it would be cheaper for me to go out and buy all of the components seperately?