Need help picking out a kit for a Christmas gift

Hi, I'm trying to find a Christmas gift for my dad. The problem is he won't give me any ideas and he doesn't really have any hobbies. He has mentioned that he would like to try brewing beer. Usually I would do my own research but I'm running out of time to get him a gift so I might ask a couple stupid questions.

First can someone recommend a good kit? Or should I just buy the pieces I need separately?

I would like to keg the beer. He has a kegerator that fits the short quarter barrel kegs but he doesn't use it because he can't find the beer he likes in the short kegs. I think it will fit a 5 gallon homebrew keg though. What will I need to keg the beer besides the keg itself? I see kegging kits but they usually come with the co2 tank and everything and already has that.

I would appreciate any help.

Focus your energy on brewing the beer first. Commercial home kegging set ups do not generally fit home brew kegs.

I'd go to Midwest supplies www.midwestsupplies.com and pick a pre-built kit. Might as well get a recipe kit while you're at it. Until he gathers all the equipment needed, stick with extract (stove top) recipes. Pay a bit extra for shipping and you can probably get everything in time for Christmas.

How much do you want to spend? You can get into extract brewing for $300. Add another $250 if you want to keg.

Look here:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/equipment-kits.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits
http://www.kegcowboy.com/index.php

$300 for the only boil kettle he will ever need (for extract) http://www.centralrestaurant.com/Stock-Pot---53-Qt-Intrigue-Stainless-Steel-c81p11342.html

$80 for the burner http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/kab4_banjo_burner.htm

Then there is the brewing library....

Papazian - http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Papazian/e/B000APNS36
Palmer - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...r+how+to+brew&sprefix=john+palmer+how+to+brew
Zainasheff - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381926/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

BierMuncher said:

Focus your energy on brewing the beer first. Commercial home kegging set ups do not generally fit home brew kegs.

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Looking at his kegerator, it would be tight but I think it will fit a 5 gallon homebrew keg. I was thinking I could just get a homebrew keg and use that instead of bottles since he already has the kegerator. Or is there more to it then that? What would I need besides the keg and some kind of adapter to fit his hoses?

BierMuncher said:

I'd go to Midwest supplies www.midwestsupplies.com and pick a pre-built kit. Might as well get a recipe kit while you're at it. Until he gathers all the equipment needed, stick with extract (stove top) recipes. Pay a bit extra for shipping and you can probably get everything in time for Christmas.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll look at those kits.

Dunerunner said:

How much do you want to spend? You can get into extract brewing for $300. Add another $250 if you want to keg.

Look here:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/equipment-kits.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits
http://www.kegcowboy.com/index.php

$300 for the only boil kettle he will ever need (for extract) http://www.centralrestaurant.com/Stock-Pot---53-Qt-Intrigue-Stainless-Steel-c81p11342.html

$80 for the burner http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/kab4_banjo_burner.htm

Then there is the brewing library....

Papazian - http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Papazian/e/B000APNS36
Palmer - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...r+how+to+brew&sprefix=john+palmer+how+to+brew
Zainasheff - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381926/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Click to expand...

I was hoping to not spend that much since I don't know if he will really get into brewing. He already has a stainless steel pot and a propane burner.

I was thinking of getting one of the cheap kits like this one:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html

It says "You still need an ingredient kit, at least a 4 gallon brew pot, beer bottles, and a thermometer." He already has a pot, a thermometer and I believe a glass carboy. So I guess I would just need an ingredient kit and some bottles or a keg. Or would I need something else?

If you get that kit, and an ingredient kit you should be good to go. I would say get him some bottles and not fool around with the keg for now. That might be more than you want to spend, and would perhaps complicate things more than you want to.

+1 on the kit and an extract recipe. Good gift for someone who doesnt know if he is gonna keep brewing, but I bet he will. Still, kit and recipe first and watch the magic start!

Yeah it seems to take in most people. We got my brother a Mr. Beer last Christmas and he really loved it. Fast forward a couple months later and my fiance got me a kit. It's been a whirlwind of bad decisions ever since then!

If your dad hasn't done it before then go with a simple 5 gallon kit or to make it even more simpler, go with Mr. Beer. They make decent beer, effectively, and everything is right in front of you.

ercscotty said:

if your dad hasn't done it before then go with a simple 5 gallon kit or to make it even more simpler, go with mr. Beer. They make decent beer, effectively, and everything is right in front of you.

Click to expand...

+1

Highly recommend this kit:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/HOME_BREWERY_WITHOUT_KIT_P680C73.cfm

NO SIPHONING required. Makes it easy.

NRS