help me choose a starting kit

wps-hbt
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
zachatola

zachatola

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
145
Reaction score
1
Location
Puyallup, WA
So being new to brewing i have many questions on many different things, but we all have to start somewhere and i want to make that first leap and get a starting kit that allows me to grow, but isnt something that will need to be replaced in a few months.

Ive decided on a glass 2 stage kit, as my first kit. Im just about through the "how to brew" book and realize that not all beers need the second stage but some can greatly benefit from its use. Glass i felt was a good choice since it doesn't scratch easy, and i can watch what is going on ( probably cause more questions than anything :) ).

I would like to ask the knowledge base here if the kit i have chosen is acceptable, or if there is a cheaper place to get the same quality or better? I am also wondering if there are other things needed that are not included in the kit. Such as a IC, thinking ill do a 7.5 gal brew pot and outdoor burner system, things of this type.

Here is the kit i am considering....
http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html

The Deluxe Starter Kit.

What do you guys think, any input would be great. Sorry for so many questions.
 
sorry guys, feel free to move this post to the beginners forum. Posted in the wrong place on my #3 post.....LOL man, im good :drunk:
 
Hmm ...

I started out with a kit similar to the glass one, and I think I paid $70ish for it at my LHBS. It didn't come with an autosiphon or any of the brushes, nor did it come with a capper. So I guess that looks like a good deal seeing that you get 2 carboys with it.

What you might want to do is check Craigslist and see if anyone is getting rid of carboys in your area? That way you can buy the cheaper kit and always upgrade with more carboys later ....
 
It's a good starter kit, I THINK it has an autosiphon....but everything else is exactly like my kit....Great way to start.

One thing you might want to consider, and it is a matter of prefrence, but a lot of us have gotten away from glass carboys, for various reasons, including safety...We've begun switching to the Better Bottle. I'd do a little digging on here, there's several threads discussing both the dangers of glass carboys, and how good the better bottles work...Use the search feature and take a look at those discussions...A lot of LHBS, and even a few mailorder places allow you to choose either the glass carboy, or the better bottle...

I only have one glass carboy, and the rest are BB's...Honestly I wish I had switched to the BB when I got my kit....I've had a few near misses with my glass one, I'm lucky I still have all my blood still in my body....

I'm trying more and more to use the glass one purely for longterm aging and storage of meads and barleywines, rather than short term conditioning...The less I handle the carboy, the better I feel...

Just a thought.

Welcome to the greatest obseesion you can have!!!!!!
 
The kit looks nice, the only thing I would maybe change is getting better bottles insted of the glass carboys.
 
Ive been looking more and more at the BB instead of the glass. Ive read a lot on them and i guess my only questions are........do they clean up easy, since i cant use a carboy brush on them, and do they give off flavors to the beer since i dont really want to ferment in a bucket. I noticed a couple of pictures of them in some other posts and i noticed the red silicon caps made for the carboys, will they fit a BB?
 
Yes, Better bottles are very easy to clean as krausen (basically dried yeast-foam) doesn't stick well on better bottles. and yes, the orange caps work fine, but all you really need is a #10 rubber stopper (you can also get that on Northern Brewer), and airlocks which are provided in your kit.

opaque white Bucket fermentation, IMHO, doesn't give off flavors to the beer. But with BB you just want to be careful that you keep it away from direct sunlight and prolonged UV exposure as both will skunk your beer.

Also remember that you need to make other purchases besides the ones listed on NB's or midwest or Austin homebrew supply's websites -- first you'll need your brewpot. Satinless Steel or aluminum usually. Try to get 6 gallon or more for extract.

Second, you will need a detergent and sanitizing agent. I think most people here will recommend both. I think Starsan advertises as both, so if you get that, you should be good (I might be wrong and I might get flamed for that, sorry). If not, oxiclean is a great detergent for removing particles like dry yeasties from better bottles, and iodophor is a good sanitizer.

I'm always astounded how little sanitizer basic kits provide even though every book/podcast/article/forum post obsesses about sanitization.

If you email NB or any of the others, they may switch out the glass carboys or fermenters with better bottles, if that's the route you want to go. Send an email to them, and let us know what they say for future reference.

I hope this helps.

-Edge
 
Oxyclean works great to clean any brewing equipment including betterbottles. I buy it bulk, so I'm not chintzy when it comes to using it, I dump several scoops in. It's fizzy-strong goodness! Just be sure to rinse thoroughly.
 
_Edge said:
Yes, Better bottles are very easy to clean as krausen (basically dried yeast-foam) doesn't stick well on better bottles. and yes, the orange caps work fine, but all you really need is a #10 rubber stopper (you can also get that on Northern Brewer), and airlocks which are provided in your kit.

opaque white Bucket fermentation, IMHO, doesn't give off flavors to the beer. But with BB you just want to be careful that you keep it away from direct sunlight and prolonged UV exposure as both will skunk your beer.

Also remember that you need to make other purchases besides the ones listed on NB's or midwest or Austin homebrew supply's websites -- first you'll need your brewpot. Satinless Steel or aluminum usually. Try to get 6 gallon or more for extract.

Second, you will need a detergent and sanitizing agent. I think most people here will recommend both. I think Starsan advertises as both, so if you get that, you should be good (I might be wrong and I might get flamed for that, sorry). If not, oxiclean is a great detergent for removing particles like dry yeasties from better bottles, and iodophor is a good sanitizer.

I'm always astounded how little sanitizer basic kits provide even though every book/podcast/article/forum post obsesses about sanitization.

If you email NB or any of the others, they may switch out the glass carboys or fermenters with better bottles, if that's the route you want to go. Send an email to them, and let us know what they say for future reference.

I hope this helps.

-Edge
Click to expand...

That's why i recommend Midwest. They have a kit for 160 that includes just about everything including a primary, secondary carboy, and a bottling bucket, a brew pot, two cases of bottles, and a beer kit (you have a choice between 3 different ones).
 

Similar threads

B
Newbie already made a mistake?
3 4 5
Replies
187
Views
6K
Bagarge
B
boolean
Best Beginner Starter Kit?
2 3
Replies
84
Views
4K
redrocker652002
R
F
no boil prehopped beer kits
4 5 6
Replies
231
Views
14K
Rish
R
W
First Time Beer Brewer - is this mold?
Replies
6
Views
565
hotbeer
hotbeer
The__Brit
Fuzzled in Florida.
Replies
2
Views
382
Sammy86
Sammy86

Latest posts

Back
Top