First Set of Equipment. Help Me Plz!

Well, I've been lurking around these forums for quite some time and since Christmas provided me with extra spending opportunities I finally want to buy my first brewing set up. Originally I thought I was receiving a Mr. Beer set but alas I did not. This is more than likely a good thing since I can now purchase a much better set up. I just was looking for some help on where and what to buy. I like the idea of smaller batches like 3 gallons or so but it seems that most extract brews would simply be easier to do in 5 gallons at a time. In any case, thanks for the help! I would love to get it order ASAP.

I look forward to making a Rogue: Dead Guy Ale somewhere down the road =]

I guess the first question, since you said you're planning on 5 gallon batches, are you looking at extract (good for starting to brew, less equipment, and helps you get the process down) or all grain (more equipment, higher start cost, but wider variety of what you can do)?

I assume I will start with Extract brewing rather than all grain at first. However, how much more equipment do you really need to do the latter?

Edit: Have been looking at something like this: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6875 Better ideas? Better prices? I noticed it doesn't have a carboy brush and they are also plastic. Meh?

jonbrout said:

Edit: Have been looking at something like this: Brewing Intermediate Kit w/ Two 5 Gallon Better Bottles :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies Better ideas? Better prices? I noticed it doesn't have a carboy brush and they are also plastic. Meh?

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While I won't speak to the amount how much more equipment you'll need to move to all grain in the future, that does look like a good amount of equipment. Don't fret on the plastic carboys, it seems like a lot of HBT'ers are moving to better bottles, and as someone who lost a glass carboy early on, they certainly seem like a great option.

In addition, and I'm sure others will echo, one of the greatest functions of that kit is the two fermenters. The first month's wait between brewing and opening the first bottle can be quite long. Being able to brew your second batch as quickly as you'd like to, and being able to ferment two batches at a time from the onset is quite a benefit.

Also, if buying all of your equipment from the beginning, and don't have a brew pot, take a look for Turkey Fryers like these which will give you the ability to do full boils right from the beginning, and give you a burner if you ever need to move your brewing outside, cheaper then most SS brewpots.

Another option is to take a look around your local craigslist. I use www.crazedlist.org to search for homebrew equipment over all of WI all at once, and usually see complete homebrew kits pop up once every two weeks.

Welcome to the club.

danbass said:

While I won't speak to the amount how much more equipment you'll need to move to all grain in the future, that does look like a good amount of equipment. Don't fret on the plastic carboys, it seems like a lot of HBT'ers are moving to better bottles, and as someone who lost a glass carboy early on, they certainly seem like a great option.

In addition, and I'm sure others will echo, one of the greatest functions of that kit is the two fermenters. The first month's wait between brewing and opening the first bottle can be quite long. Being able to brew your second batch as quickly as you'd like to, and being able to ferment two batches at a time from the onset is quite a benefit.

Also, if buying all of your equipment from the beginning, and don't have a brew pot, take a look for Turkey Fryers like these which will give you the ability to do full boils right from the beginning, and give you a burner if you ever need to move your brewing outside, cheaper then most SS brewpots.

Another option is to take a look around your local craigslist. I use www.crazedlist.org to search for homebrew equipment over all of WI all at once, and usually see complete homebrew kits pop up once every two weeks.

Welcome to the club.

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Thanks for the response. Good to know about the plastic carboys. Also, I believe I have a large pot to boil water in. Only need 2.5ish gallons at a time right? Also, as i look at Brewing Intermediate Kit w/ Two 5 Gallon Better Bottles :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies more closely I have a few questions about it.

I was under the impression that you typically primary ferment in the 5 gallon Better BOttles. Yet it says it comes with a 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket and another 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with a spigot. So you primary ferment in the 6.5 fermenting bucket and use the two BB for second stage fermentation? Why would you need the bottling bucket with spigot if the kit includes a siphoning tool? Could someone please iron out the items for each step for me?

Do the two Airlocks included allow for the releasing of pressure? I assume they do.

Since this kit doesnt come with a carboy brush what would you recommend? Says it could scratch the plastic which seems quite plausible.

Lastly, have any info about the ferm Autosiphon? Spring loaded?

Also, I was comparing the Deluxe starter kit on Northern Brewers: NORTHERN BREWER: Beer Starter Kits What do you think of it in comparison?

Thanks for the help. I'm obviously n00b to all of this and just want to get everything correct before i drop the money on it.

jonbrout said:

Thanks for the response. Good to know about the plastic carboys. Also, I believe I have a large pot to boil water in. Only need 2.5ish gallons at a time right? Also, as i look at Brewing Intermediate Kit w/ Two 5 Gallon Better Bottles :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies more closely I have a few questions about it.

I was under the impression that you typically primary ferment in the 5 gallon Better BOttles. Yet it says it comes with a 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket and another 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with a spigot. So you primary ferment in the 6.5 fermenting bucket and use the two BB for second stage fermentation? Why would you need the bottling bucket with spigot if the kit includes a siphoning tool? Could someone please iron out the items for each step for me?

Do the two Airlocks included allow for the releasing of pressure? I assume they do.

Since this kit doesnt come with a carboy brush what would you recommend? Says it could scratch the plastic which seems quite plausible.

Lastly, have any info about the ferm Autosiphon? Spring loaded?

Also, I was comparing the Deluxe starter kit on Northern Brewers: NORTHERN BREWER: Beer Starter Kits What do you think of it in comparison?

Thanks for the help. I'm obviously n00b to all of this and just want to get everything correct before i drop the money on it.

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You really can't ferment 5 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy, due to the need for some headspace. Even in a 6.5 gallon bucket, occasionally you get some krausen coming up through the top. A 5 gallon carboy works ok for secondary, but I would skip it. You can siphon from the fermenter to the bottles, but it's a pain and it's hard to mix up the priming solution in the fermenter without stirring up all the crud that you've just spent time settling out. So, you ferment in the 6.5 gallon fermenter, and mix up some priming sugar, and rack the finished beer into the priming solution in the bottling bucket. You attach a bottling wand to the spigot, and fill each bottle. It works very well!

I like the autosiphon- it's a great tool to have. I wouldn't worry about a carboy brush if you're not getting a glass carboy. You don't want to use them for plastic.

I think a simple system with the primary bucket, bottling bucket, tubing, airlocks, capper, etc, is sufficient and then you can purchase an autosiphon separately. I wouldn't think a 5 gallon carboy would be all that useful in your first few beers.

I'm sure you will start extract and do like I did and go AG. I will give the best advice from my experience. I could have saved a lot of money by going with equipment large enough to grow with. Get your hands on a keg, check the threads and make a keggle. You can do your 5 gallon full boils. I think full boil is really important to making the best beer you can. You could do a keggle for $100. You can make a chiller for less than $50. Get a burner and your 3/4 of the way to AG. I wish I had skipped the extract and went AG. There really isn't much to it. Don't be intimidated. The difference in AG and extract isn't comparable IMHO. Do the research here and ask questions and you will be making great beer. Search out Denny Conn's web page and you will see how to get started.

If you've got a 3 or 4 gallon capacity pot that can get water up to a rolling boil on your stove top, you're set for partial boils, and if you're starting off, you'll be fine. I mention the turkey fryer to anyone who's thinking about getting into homebrewing just in case they don't have a boil pot and they would go spend more on a <5 gallon pot, which would cost them even more in the future if/when they wanted to move to full boil.

Regarding the 6.5 gallon carboys, do a search for "Blowoff tube" on the forum and you'll get a good idea of why headroom in a primary is necessary. I've got dried krauzen leading up to the airlock in a 6.5 carboy on a 5 gallon batch. Yeasties can get pretty active depending on the strain/the gravity/the temperature.

The bottling bucket (please, any bottlers feel free to correct me, I only keg and bottle pre-carbed) allows for even sugar distribution through your beer as you siphon into the bottling bucket. Here's How to Brew's, which i absolutely recommend you reading through the first chapter, guide to how to use a bottling bucket.

Airlocks let the co2 out while keeping infection out. Filled usually with $3.00 vodka or Starsan/Water.

The auto-siphon is a system that you pump once to create flow, and then allow gravity to do the rest of the work. Just make sure the bottom of the container you are pulling from is above the end of tubing that is in the container you are fulling, and its a simple process. If you aren't comfortable, try using it with sanitized water in a dry run before hand.

Still looks like the Midwest deal is MUCH better then Northern (Sorry if any vendors are reading this). Northern charges $174 for almost exactly what Midwest is charging (Note: Glass > Plastic. Plastic != Better Bottle. A good amount of HBT'ers seem to believe that Better Bottle is an upgrade over Glass, but I have no first hand experience).

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've narrowed the kits down to about 3 and need help in the final decision.

Are Full boils far superior to partial boils? Dog House Brew mentioned this and I'd like some other thoughts on the matter.

I think I'll hold out on the keggle for now but thanks for the ideas for the future.

Anywho, here are the few I've narrowed down.

Brewing Starter Kit :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

Brewing Basics Equipment Kit :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

Brewing Intermediate Kit w/Two 5 Gallon Glass Carboys :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies



I can get this with glass or plastic carboys so that's something to consider and i would love more insight on this. None of these come with a blowoff tube. Is that something i should order with it? Also, obviously some kits come with an additional 5gallon carboy(s). Would this be used moreso for secondary fermentation? Could you simply secondary ferment in the bottling bucket and thus reduce the amount of o2 introduced during the process and bottle straight from there after conditioning?

and of course if anyone knows anywhere else i could get a better deal for roughly the same supplies I would love to know. Midwest is charging like 35 bucks to ship it all. (i know about the free shipping at morebeer.com but their 99dollar kit doesnt seem to come with as much)

Thanks again.

I started with the midwest intermeditate kit with the 2 glass secondaries

been using the glass as a primary with a blow off tube for the first couple of days no problems other than some foam out the blow off

good kit at a good price

order a couple of beer kits while yer at it it will only increase the shipping by a few dollars

oh and welcome

Have you checked local either through your LHBS or craigslist for a used kit? I've been watching local prices daily for just about a year now, and I always see local wine makers trying to sell used 6.5 carboys for 30-40 even when a LHBS has a seemingly endless supply of new 6.5's for $18.

It looked like shipping on the starter kit was <$10 and is enough to get you going immediately. If you've got a local source for carboys, an autosiphon isn't that expensive, and you can expand depending on how often you brew.

Keep in mind that homebrewing is most optimal when you've got a steady pipeline of beers. I'm fretting over the fact that I'm about to kill my keg of red, and I've only got big beers in the secondary right now. I can either keg my IPA a few weeks earlier then I'd like to, which I won't, or drink microbrews until its ready, which also means that I better brew a batch this week, and hopefully another batch next week so I don't run into this problem in 2 months. The holidays really screwed with me.

To put it in perspective, I've been brewing for just about a year, and I've got 1 conical fermenter, 3 glass carboys for secondaries, and I'm still using my 6 gallon plastic bucket fermenter when I need to oak a beer. I started out with the same kits you're looking at, expanded, and hope to keep 75% of my containers full once I get back up and running.

I don't know if you can use the bottling bucket for fermentation. I know it doesn't ship with a lid and I don't believe you want to trust the spigot. If you are bottling, you can always bottle age your beers.

Don't fret about going full boil right from the beginning, just remember its an option, and can help with hop utilization.

danbass said:

Have you checked local either through your LHBS or craigslist for a used kit? I've been watching local prices daily for just about a year now, and I always see local wine makers trying to sell used 6.5 carboys for 30-40 even when a LHBS has a seemingly endless supply of new 6.5's for $18.

It looked like shipping on the starter kit was <$10 and is enough to get you going immediately. If you've got a local source for carboys, an autosiphon isn't that expensive, and you can expand depending on how often you brew.

Keep in mind that homebrewing is most optimal when you've got a steady pipeline of beers. I'm fretting over the fact that I'm about to kill my keg of red, and I've only got big beers in the secondary right now. I can either keg my IPA a few weeks earlier then I'd like to, which I won't, or drink microbrews until its ready, which also means that I better brew a batch this week, and hopefully another batch next week so I don't run into this problem in 2 months. The holidays really screwed with me.

To put it in perspective, I've been brewing for just about a year, and I've got 1 conical fermenter, 3 glass carboys for secondaries, and I'm still using my 6 gallon plastic bucket fermenter when I need to oak a beer. I started out with the same kits you're looking at, expanded, and hope to keep 75% of my containers full once I get back up and running.

I don't know if you can use the bottling bucket for fermentation. I know it doesn't ship with a lid and I don't believe you want to trust the spigot. If you are bottling, you can always bottle age your beers.

Don't fret about going full boil right from the beginning, just remember its an option, and can help with hop utilization.

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Thanks for the insight and the fast reply. Unfortunately I don't have a LHBS and craigslist is fresh out. I've looked over the past few days. If I need to expand with some carboys I believe the local Home Depot sells them? I'm going to wait until tomorrow until I order anything and more thoughts on the situation are always welcome.

Happy Brewing

I'd give the following a good read: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/building-10-primary-fermenter-89738/.

You're going to want to be very sure about what the plastics are if you want to make DIY containers. Glass will always be safe, but cheaper alternatives are out there. If you're looking to be frugal, the beginners kit will get you going, and you can start searching for ways to build out your equipment stock. I'd at least recommend adding on an autosiphon to your order, I can't imaging moving another batch of beer with out one.

Don't worry about the questions. I've been reading the All Grain portion of the forums for months, and in the coming weeks they're going to start hearing from me quite frequently.

For a blow off tube for better bottles/carboys, you can get a rubber stopper (bung) pre-drilled (or drill it yourself), shove a tube into it, and then into bottle/bucket/etc with boiled/sanitized water for a blow off. I didn't see this being answered yet so hope this helps. Welcome and happy brewing!