Need some advice QUICK!

Hello beer folk! My husband is a beer lover and has expressed to me that he would like to start his own home brewing. Well, I'm thinking for Christmas I'd like to surprise him with a start up kit. I've seen and read reviews about that Mr.Beer kit you can get at department type stores and I want something better. Something around $70-$100. If someone could point me in the right direction that'd be epic. I know there is a home brew store around town so he can pick up his own ingredients and he's saved up bottles. I've been cleaning and getting the labels off them. So websites? Kits? Other essential items? Thanks a bunch!!

-Kirsten

Don't bother with a Mr. Beer kit. Go with a regular starter kit where he can begin with extract brews and work up to all-grain as he buys more toys to brew.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit.html
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/recipe-kits.html

A few links to get you started but there are many, many more to chose from.

Since you're in TN, check out Rebel Brewer's offerings... They offer a basic kit and an expanded deluxe equipment kit. I would also suggest, once you've given him the kits and before he brews something, he join up here and review the updated information (compared with what's in books). Especially not racking to secondary for every single recipe/brew. There's more things, but that should at least get him going in the right direction.

BTW, Rebel Brewer is about 3 hours drive from where you are. You can do UPS ground (or just ground shipping) and get things the very next day (most likely). It could also be a good 'day trip' so he can talk with some great brewers.

@gold thank you! I think the deluxe kit for $150 is what I'm going to get him. I noticed in the comments someone mentioned maybe getting a "wort chiller" I'm not sure what that is but does he need one?

brewmasterswife said:

@gold thank you! I think the deluxe kit for $150 is what I'm going to get him. I noticed in the comments someone mentioned maybe getting a "wort chiller" I'm not sure what that is but does he need one?

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It's either that or use an ice water bath in the kitchen sink (or tub) to chill the wort from a boil to pitching temperature. If you have a good size pot (I'd go with at least a 4-5 gallon for starting off) then an immersion chiller would be a good idea. You connect it up to a hose fitting installed in the kitchen sink faucet and then run the waste hose down the drain...

I would place a call to Rebel in the morning (check their hours) and get advice that way. Tell them it's going to be a holiday gift, so see if you can get a good return policy (most places offer that this time of year).

This would be a good 'my first wort chiller' for him... Sort of like his first bike...

It is possible to brew without the wort chiller, however it does make the process MUCH easier. After the wort is done boiling you have to be able to cool it down quickly - the wort chiller is one of the most common among home brewers in doing so. There are sites that offer pre-made wort chillers, and some offer all the supplies to make it yourself. My local home brew supply store sells all the components for about $20 cheaper than buying it already put together.

Using a wort chiller, you can get 4-5 gallons of boiling hot wort down to pitching temp, in maybe 1/4 of the time it takes to do it via sink baths (at the most, more likely faster). Where it could take an hour, or two, in the sink, it could be 10-15 minutes via the IC (be sure to either move it around in the pot, or stir the wort around the IC).

Plus, there are other benefits to chilling faster. Better cold break, less chill haze (in glass) to name just two. Of course, there's also the done sooner so he can properly thank you factor.

I say get the starter kit and leave out the wort chiller for now. He gets to see what it't like without one and some people are fine with that. Worst case scenario he has an excuse to run to the homebrew shop which he will more than likely become obsessed with.

Cheers by the way on being pretty much the best wife ever! Just an FYI: had to throw this out there just in case. My girlfriend thought she was being the best girlfriend ever by cleaning and scrubbing off labels for me and I'll admit it was a mighty impressive task she accomplished. About 60 bottles all in all. Problem is about half of them were twist off bottles.... which we don't really use... So, just a precautionary tale.

Golddiggie said:

Since you're in TN, check out Rebel Brewer's offerings... They offer a basic kit and an expanded deluxe equipment kit. I would also suggest, once you've given him the kits and before he brews something, he join up here and review the updated information (compared with what's in books). Especially not racking to secondary for every single recipe/brew. There's more things, but that should at least get him going in the right direction.

BTW, Rebel Brewer is about 3 hours drive from where you are. You can do UPS ground (or just ground shipping) and get things the very next day (most likely). It could also be a good 'day trip' so he can talk with some great brewers.

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Rebel Brewer is awesome, but if you're in Knoxville any time soon, you can get a starter kit from Allen Biermakins or Fermentation Station. When I lived in K-town I frequented The former. The shop is in Vestal near King Tut's and the owner is very nice.

A lot of new brewers don't use wort chillers. They take your wort from boiling temp to 70F so you can pitch the yeast. I have access to an unlimited amount of ice so that works better for me.

One great thing about brewing is there are many ways to do it and they are all correct. It can take a while to figure out what works best for you.

bleme said:

A lot of new brewers don't use wort chillers. They take your wort from boiling temp to 70F so you can pitch the yeast. I have access to an unlimited amount of ice so that works better for me.

One great thing about brewing is there are many ways to do it and they are all correct. It can take a while to figure out what works best for you.

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For a good number of us, 70F is far too warm for a pitching temp. The yeast strains I use are better in the mid 60's. So, I aim to get the wort cooler than that, before pitching. They get into their 'happy range' as they work and ferment the beer. If I pitched at 70F, and didn't do some fancy footwork to chill the batch post pitch, I'd get some nappy brew.

The reality of it is you need to get the wort at least into the range that works best for the yeast you'll be using, to get the result you want. A good number of yeasts produce very different results at different temperatures. Going warmer will give you one thing, while going cooler will give you another. IMO, getting the wort to the correct temperature (either cooler, or within a degree or three) is very important.

I wouldn't get a wort chiller yet, there are lots of smaller odds and ends he'll end up getting first instead. I still don't have one after a year of brewing and get along fine.

Wort chillers are also extremely easy to build yourself. I just put together one for $25 in parts. It took about 10 minutes and it works great!

nbrack said:

Wort chillers are also extremely easy to build yourself. I just put together one for $25 in parts. It took about 10 minutes and it works great!

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With SOFT copper tubing (the 20' length), decent tools, and actually KNOWING how to do it, yes. For someone that has no clue, it will be far easier to get one and not worry about it not working right. A 20' coil of 3/8" copper is about $20 by itself. Never mind the other fittings. Plus, it's best to have something to wrap it against, so that it doesn't look like a 5 car pileup. A tall 8 quart pot can do the job there, if you have one.

IMO, in the interest of NOT making it more difficult on the OP, I'd just order/buy him one. Worst case you can turn around and sell it for close to what you buy it for. That is, if he finds he doesn't like brewing as he thought he would.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I live 30 minutes from Knoxville and I know there are a couple brew stores I'm going to call. I think I'm going to buy the kit from rebel though. He's been on this kick for years so I know he's going to love it! He's read a lot of books and has been in contact with a couple local breweries to see about volunteering. As far as the wort-doohicky if he wants it he can order it later. thanks everyone.

One thing I would add to the rebel deluxe kit would be a separate bottling bucket with spout.

As his awesome wife (or so I like to think) I'd like to become involved with his beer adventures. I try everything he does and have developed a pretty good pallet. I don't drink beer but I can appreciate it. I'd like to understand what he's talking about but all his books look like you need a college degree to understand! Any chick friendly books out there? Or basic lingo books? :-D

grem135 said:

One thing I would add to the rebel deluxe kit would be a separate bottling bucket with spout.

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Didn't notice how it was setup... I'd call and see if they can swap the carboy for a bottling bucket, or include a bucket fermenter intead of the carboy. As much as I hate buckets, it's probably safer for a noob. Or change the 5 gallon PET carboy for a 6 gallon PET/Better Bottle carboy. Primary in that and use the bucket to bottle in/with.

brewmasterswife said:

As his awesome wife (or so I like to think) I'd like to become involved with his beer adventures. I try everything he does and have developed a pretty good pallet. I don't drink beer but I can appreciate it. I'd like to understand what he's talking about but all his books look like you need a college degree to understand! Any chick friendly books out there? Or basic lingo books? :-D

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Look into making wine or mead. I make mead and brew beer myself. Both are great products to enjoy/share.

Golddiggie said:

Look into making wine or mead. I make mead and brew beer myself. Both are great products to enjoy/share.

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Oh my gosh! You make mead? That's so cool! My husband says its on his bucket list to try. Is it fairly easy to make?

brewmasterswife said:

Oh my gosh! You make mead? That's so cool! My husband says its on his bucket list to try. Is it fairly easy to make?

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Check out the info on the Got Mead? site and forums. In the process, it's damned simple to start. But where brewing beer is most of the work up front, making mead is spread out. I have a batch I started over a month ago that I need to check on, at some point. It could be done fermenting, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I also have batches I started last year that some of which will go to bottle soon. Others are about to start getting flavor additions. So mead is many months in process before it goes to bottle, where beer is typically only weeks from boil to bottle. I have some of my first batches of mead (made just over two years ago) that are getting really, really good now. The trick is, now, to keep making it so that I have a solid supply on hand. All while allowing some bottles to continue to age for more years.

IMO/IME, with mead, get great honey, treat it right (don't heat it above 100-110F), use the right yeasts (Lalvin strains), do the right processes (feed it nutrients to get the yeast to do it's job) and you'll get something great. I would just not expect it in the same time frame as beer. IMO/IME, if you can wait a year for up to a 14% mead, you're better off. up to 16%, 14-16 months. An 18% mead, don't drink any until it's been 18-24 months. Over 18%, you have longer to wait for the greatness to come out. It's part patience of a sait, and tenacity of a pitbull.

If you were in my area, I'd invite you both over to have a bottle of my 2010 vintage.

Hello all!!! I am the Lucky husband of this lovely lady. I have descovered her plans mu-wa-ha-ha-ha!

Anyway, I'm SUPER excited to start brewing. I have done my homework and read "how to brew" by john Palmer, "extreme home brewing" by Sammy calgone, and "the everything home brewing book". And (dont burn me at the stake) I was an avid poster on realbeer.com forums for quite some time. Great other forum also.

I'm excited and can't wait for her to brew with me! I also can't wait to pass some homebrew out to friends! And goldie if you were anywhere close we would make a day trip out of it and take you up on that "vintage"

First off its a very thoughtful gift. But to go the next step and research it online by creating an account and posting a question on a forum is awesome. Plus, since you chose your forum name, in a way you are calling your husband a brew master. Best... wife... ever....

I'd go with a basic starter kit to start . One fermenter, airlock, stick on thermometer, spoon, detergent, sterilizer, extract, specialty grains(optional, but recommended), hops (definitely recommended), yeast and carb drops are all you need for a trouble-free, worry-free first brew.

brewmasterswife said:

@gold thank you! I think the deluxe kit for $150 is what I'm going to get him. I noticed in the comments someone mentioned maybe getting a "wort chiller" I'm not sure what that is but does he need one?

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you don't need a wort chiller for the first brew.

just get the kit to get him started, and then sit by and make a list of all the gazillion little things he decides he needs, for his birthday.


i promise, after the first batch he's going to have a very, very, long list of toys he absolutely, positively, has to have.

ok, along with all the toys, these

1. How To Brew, by John L. Palmer --> book #1, best one

for book #2 there will be many opinions, among them
2. The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian
3. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
4. Brewing Classic Style by Jamil Zainasheff (i think).

Start with the palmer book. you can read it together, and you can make the brews together.

then, you can start working on recipes, and bottle label designs, and all the minute details of this wonderful obsession together.

it will be fun

I hope your ready for his new obsession. My girlfriend gets upset when the packages in the mail say homebrew on them and not Christmas presents. She also doesn't like when I stay up till 6am making Hopstache, but I'm sure she won't complain drinking it.

My opinions on the following. This is MY OPINION people, calm down. My comments are for the items quoted above them.

dadshomebrewing said:

ok, along with all the toys, these

1. How To Brew, by John L. Palmer --> book #1, best one

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Don't have it, read a bit online, it's ok.

for book #2 there will be many opinions, among them
2. The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian

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Don't waste your money, pretty much useless today. Especially with the above book.

3. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels

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GREAT book but limited in the styles it covers

4. Brewing Classic Style by Jamil Zainasheff (i think).

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Don't have it, so no opinion

Start with the palmer book. you can read it together, and you can make the brews together.

then, you can start working on recipes, and bottle label designs, and all the minute details of this wonderful obsession together.

it will be fun

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I would advise getting Yeast (by Chris White and Jamil) as #2. Even if he doesn't use everything in that book, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have it on hand. Something to read as he wants and start using the better methods outlined there. Also a subscription to BYO will prove very handy/useful. If you get deeper into it, join the AHA (American Homebrewers Association) which will also get you Zymurgy Magazine.

Happy brewing.

Love you wifey! My kit is here everyone!

Good luck! And any questions don't hesitate to post

Thanks soo much!

I would have loved it if my wife had done what yours did. She totally supports me in my brewing adventures but not so much right away. I also want to add that now that you are on these forums you need to refer to her as SWMBO. good luck brewing

so, here's one lucky guy who can probably brew on Christmas Day without getting in trouble.

dadshomebrewing said:

so, here's one lucky guy who can probably brew on Christmas Day without getting in trouble.

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And I'm gonna ;-)

I had to promise not to bottle my Hopstache on Christmas Day

So what does Swmbo mean?

TheCollector said:

So what does Swmbo mean?

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We don't divulge that information here . . . but if you google it, I'm sure you'll figure it out

brewmasterswife said:

As his awesome wife (or so I like to think) I'd like to become involved with his beer adventures. I try everything he does and have developed a pretty good pallet. I don't drink beer but I can appreciate it. I'd like to understand what he's talking about but all his books look like you need a college degree to understand! Any chick friendly books out there? Or basic lingo books? :-D

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Look up the website thebeerchicks.com for some great info, their book The Naked Brewer is also a good starter guide.