Newbie here - how far would you go with a starter "kit"

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joelmole

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Hi folks,

I've never home brewed before, but I've been doing quite a bit of research here and elsewhere. I'm interested in getting a brewing starter kit, but I was curious, if you could piece a kit for extract brewing together by hand, what would your ideal components be? I don't want to say cost is no object, but I'd be willing to spend a couple hundred bucks and change if I need to.

I like this kit at Northern Brewer. It's probably the only kit I've seen so far that includes carboys for both primary and secondary. I'd probably go Better Bottle rather than glass.

I know I need a boil kettle. I have a gas stove, but I wonder if it would just be better to get a propane burner and a larger boil kettle to start, rather than limiting myself to partial boil on the stovetop. An immersion chiller is also something I'd probably look to get.

I guess my question is would you start off with a "full setup" so to speak to start out, or would you just get a simpler kit with primary only, only do partial boil, cool the wort with an ice bath, etc?

Thanks for all your help!

EDIT: edited to add link to kit
 
Sounds like your on the right track.

Turkey Fryer For The Win! Cheap and efficent! You can easily full boil a 5 gal batch with a 32 Qt. Turkey Fryer.

And skip the secondary thing if it means an immersion chiller. As far as the chiller goes make your own. Easy and can keep it under $50 for one twice the size of what you'd pay $100 for.

Turkey Fryer w/ 32 Qt. Pot and Lid
Nylon Grain Bag
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Auto-Siphon
8' - 3/8" Clear Vinyl Tubing (For racking)
Bottling Bucket
Bottling "Wand"
Capper
6 Gal Better Bottle (I'd go no port)
Bung and Airlock (Stay away from Better Bottle Brand. Over priced IMO)
Immersion Chiller

You start with that and your set for a long time. Best of Luck!

And if your in Houston it may be worth your while to check out Austin Homebrew Supply. They are awesome over there and have good pricing.
 
well, i think most people who make it to the site and are stoked about brewing would be best just to jump in. i say get the nice kit with 2 carboys, you don't NEED a secondary, but i like having one from time to time, plus you can ferment apfelwein in them (you'll find out soon enough). if you have to buy a pot anyway, i would definitely just get a large kettle. immersion chiller is much better to use if you're going to get a full boil, it's kinda hard to move 5 gallons of boiling wort around to an ice bath... good luck.
 
If I was putting together a kit for a friend wanting to brew:

2 Better Bottles
2 Fermomters
2 Universal Stoppers, medium size
2 Airlocks
1 Bottling Bucket
1 Bottle Capper
1 Bottling Wand + tubing
1 5-8 Gallon Steel Pot
1 Immersion Chiller (+faucet adapter if needed)
1 Auto Siphon + tubing
1 Hydrometer
1 Wine Thief
1 Hydrometer Test Cylinder
1 Digital Thermometer
 
I started out with one of the True Brew kits that came with a fermenter and a bottling bucket some other odds
and ends. After my first brew,and finding this site, I spent almost the same amount of money upgrading from my original kit.
If you think you are going to enjoy, and stay with home brewing, I say go with what BErserker is recomending. I have added everything on his list to my collection except the IC. I am going to make one soon.
Good luck coming to your decision, I am sure you will not regret any decision you make.

Dave
 
You don't need that much equipment, get these for starters:

1 fermenter with tap
1 airlock with rubber grommet
1 hydrometer
1 trial jar
1 stirring spoon
1 bottling pipe to fit onto tap
 
SMOKEU said:
1 fermenter with tap
Click to expand...

From what I have learned from this site, and what I have brewed so far, I would not bottle from the fermenting bucket!
You will end up with a bunch of sediment in your bottles. Also, mixing the priming sugar would kick up all the trub at the bottom of the bucket.
That is how I feel, not saying it is "the way."

Dave
 
Thanks for all the advice. In my haste, I forgot to post the link to the kit! Here it is. It looks pretty complete to me other than the wort chiller, pot, burner, bottles, and ingedients. Is it worth it to purchase a couple of 3-piece airlocks to replace the pack-ins? Pretty cheap upgrade I guess, but I don't know the exact benefit (easier to use?).
 
Dave258 said:
From what I have learned from this site, and what I have brewed so far, I would not bottle from the fermenting bucket!
You will end up with a bunch of sediment in your bottles. Also, mixing the priming sugar would kick up all the trub at the bottom of the bucket.
That is how I feel, not saying it is "the way."

Dave
Click to expand...

Then don't add priming sugar into the fermenter.
 
I'm keeping an eye on this thread....I'm about to finally pull the trigger on a good kit. My wife doesn't care how much I spend, her only request was that I get it all over with in one order, instead of going with a cheap kit then streaming in upgrades for the next 3 months :)
 
patd said:
I'm keeping an eye on this thread....I'm about to finally pull the trigger on a good kit. My wife doesn't care how much I spend, her only request was that I get it all over with in one order, instead of going with a cheap kit then streaming in upgrades for the next 3 months :)
Click to expand...

Let me know how that works out for ya!:mug:
A new Better Bottle here a fermometer there. A lagering chamber. A brew cave.......
 
I got the Deluxe kit from NB that you linked to for Father's Day and it was perfect for getting started. Used my old chili pot for one partial boil and then went out & got the turkey fryer. I still chill the wort in a twenty gallon "beer bucket" full of ice & water (takes about 20 minutes to get to 75°) but I think a chiller is on my list of soon to gets.

I have also bought a Vinator for sanitizing my bottles and I'm looking at getting a bottle tree - my home made rack just doesn't quite cut it.

Like you'll see a million times on this forum, it's an addictive hobby and you can spend all your money on it!
 
patd said:
I'm keeping an eye on this thread....I'm about to finally pull the trigger on a good kit. My wife doesn't care how much I spend, her only request was that I get it all over with in one order, instead of going with a cheap kit then streaming in upgrades for the next 3 months :)
Click to expand...

your wife has no idea what she's in for... :cross:
 
LarryC said:
I'm looking at getting a bottle tree - my home made rack just doesn't quite cut it.
Click to expand...

I bet you could find a dishwasher rack at your local appliance "re-seller" for a whole lot less. I works awesome, and you don't have to worry about accidentally knocking it over. Or just use your current dishwasher on bottling day.
 
I don't know. I've never owned one. I'm just imagining myself next to one while drinking...I mean bottling.
 
Berserker_Brew said:
If I was putting together a kit for a friend wanting to brew:

2 Better Bottles
2 Fermomters
2 Universal Stoppers, medium size
2 Airlocks
1 Bottling Bucket
1 Bottle Capper
1 Bottling Wand + tubing
1 5-8 Gallon Steel Pot
1 Immersion Chiller (+faucet adapter if needed)
1 Auto Siphon + tubing
1 Hydrometer
1 Wine Thief
1 Hydrometer Test Cylinder
1 Digital Thermometer
Click to expand...

Pretty close to what I would get if I had to do it all over again. I would
get a 10 gallon pot so if later you want to do all grain you will have less worry of boil over.
 
patd said:
I'm keeping an eye on this thread....I'm about to finally pull the trigger on a good kit. My wife doesn't care how much I spend, her only request was that I get it all over with in one order, instead of going with a cheap kit then streaming in upgrades for the next 3 months :)
Click to expand...

Sort of like my wife, except for she was just tired of hearing about it and said "Do it already so you will stop talking about it."
 
as far as the wort chiller goes, i went to 711 to pick up 2 big bags of ice, it cost me 10 bux. so it will pay for itself within a few batches.
 
eppo said:
as far as the wort chiller goes, i went to 711 to pick up 2 big bags of ice, it cost me 10 bux. so it will pay for itself within a few batches.
Click to expand...

Good way to look at it.

I'm moving in November, getting married in December. I may not pull the trigger on a kit until January because I won't have much time to dedicate to this right now. My weekends are pretty booked up until the big day. I know some of you guys are thinking at that point, SWMBTolerated has now become SWMBO, so I should get the equipment while the gettin's good. :D

Luckily my fiancee's dad is in the beer business, and she's definitely a beer drinker, and we've been on several brewery tours (the Saint Arnold tour is one of our semi-regular outings). I think she'll be into it, as long as the cost doesn't get out of hand. No stainless conicals I suppose.

We tend to cook a lot together and enjoy that activity, so I have this vision in my head that it's a hobby we can share, a fun bonding experience for the newlyweds. Plus, she likes to clean, so I can delegate some of the sanitizing :mug:. I'll have to see how receptive she is to the idea.
 
Just a newb here, but here is my opinion and what I am doing, for the most part. I got that very same kit and love it. I got glass carboys as well and a pot to do partial boils. Here is my thinking.

From what I have read, you can not scrub the better bottle with a brush because it will scratch it and nasties can get in the scratches. After doing a couple of beers in a row, it really paid off to scrub the crap out of the glass carboys so that I can do multiple beers at once without buying 4 fermentors (limited space, so this helps). Glass is heavier and a bit of a pain in the ass to carry around, but looks great.

I went with partial boils because it allows me to add the water at the end to get to my mark, regardless of what boils off. I am not sure how it works with a full boil, can you even add the water at the end to get to 5.5 gallons if too much boils off?

Also, by doing partials it allows me to slowly build my way up to more difficult brews. After doing a bunch of these, I will probably go to full boils, then all grain. Of course, all this equipment is expensive too. But I am a single guy that doesn't mind buying another pot later on.

Just my opinion, welcome to HBT and good luck no matter what you get.
 
smmcdermott said:
Just a newb here, but here is my opinion and what I am doing, for the most part. I got that very same kit and love it. I got glass carboys as well and a pot to do partial boils. Here is my thinking.

From what I have read, you can not scrub the better bottle with a brush because it will scratch it and nasties can get in the scratches. After doing a couple of beers in a row, it really paid off to scrub the crap out of the glass carboys so that I can do multiple beers at once without buying 4 fermentors (limited space, so this helps). Glass is heavier and a bit of a pain in the ass to carry around, but looks great.

I went with partial boils because it allows me to add the water at the end to get to my mark, regardless of what boils off. I am not sure how it works with a full boil, can you even add the water at the end to get to 5.5 gallons if too much boils off?

Also, by doing partials it allows me to slowly build my way up to more difficult brews. After doing a bunch of these, I will probably go to full boils, then all grain. Of course, all this equipment is expensive too. But I am a single guy that doesn't mind buying another pot later on.

Just my opinion, welcome to HBT and good luck no matter what you get.
Click to expand...

I'll do more research on Better Bottles. I understand you can't scrub them, guys here just say to do an Oxyclean soak. I'm just worried about the accident factor with glass. It seems most of the downsides of Better Bottles I've heard (aside from no carboy brush use) are theoretical detriments, but most of the folks who have 'em say they're great and don't have problems. Is that on the mark?

Supposedly my future father-in-law has some homebrewing equipment in the garage, fiancee said I should take a look at what he has. If it's just plastic pails I'll probably pass, but if he does have some carboys I might ask to "borrow" them. I don't think he uses the stuff anymore.

Gracias.
 
joelmole said:
I'll do more research on Better Bottles. I understand you can't scrub them, guys here just say to do an Oxyclean soak. I'm just worried about the accident factor with glass. It seems most of the downsides of Better Bottles I've heard (aside from no carboy brush use) are theoretical detriments, but most of the folks who have 'em say they're great and don't have problems. Is that on the mark?
Click to expand...

That is what I have heard too. The reason I say that though is that I did two beers at the same time and transfered one from primary to secondary and brewed the next one the same day. Having glass allowed me to do this becuase I could scrub it. If you have no intention of doing them on top of each other, it makes sense to get better bottles. They are slightly cheaper too.
 
smmcdermott said:
That is what I have heard too. The reason I say that though is that I did two beers at the same time and transfered one from primary to secondary and brewed the next one the same day. Having glass allowed me to do this becuase I could scrub it. If you have no intention of doing them on top of each other, it makes sense to get better bottles. They are slightly cheaper too.
Click to expand...

Hot tap water some Oxyclean they clean up in minutes . I have cleaned Better Bottles while I was doing the boil . If I get a stubborn spot I put a washcloth in and swirl it around cleans right up. You will notice that a lot of the brewers here don't secondary their beers so the cleaning isnt a rush deal. I don't secondary unless its one that is going to bulk age for several months...

I also have 4 BB, 2 Glass carboys, 2 -10 gallon Durex jugs,1-15 gallon demijohn and several Sanke kegs 1/2 barrels and slim 1/4s to ferment in.I just dont have room to have them all going. :mad: But the brewshed is around the corner :D

I started out with two 7 gallon buckets, used turkey fryer and a home made chiller
 
I bought a kit about 3 months ago, and the main components were a Fermentation Bucket, Glass Carboy, bottling bucket, 5 gallon stainless kettle, etc, etc. The kit (Midwest Homebrew Supply - Everyting + A Carboy) has treated me really well. If I could go back and do it again, I'd probably not get the carboy, and get an IC. Just my 2 cents.
 
Berserker_brew has assembled a nice starter set. The only thing i found nice to have from the get go was a small digital scale. Its nice for measuring the hop additions, adjuncts, grains etc.
 
IMHO I would go with the Super Deluxe Beer Making Equipment Kit out of those two. The reason being that you don't really need an immersion chiller until you are doing full boils and while you can do a bigger boil with a five gallon kettle, it is pretty much impossible to do a full boil. So it seem you are wasting some money on the second one. I myself am still doing partial boils though. Maybe someone else can give some better advice?
 
patd said:
I'm keeping an eye on this thread....I'm about to finally pull the trigger on a good kit. My wife doesn't care how much I spend, her only request was that I get it all over with in one order, instead of going with a cheap kit then streaming in upgrades for the next 3 months :)
Click to expand...

Well what fun would that be? A wise man once said " it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission"
 
coreyk67 said:
Well what fun would that be? A wise man once said " it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission"
Click to expand...

Indeed...and my wife just left for the day, time to start adding items to the basket and ordering my kit :)
 
I bought the deluxe kit from Midwest with the glass upgrade. The thing I dont like about it is the lack of a carboy dryer and jet bottle washer. Everything is a-ok. A little pricey for what it is though. I think you could build a better one by pieceing together stuff from classifieds and craigslist or a local homebrew supply store.
 
joelmole said:
Good way to look at it.

. I think she'll be into it, as long as the cost doesn't get out of hand. No stainless conicals I suppose.
Click to expand...

famous last words.... She'll probably enjoy it. My wife loves beer, and loves the beer i make, which is good, but she never expected 2 of the largest closets in the house, a second fridge, and an entire shelf unit in the garage dedicated to brewing stuff/storage. :rockin:

Fortunately the beer's good enough to keep her around :tank:

good luck picking a kit, and enjoy!
 

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