Can someone help me get started?

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Xenemorph

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Hey everyone,

I made a similar thread a while back but after some advice I didn't go forward with it as I had the wrong idea and just wanted to make cheap mead. Now I have some more money saved up and I'm interested in finally getting started.

I need advice in obtaining the the required materials:
  • Carboy(s)
  • Stoppers, Airlocks, Siphon
  • Yeast / Nutrient
  • Honey
  • Hydrometer
  • Keg / bottles
  • Anything I'm forgetting!

I'd also like recommendations on a recipe. I've looked around the forums before and I liked the ones with oranges or berries so if you could point me in the proper direction that'd be great.


I'm interested in mead as I've researched it the most but if you have other suggestions I'm listening. I'd definitely like to make wine or beer if you guys can recommend a keg setup. I'd also like any tips before I start so I don't make any mistakes and ruin my first batch. I'd also like to know what's the most efficient way for storage and how I should transfer to secondary without having to have two entire sets of carboys (I was thinking having one extra one, siphoning one, then cleaning out that one and so on) or possibly just one large one as I've been looking into getting the 15 gallon one with the basket here.

This is the list of materials I have so far:
http://puu.sh/hjdxL/54f5b9cac9.png


Thanks in advance.
 
If you are looking for something to get started with, don't have a lot of equipment, need a recipe that is awfully hard to mess up, and are looking for something with a fruit flavor, I would recommend this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860
take a look at some of the reviews, people love it. There is a lot of variation you can do to suit your taste, you hardly need any brew equipment, and it will serve as a good gateway drug to get you hooked on making your own beverages at home.
 
It sounds like budget is important (as it is for all of us, of course) - you can save quite a bit of money in re-using bottles. If you're making a still mead, wine bottles are great. If you will be carbonating your mead (bubbly), then you'll need to use beer bottles. You can also use beer bottles for still mead, but you cannot use wine bottles for carbonated mead.

Ask your friends, go to a local recycling center, or ask a bar to save you bottles. Rinse really well, if there is active mold growing, toss them back into the recycling bin. Rinse in oxiclean and get them shiny clean. Sanitize with starsan or iodophor (two standard no-rinse sanitizers for brewing), fill and cap. For beer bottles, you'll need to buy caps and a bottle capper. For wine bottles, you'll need corks and a bottle corker.

Another option would be to get a few of those 1 gallon jugs that Gallo sells wine in and use them - they come with a screw top that you could reuse.
 
If you are looking for something to get started with, don't have a lot of equipment, need a recipe that is awfully hard to mess up, and are looking for something with a fruit flavor, I would recommend this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860
take a look at some of the reviews, people love it. There is a lot of variation you can do to suit your taste, you hardly need any brew equipment, and it will serve as a good gateway drug to get you hooked on making your own beverages at home.

I absolutely love cider. Thank you for this and thanks to the person who wrote it.

It sounds like budget is important (as it is for all of us, of course) - you can save quite a bit of money in re-using bottles. If you're making a still mead, wine bottles are great. If you will be carbonating your mead (bubbly), then you'll need to use beer bottles. You can also use beer bottles for still mead, but you cannot use wine bottles for carbonated mead.

Ask your friends, go to a local recycling center, or ask a bar to save you bottles. Rinse really well, if there is active mold growing, toss them back into the recycling bin. Rinse in oxiclean and get them shiny clean. Sanitize with starsan or iodophor (two standard no-rinse sanitizers for brewing), fill and cap. For beer bottles, you'll need to buy caps and a bottle capper. For wine bottles, you'll need corks and a bottle corker.

Another option would be to get a few of those 1 gallon jugs that Gallo sells wine in and use them - they come with a screw top that you could reuse.

Money's no longer an issue. However, I'd still like to not waste any money but I don't think for the amount I'm making I'll be able to get enough bottles. Any tips for where I should purchase bottles or a keg? Thanks.
 
Money's no longer an issue. However, I'd still like to not waste any money but I don't think for the amount I'm making I'll be able to get enough bottles. Any tips for where I should purchase bottles or a keg? Thanks.

If you're in the US, find a local homebrew or wine supply store. Or order at any number of online stores (check out the vendors here at HBT)

If you're not in the US, you'll need to find a local source. For still wine or mead (non-bubbly) you can also just use plain old jars.
 
I got started by getting this: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-kits/everyday-ipa-1-gal-kit It was $35 at a local Kitchen and Company I was in with my wife. 1 gallon micro brew kit and I am fermenting my second batch. The second batch is a micro brew ingredient kit from Midwest Brewers and I have a third ingredient kit and a second fermenting 1 gallon bottle on the way as well. Before I jump up to 5 gallon batches I want to get more experience with the micro brews first. I like the idea of the kit and the ingredient kits for now as I gain experience and can slowly build up my equipment and knowledge base.

For instance I have already upgraded my racking cane and gotten some cleaning equipment, sanitizer, bottles, and caps and capper. Next on the list is a burner and both a small and large brewing kettle. At some point probably early this summer I'll get what I need to brew my first large (5 gallon) batch. As is I will have what I need to have at least 2 micro brews staggered by a week or two so I always have one fermenting and one in bottles carbonating. I'm also already gathering info on making a temperature controlled fermentation chamber using either a dorm sized refrigerator, or a chest freezer, whichever I find on Craigslist first!

Just seemed to make more sense to me to start small and decide if I liked doing it or not. Since the first batch came out good and I liked the beer, and now the second seems to be bubbling along fine, I am starting to really get excited about getting another batch going. At this point the idea of going "big" seems like a good idea, but for now I'll stick with the smaller brews and make sure I'm really ready to take the plunge! Hope this helps you figure out how you want to proceed although I'm sure there is no "wrong" way to go about it short of spending hundreds of dollars to by a lot of equipment only to realize after the second try you really don't like brewing after all!
 
Don't know what happened there with the site address. Used the insert link feature but... oh well you can just copy and paste the stuff in between the quotation marks into a browser address bar if you are so inclined!
 
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