Brand New - Complete Newbie Questions - Pt. 1 - Budget

Ok, so I am a COMPLETELY brand new brewer. Just looking to start out. I've gotten some books that I'm starting to read through. I've watched a good number of youtube videos.

My decision has been made, I am aiming for a spring time start to this (like March). And I am starting all-grain to begin.

I've assembled/gathered no parts yet.

__BUT__ I do have a list of what I need, here it is (if you agree/disagree/think it needs anything added, please let me know):


* 1 Mash-Tun (Converted 5-10 Gallon Cooler)
* 1 Lauter
* 1 Mash Paddle (Long Handle)
* 1 Stainless Steel Spoon (Long Handle)
* 1 Iodine Test Kit
* 1-2 Glass 5-6 Gallon Carboy(s)
* 1 Stainless Steel Strainer
* 1 Stainless Steel Funnel
* 1 Hydrometer
* 1 Hand-size Pitcher
* 1 Thermometer
* 1 Stainless Steel Brew Kettle (7.5 Gallons or More) (For Sparging)
* 1 Stainless Steel Kettle (5-10 Gallons)
* 1 Wort Chiller

* 1 Grain Mill
* 1 Propane Cooker/Broiler


Thats my basic list. Think I need to add anything? Remove anything? Look good?


So, for my first post, about budgeting and what-not.

How much do you think each item will reasonably cost me?

Like from that list:

* X = 20$
* Y = 100$
* Z = 15$
* A = 85$

Etc.

Looking for an overall "what do you think" it will cost.

Any and all advice/tips on budgeting/etc would be greatly appreciated as well!


Thanks all!

I used a funnel for two brews and haven't used it since. I would ditch that one.
Looks like you need to nail down what size batches you plan to do. Your boil kettle size range varies from three gallon batches to 5.5 gallon. Before you can price anything, you need to pick a size.

I would add autosiphon. Very useful if you don't have spigots.
Silicone tubing. Don't bother with the vinyl stuff, except for cold transfers. You can save a bit on hoses for that, but silicone is a lot nicer.
Hop bags. Worth every penny.
If money is tight, just go to a single vessel BIAB setup.

You'll need something to ferment in, either a bucket or a carboy. I use a stainless spoon for mashing too, so you could skip the mash paddle.

a starter kit from one of the online suppliers will get you all the basics for cheap... fermenters, hydrometer, capper, etc.
as far as a MLT, HLT, etc...have you considered BIAB (brew in a bag)?
you could save a ton.
I do 1.5-3 gallon all grain stove top biab. I still use my old granite ware canning pot & bought a grain bag from NB. that's about the only extra equipment I've bought since I started. you don't have to spend a lot to make great beer.

I'm not too familiar with BIAB. I've heard of it but never read/watched anything about it. Do you have complete recipe control and everything like you do with all-grain? Or is it more like extract? (Is it kind of like an in-between extract and all-grain level?)

No its not in between. Biab is all grain, just in a single vessel instead of 3.

My advice for all grain would be this (and trying to keep this inexpensive, you could upgrade in areas if you wish):

10-15 gallon kettle - amazon has had great deals on bayou classic pots (some with spigots) and people here swear by the concord kettles. Lets say $100, but you could spend more or less here.

Wilserbrewer bag for kettle and ratchet pulley $40 (might depend on where you are brewing and if you have a rafter for a pulley, might need a different method to pull bag out of kettle).

Burner - the kAB4 and KAB6 on amazon can be had for $60-70

I use a long plastic mash paddle I got from LHBS that works fine - $10

CDN thermometer - $20

wort chiller - $60-$80, but check craigslist. I see these for a good price most of the time on there.

Use buckets to ferment in. No need for a secondary unless lagering - $20 per bucket

Hydrometer - $10 or refractometer $30

If doing iodine test, tincture iodine at the local pharmacy is $4. Just put some wort on a plate and drop some iodine onto it

Grain mill would be nice if you select BIAB route. Cereal killer for $99 or corona for $30

A refrigerator or chest freezer which you can add a controller to control fermentation temps. Craigslist is your friend here. I got a mini fridge for $40 that I was lucky would fit my bucket with no mods, and then I have an inkbird controller which cost me $30 total to put together so I can cool and heat my fermenter.

Kegging or bottling? Might be nice to have a keg so you can lager in it if making lagers, but this is expensive.

So without the kegging and bottling equipment, I have this around $400-500, which again can be more or less depending on what you want. I've done both two vessel batch sparging and single vessel BIAB. I think BIAB is an easier and cheaper route to start off on. Just my opinion though. If you haven't researched BIAB, look up Gavin C's "BIAB Like a Boss" and other BIAB threads. Really good illustration of it.

Yes BIAB you control the recipe, even with extract... As long as you don't buy crappy kits, or prehopped extract.

List is pretty good; but I put a few comments in blue below. I have never done BIAB myself, but if I were starting out today, I probably would start that way. Then you just need one kettle (And even if you do go to a more traditional setup, it will pretty much all still be useful.) BIAB is a form of all grain, you have pretty much all the control you'd have in a traditional setup, but in its simplest form, you just do everything in one kettle.

If I lost what equipment I have today, and was starting over, I would find an equipment kit for the basic stuff (Fermentation vessels (buckets or carboys... preferably just buckets, bottle capper, hoses, autosiphon, etc) Add the burner and one large kettle, and a wort chiller. Then I'd do an extract brew or 2 to learn my processes with the burner, kettle and wort chiller (Do a full volume boil etc.) THEN I'd get the bag to do BIAB, THEN maybe I would work towards the Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, etc if I decided that's the way to go. (Currently I do use a cooler mash tun in a more traditional way, but if I were starting today, there's a chance I'd have gone BIAB and stuck with that, which is why I'm saying to give that a try.)

NewPA_Brewer said:

My decision has been made, I am aiming for a spring time start to this (like March). And I am starting all-grain to begin.

I've assembled/gathered no parts yet.

__BUT__ I do have a list of what I need, here it is (if you agree/disagree/think it needs anything added, please let me know):


* 1 Mash-Tun (Converted 5-10 Gallon Cooler)
* 1 Lauter Not sure what this is, I think you have it covered below in the kettle "for sparging"
* 1 Mash Paddle (Long Handle)
* 1 Stainless Steel Spoon (Long Handle)
* 1 Iodine Test Kit You'll use this once or twice, then likely not any more; but no harm in getting it while you learn the process
* 1-2 Glass 5-6 Gallon Carboy(s) Personally I like glass, but don't use it any more.... consider plastic buckets to start
* 1 Stainless Steel Strainer
* 1 Stainless Steel Funnel
* 1 Hydrometer
* 1 Hand-size Pitcher
* 1 Thermometer
* 1 Stainless Steel Brew Kettle (7.5 Gallons or More) (For Sparging)
* 1 Stainless Steel Kettle (5-10 Gallons) These can be pricey, but I'd say go as large as you can on kettles, even 15 gal wouldn't be too big; but at least 10 gallons.
* 1 Wort Chiller

* 1 Grain Mill If you have a LHBS near by, I'd say start by letting them mill your grains, this can be an upgrade anytime, but save the $100 on this at first until you know you like it.
* 1 Propane Cooker/Broiler


Thats my basic list. Think I need to add anything? Remove anything? Look good?


So, for my first post, about budgeting and what-not.

How much do you think each item will reasonably cost me?

Like from that list:

* X = 20$
* Y = 100$
* Z = 15$
* A = 85$

Etc.

Looking for an overall "what do you think" it will cost.

Any and all advice/tips on budgeting/etc would be greatly appreciated as well!


Thanks all!

Click to expand...

If you buy all that stuff new from NB, I'm guessing you're in around $600.
Their all-grain starter kit is around $225.
Wort chiller is about $60
Burner around $50
Essential starter brew kit around $100
Kettles combine for about $150
So, if you're looking to get all that stuff new, I'd wait 'till they run a 20% site wide sale or something. You can get a lot of this stuff used on EBay or Craigs list.
But, I do BIAB and feel it's a great way to cut cost and still yield great beer.

Normally you would remove the wort from the grain. With BIAB you remove the grain from the wort.

Batch size is important when considering BIAB. First, you have to have a kettle big enough to hold your mash and boil, second those grains get heavy after being mashed. They not only need to be lifted out of the kettle, they need to be suspended above the kettle to drain.

Other than that, the process is pretty much the same. The advantage of BIAB, other than the clean up, is you can use heat to control mash temps instead of specific volumes at specific temps. Disadvantage is efficiency tends to be a bit lower because you can't fully drain and wash the grain bed, so you need a little more grain to offset. YMMV.

tjramsey said:

List is pretty good; but I put a few comments in blue below. I have never done BIAB myself, but if I were starting out today, I probably would start that way. Then you just need one kettle (And even if you do go to a more traditional setup, it will pretty much all still be useful.) BIAB is a form of all grain, you have pretty much all the control you'd have in a traditional setup, but in its simplest form, you just do everything in one kettle.

If I lost what equipment I have today, and was starting over, I would find an equipment kit for the basic stuff (Fermentation vessels (buckets or carboys... preferably just buckets, bottle capper, hoses, autosiphon, etc) Add the burner and one large kettle, and a wort chiller. Then I'd do an extract brew or 2 to learn my processes with the burner, kettle and wort chiller (Do a full volume boil etc.) THEN I'd get the bag to do BIAB, THEN maybe I would work towards the Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, etc if I decided that's the way to go. (Currently I do use a cooler mash tun in a more traditional way, but if I were starting today, there's a chance I'd have gone BIAB and stuck with that, which is why I'm saying to give that a try.)

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Good stuff here. I started out with extract (2 batches), then built a mash tun for all grain. Then converted some keggles to do 10 gallon. Then invested in kegging and dispensing gear. Probably over the course of 2 years.

Now I'm doing 3 gallon batches with BIAB. It's nice to have a big 10 gallon brew day outside, and also be able to do all grain on the stove top for complicated mashes or specialty beers. I just did a 10%+ Imperial Stout, and I don't know what I would do with 10 gallons of it. Starting out, this is the way to go. 1 20QT stock pot for $20 will get the job done instead of two kettles and a mash tun.

I also use both kegs and bottles. Keg set up is expensive but easy. I use the 16 oz and 1L ez-cap bottles (Grolsh type). Re-usable and no messing with caps. When you are thinking of batch size, remember bottling. Bottling 10 gallons of brew would be a ton of work and a LOT of bottles.

Ok, just got on for the first time today (since I made my last reply), so I'm going to have to read through everyone's responses (thanks everyone!), but just throwing this out there:

If anyone has anything for sale thats on my list, feel free to PM me offers. Thanks! (Ok, now to reading everyone's thoughtful responses!!)

NewPA_Brewer said:

Ok, just got on for the first time today (since I made my last reply), so I'm going to have to read through everyone's responses (thanks everyone!), but just throwing this out there:

If anyone has anything for sale thats on my list, feel free to PM me offers. Thanks! (Ok, now to reading everyone's thoughtful responses!!)

Click to expand...

Check your local Craigslist for used equipment. Prices will range from really cheap to almost retail, but you can look through for the best deals in your area. Beware when looking at plastic carboys and fermenting buckets, as scratches may make them unusable, but pots, kettles, glass carboys, and other equipment can be easily inspected.

Alright, thanks everyone, got a chance to read over everyone's responses, starting to make up a new list now I guess.

I still think I might go all-grain to start, or maybe extract kit just to get the feel of it then jump into all-grain (still definitely the plan overall is all-grain).

From everything said here, and reading an article, I'm not too in favor of the BIAB idea, just doesn't sound like my cup of tea, so I don't think I'm going to be going that route.

Now to condense and redo my 'list'.

Some local listings on Craigslist - are any of these good, worthwhile listings to look into:

600$ Complete Setup:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/for/5826090409.html

100$ All-Grain Starter:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/gms/5781804177.html

60$ Mash-tun cooler:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/hsh/5810781118.html



Thanks all for helping a newbie!

You need to research more.. This list shows that you don't have a grasp on what you need to have for brewing all grain.

NewPA_Brewer said:

__BUT__ I do have a list of what I need, here it is (if you agree/disagree/think it needs anything added, please let me know):


* 1 Mash-Tun (Converted 5-10 Gallon Cooler) 10 gallon! 5 will limit your ABV or batch size $50-75
* 1 Lauter You don't need this or it is the same thing as the mash tun
* 1 Mash Paddle (Long Handle)
* 1 Stainless Steel Spoon (Long Handle) You don't need both the paddle and the spoon $5-25
* 1 Iodine Test Kit You don't necessarily need this
* 1-2 Glass 5-6 Gallon Carboy(s) Get plastic it is much safer. You don't really need a 5 gallon one, at least right away. $30 -$200 each depending on how much bling
* 1 Stainless Steel Strainer You don't really need a strainer
* 1 Stainless Steel Funnel get plastic, it is cheaper $5
* 1 Hydrometer This you DO need $10
* 1 Hand-size Pitcher This also$2
* 1 Thermometer Get a good digital one. $20-35
* 1 Stainless Steel Brew Kettle (7.5 Gallons or More) (For Sparging) You can use one for a HLT But you sparge in the mash tun
* 1 Stainless Steel Kettle (5-10 Gallons) I suggest 10 gallons $100 - $300 depending on valves, sight tubes, thermometer
* 1 Wort Chiller $50 - 100

* 1 Grain Mill You will want one eventually but you can buy milled grains to start$25 - $300
* 1 Propane Cooker/Broiler $50-$250

There are a lot of choices you have to make that could take a relatively small $$ to a VERY LARGE $$$$$.

Minimum is about $150 for an equipment kit and a $20 five gallon pot from the grocery store. Max is several thousand. I have been in the hobby for a little over 5 years and I stopped counting at over $2000 with pretty basic equipment.



Thanks all!

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That $600 package deal looks pretty good to me. I'm thinking the kegging equipment alone cost about $350-$400 (new kegs and new tank is about $280). Unclear what all the conversion kit has in it. The kettle I believe is $175 new. Right there you are already at $600. Looks pretty sweet to me. Couldn't ask more for a lot that includes kegging equipment at that price IMO.

Edit: Might mention the 2.5 gallon kegs are still worth a bit of money, and you could easily sell those and get 5 gallon kegs. Or maybe trade with someone.

kh54s10 said:

You need to research more.. This list shows that you don't have a grasp on what you need to have for brewing all grain.

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Ok, so what/where do you recommend for doing more research? Any good sites/articles? Also, just starting out what do you exactly recommend equipment wise and estimate cost for it?

I've had a couple of people suggest to me now doing 1Gal start, how feasible is that?

What are some basics that I need to know/learn? What youtube videos do you recommend? Any sites/articles on equipment listings? What all things do you recommend, or insights, or thoughts, etc?

Whenever a person tells me "I need to do more research" or something, that intrigues me, so since I always want to learn as much as possible, I'm trying, I seek those people out for more info/clues. Thanks.

Sorry if I'm bothering.

NewPA_Brewer said:

Some local listings on Craigslist - are any of these good, worthwhile listings to look into:

600$ Complete Setup:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/for/5826090409.html

100$ All-Grain Starter:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/gms/5781804177.html

60$ Mash-tun cooler:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/hsh/5810781118.html



Thanks all for helping a newbie!

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I started extract, "grew" to all grain w/cooler mash/lauter tun, immersion chiller, conical, ferm chamber etc.. List can grow fast. Here's another thought for you. Go to EBay and buy a Grainfather for $700 offer. You get everything to brew in nice simple SS (attractive) package that is easy for new brewer with quicker learning curve.
Ferment in buckets to begin with and with early Spring start no need yet for ferm chamber if you are in cool part of country. Then build your own ferm chamber- easy and can be done for ~$100, read threads here for build and STC temp controller. If you're comfortable with DIY you can find it fun and cheap! But the Grainfather (see thread here) is easy way to jump into AG with everything you need. Or go read on Brulosophy and see his BIAB setup. Cheers and welcome to the hobby!

If you can, do this:

See if there's a local or nearby homebrew club. Unless you're out in the sticks, there is likely to be one. Attend a couple meetings. See if there's someone who would be willing to let you watch them brew, and then get their opinion on your equipment. You may find at a LHBC there are pieces of your kit that you can get for less than new price.

If there isn't a LHBC, maybe you can find someone nearby who brews and whose process you can watch. Youtube videos are great, but I don't think anything can beat DOING it. Or watching it live.

I think the normal best way for new brewers to start is via extract brews, so they can nail down that part of the process before fooling w/ grain. Too many variables, you see. But if you can do just a little bit of apprenticing, then I think you can go right to all-grain.

A local mentor can also clue you in on water.

*******************

There are items on your list that may or may not be important. I'm with 20grit in that I have a funnel, stopped using it (want to buy mine?). I have a spigot on my fermenters, I just use a tube from that into the fermenter. No need for a funnel.

Same with a strainer--I used to use it to strain trub as it went into the fermenter. Now all that stuff goes right into the fermenter (want to buy mine?).

I *will not* use glass carboys. Do a little looking around here at the risk. When I learned that some people had been badly injured by them when breaking, that was that. And that says nothing about the mess if one of them breaks. I use the Northern Brewer Big Mouth Bubbler. Not a chance in hell I'd switch to glass. Those things are incredibly light and easy to handle compared to a glass carboy. There are other non-glass fermenters out there as well (Spiedel, Fermonster, etc.).

You don't indicate if one of your carboys will be a secondary fermenter, but I don't use secondaries. Only reason might be for a very long-aged beer, for which glass might be better. I have a 5-gallon bigmouthbubbler for secondary, which I used twice. (Want to buy mine?)

**************

Why don't I strain the trub before it goes into the fermenter? A guy named Marshall Schott runs a site called "Brulosophy.com". He and his associates do "exbeeriments" where they test various things about homebrewing, testing dogma, trying to see where things matter and don't, and so on. He's got an exbeeriment comparing a brew where the trub was strained versus just tossed into the fermenter. Results? People could not tell the difference in the beers.

Same with secondaries. There's a lot of evidence they aren't important unless you're doing long-term aging.

His site is well worth some time, IMO.

BTW, good on you for doing all this pre-brewing research. Smart. I have one question, though: Why are you waiting for another 5 months before you start brewing?

The main reasons were two-fold:

1) Give me more time to adequately research, read, learn, check forums like this out and hear what everyone has to say. And make sure all my decisions are completely sound and that nothing is wasted or done wrong.
2) Budgetary. I figured if I'm picking up piece-meal, that this would give me plenty of time to buy everything and work my way to getting everything setup.

NewPA_Brewer said:

The main reasons were two-fold:

1) Give me more time to adequately research, read, learn, check forums like this out and hear what everyone has to say. And make sure all my decisions are completely sound and that nothing is wasted or done wrong.
2) Budgetary. I figured if I'm picking up piece-meal, that this would give me plenty of time to buy everything and work my way to getting everything setup.

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I'm smiling at this: "And make sure all my decisions are completely sound and that nothing is wasted or done wrong."

Yeah, sure. If that happens, you'll be the first one in homebrewing history to do it.

There is not 100 percent agreement on the best or most efficient way to do things. Like you, when I started I read and read and read to determine the best way. Not only was there disagreement on some things, often what's "best" depends on you, and your space, and your time, and so on.

That kind of thing cannot be determined ahead of time. It simply cannot. I admire your foresight in trying to do that, but you can overdo it as well.

I have some things I've bought because I thought they would make a big difference, only to find out they do not. Here's a case in point: I have a Northern Brewer "Last Straw" bottle filler. Cost me circa $100.

It allows you to purge O2 from a bottle before filling, easy to control and get the right amount of headspace in the bottle, it's the nuts.

Except....it didn't work all that well for me. The reviews (there's a ton of them!) are great. But when I need to bottle up, say, 12 or 24 bottles, it's really easy to use the growler filler on my keg faucets and do it that way. If I want to fill off a keg served by a picnic tap, I have a ginned-together filler using a tube and stopper (sort of a counterpressure filler). There's a thread here somewhere on that.

I've used that Last Straw exactly once. I will return to it at some point and see if I can make it work correctly, and I'm sure it must be able to be done well, just that....well, it hasn't been the nuts for me. But all the reviews and due diligence I did suggested otherwise!

I also bought some hose clamps that have the little handle/ears on them so they can be tightened by hand instead of needing a screwdriver or nut driver. They're great except....they kind of get in the way. I have enough stuff in my keezer without adding more stuff that gets in the way. I've changed to Oetiker clamps because they are very low-profile and about the least obtrusive way to do that.

Those little ear-wings clamp deals sure made sense at the time!

You're ALWAYS going to find differences of opinion on this stuff. Problem is, everyone may be correct in that they have found what works best for them. You don't know what will work best for you until you do some of this.

So--get a kit or whatever to get started. Find someone to brew with. And just jump in.

Unless I missed it, you don't really mention what batch size you are targeting. That can have a big impact on the size of your vessels.

I currently have a 5g kettle and a 5g cooler mash tun. I push the limits and get about 4g into a keg. Lots of gyrations with lautering into two kettles (the 5g and a smaller 2g). I boil about 4g in the 5g kettle and the remainder in the 2g kettle and transfer the 2g into the 5g once it boils off a bit. PITA. The only advantage to this system is that I can boil on my stove, so it seriously cuts down on propane costs (and trips for refills).

I'm currently working on my upgrade to a 15g kettle, which will eventually be electric. Might be BIAB, might be a 3 vessel system. I'm trying not to preclude either one.

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1 Mash-Tun (Converted 5-10 Gallon Cooler)

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I really haven't had many issues with 4g batches in a 5g cooler. A higher gravity beer I made did push the limits, where I had to reduce the water/grain ratio of the mash and ran two sparge runs to get the volume I wanted. 10g will make it easier, but if you are targeting 2g or 3g, a 10g mash tun might have too much head space and introduce temp control issues. A more full cooler mash tun will maintain temp better than a partially full one (though there are plenty of examples of people using aluminum foil or Styrofoam caps to trap the heat in the mash)

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1-2 Glass 5-6 Gallon Carboy(s)

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For 5g batches, skip the 5g carboy. If you are doing 2.5 or 3g or 4g batches, the 5g can be useful, but generally you'll want the head space the larger carboy provides for 5g batches. I think many of the starter kits include 5g carboys because most of the kits these vendors sell suggest secondary fermentation, which most people seem to suggest are highly unnecessary today. I haven't done a secondary since my 2nd batch about 2 years ago.

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1 Stainless Steel Strainer

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I bought a plastic strainer that fits into my funnel early in my brewing days. I don't use it anymore. It just clogs and makes transfers into the carboy take forever. On the positive side, you probably get good wort aeration, but it's not worth it. Investigate whirlpooling and dip tubes in your kettle and just accept whatever small amount of trub that gets into your fermenter.

With my current system, I just dump the whole kettle into the fermenter. I've never made a bad beer doing so. I'm hoping my new system with a nice whirlpool and dip tube will minimize the amount of trub, but I'm not going to fret over some trub getting into the fermenter.

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1 Stainless Steel Brew Kettle (7.5 Gallons or More) (For Sparging)

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Do you mean for an HLT? If you get a 5g boil kettle, I'd switch this up - use the 7.5g as the boil kettle and the 5g as the HLT. You can always heat up your sparge water while your mash is going. It will be much easier to boil 5g batches in that 7.5g kettle. but ...

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1 Stainless Steel Kettle (5-10 Gallons)

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... I'd go with at least a 10g boil kettle, if not 15g. I'm going 15g for mostly 5.5g batches, but to also allow me to get to 10g batches. I brew with my son, and once he moves out, we will be doing 10g batches and filling two kegs. One for him to take to his place, and one for me.

NewPA_Brewer said:

* 1 Propane Cooker/Broiler

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If you plan on using propane or natural gas, make sure you get a big enough burner. I ended up with a dark star from Northern, (version 1), and it's not great. Eats up propane and leaves the trade mark 'dark star' pattern on the bottom of the kettle. The newer version is probably better. but get some thing that is efficient and has enough BTU's to handle your batch size.

I'm planning my system to eventually go electric. Electric is costly, but allows you to brew indoors and requires no combustibles or exhaust by products (like CO). You do still have to worry about exhausting steam, though.

HTH
Brian

NewPA_Brewer said:

The main reasons were two-fold:

1) Give me more time to adequately research, read, learn, check forums like this out and hear what everyone has to say. And make sure all my decisions are completely sound and that nothing is wasted or done wrong.
2) Budgetary. I figured if I'm picking up piece-meal, that this would give me plenty of time to buy everything and work my way to getting everything setup.

Click to expand...

I started doing the piece meal thing. Got a Mr. Beer kit which proved to me that I enjoyed making beer, graduated to BIAB on switching to all-grain, saved up and bought a mash tun and larger kettle (I had been using my wife's soap making pot). After a couple of batches, I switched back to BIAB as it was easier, slightly faster and personally more enjoyable for me.

In short, not all decisions you make will be right for you. Getting into it in steps helped me from making some bad purchasing decisions, but also helped me to learn what I liked about each of the chosen processes and then focus on that.

I don't regret having a mash tun and significantly larger kettle than I need. I even dust them off a couple of times a year for double sized batches. OTOH, if I had stopped where I found it comfortable for me, I'd be just as happy.

NewPA_Brewer said:

Some local listings on Craigslist - are any of these good, worthwhile listings to look into:

600$ Complete Setup:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/for/5826090409.html

100$ All-Grain Starter:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/gms/5781804177.html

60$ Mash-tun cooler:
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/hsh/5810781118.html
Thanks all for helping a newbie!

Click to expand...

Looking at the Craigslist posts I'm guessing your in the Harrisburg area. Head over to Scotzin Bros in Lemoyne. They can answer any questions you have, hook you up with the local club and they sell new and used equipment. Their pretty cool and will gladly help you out.

As for the Craigslist links try multiple searches: beer brewing, beer making, homebrewing, homebrew, home brewing. You will be surprised by how much variation there is in each search.

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$49.99 will get you what you need to start on the cold side PLUS a simple extract pale ale, can't beat that price. I only need another bucket and I'm debating on just getting that cause it's such a good deal and I'll have spares of everything else.

Add a ten gallon pot, bag, and burner and you're set for BIAB. I started batch sparging and my BIAB batches are just as good if not better and my efficiency went up. I'll never go back to my cooler.

NewPA_Brewer said:

Ok, so what/where do you recommend for doing more research? Any good sites/articles? Also, just starting out what do you exactly recommend equipment wise and estimate cost for it?

I've had a couple of people suggest to me now doing 1Gal start, how feasible is that?

What are some basics that I need to know/learn? What youtube videos do you recommend? Any sites/articles on equipment listings? What all things do you recommend, or insights, or thoughts, etc?

Whenever a person tells me "I need to do more research" or something, that intrigues me, so since I always want to learn as much as possible, I'm trying, I seek those people out for more info/clues. Thanks.

Sorry if I'm bothering.

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I would start with reading How to Brew. http://www.howtobrew.com/

There is a newer, updated version in book form. There are too many options for you to look at and decide how you want to proceed to really advise. There is extract, and partial mash, that use condensed wort (extracts) that you then add top up water to. You can also do extracts without top up. These use the least equipment. Then there are many different ways to brew using all grain. BIAB, brew in a bag has the least equipment needs. Then you can use a mash tun with a kettle that you use for mash water, sparge water and the boil. You can also do this with a pump. You can do three vessel where one is a Hot liquor tank, a mash tun and a boil kettle. These can be 2 coolers and a boil kettle or 2 kettles and a mash tun. You can also go electric, this is the most costly alternative but keeps you inside during bad weather.

This site is a wealth of information.

I started with 4 extract batches, then 4 partial mash batches before doing all grain. During the first 8 I read a ton, watched probably 50-100 videos. And at the same time I was deciding to do 3 vessel gravity fed all grain and began getting the equipment. It took me about 3 years until I had most of my equipment and my rig more or less finalized.

You will have to look at options and decide what route you want to take. After that it will narrow things down so that recommendations will be less across the board and can be more specific to what you need. Right now there are so many routes that it is difficult to advise.

Zibe said:

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$49.99 will get you what you need to start on the cold side PLUS a simple extract pale ale, can't beat that price. I only need another bucket and I'm debating on just getting that cause it's such a good deal and I'll have spares of everything else.

Add a ten gallon pot, bag, and burner and you're set for BIAB. I started batch sparging and my BIAB batches are just as good if not better and my efficiency went up. I'll never go back to my cooler.

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I was actually just recommended this by another person. It's not looking like a bad starting point.

I'm starting to lean towards this to get my 'feet wet' type of thing. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this kit?

Whats the pale ale kit in it? I looked pale ale recipe kits up on their site, and the only extract one is the Big Ben Pale Ale one. Is that it? (Just curious on this, not a big deal or anything that I care about -- I'm just curious on this.)

NewPA_Brewer said:

I was actually just recommended this by another person. It's not looking like a bad starting point.

I'm starting to lean towards this to get my 'feet wet' type of thing. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this kit?

Whats the pale ale kit in it? I looked pale ale recipe kits up on their site, and the only extract one is the Big Ben Pale Ale one. Is that it? (Just curious on this, not a big deal or anything that I care about -- I'm just curious on this.)

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I'm not partial to buckets. I know a lot of people use them, and produce good beer from them, but it seems like every other day we have a thread from someone where their bucket airlock isn't bubbling and they want to know why.

Those buckets often do not seal well, and being opaque we cannot see what's going on in there. Instead of the CO2 that's produced going through the airlock, it's leaking past the poor seal. So the brewer opens the lid to see, admitting outside air and any nasties in it, and now they've potentially contaminated the brew. If you want to see active fermentation, take a look here: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yFeWF2N_tw[/ame]

That doesn't happen (contamination) as often as the above might make it appear, but part of brewing is keeping your brew isolated from outside nasties as much as possible.

I know that part of this is not wanting to spend a lot of money until you decide if you really like it or not, but it seems common that people, once they like it, want to upgrade and they've "invested" money in items they no longer want to use.

If I were you--knowing what I know now, and being close enough time-wise to starting out such that I can remember--I'd get something better. I'm partial to the BigMouthBubbler from Northern Brewer, there are other good non-glass fermenters too.

Here's the thing: Suppose you get better stuff and decide you don't want to pursue this. You can sell off what you've bought for 1/2 to 2/3 the price of new, recovering most of it. The "loss" if you want to call it that is chalked up to the entertainment value of learning something new.

[I once bought a Hi-Point pistol because they're cheap and I'd read they could be made to run reliably. I bought it for the challenge of trying to do that. In the end, I couldn't get it to feed my reloads reliably--it didn't like truncated cone bullets--so I sold it. I took about a $40 "loss" on the whole thing, but the entertainment and learning value well exceeded that.]

My suggestion is don't cheap out. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but there's also the fiscal cost of buying cheap stuff that isn't very good. And with all the help you can get here, it's hard to imagine you won't be producing good beer very soon.

My 2 cents, YMMV, keep your options open, and so on. Good luck!

Been using buckets for years no problems have had a couple not bubble but I just let it go and bottle/keg as per my original schedule. If you want a carboy just add it to the kit, for $50 your still getting everything else and an extract batch as well.

As far as the recipe it's got gold extract, a little crystal malt , and a couple ounces of cascade hops so sounds pretty Sierra Nevada-ish shouldn't be too bad and will get you a fermentation under your belt.
But my advice is just get too it. Brewers all believe their system is the best way so if you listen to too many they'll have you second guessing everything that put me off all grain for a long time. That being said BIAB is the best and Only way to go!!!!!

Also know by buying that kit from Midwest you are supporting the evil empire.....

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Zibe said:

Also know by buying that kit from Midwest you are supporting the evil empire.....

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That's not nearly as concerning as it is (to me at least). I think everyone seems to be overreacting to that on here quite a bit. But, to each their own I guess.

So it looks like I'm ordering this starter kit, and going to do an extract batch or two (or three) before moving on.

I'm going to amend my recommendation above, where I suggest the BigMouthBubbler, and change that to the MoreBeer Fermonster w/ the spigot:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermonster-7-gallon-carboy-spigot.html

Order two of them and shipping is free.

NewPA_Brewer said:

That's not nearly as concerning as it is (to me at least). I think everyone seems to be overreacting to that on here quite a bit. But, to each their own I guess.

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I actually agree wouldn't stop me from doing business there although supporting the lhbs is the best option. I was making fun of the overreaction on that specific thread but as you said to each their own.

NewPA_Brewer said:

So it looks like I'm ordering this starter kit, and going to do an extract batch or two (or three) before moving on.

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Good first step.

A while back you mentioned one gallon batches...I started that way and view it as a waste of time and money. A gallon will net you 10-12 beers, takes just as long brew as 5 gallon batch...but I brewed 8 different beers like that and learned hows and whys. Having said that, some folks just like tinkering with small batches...more power to them.

Mismost said:

Good first step.

A while back you mentioned one gallon batches...I started that way and view it as a waste of time and money. A gallon will net you 10-12 beers, takes just as long brew as 5 gallon batch...but I brewed 8 different beers like that and learned hows and whys. Having said that, some folks just like tinkering with small batches...more power to them.

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I agree. One gallon batches are a waste of time and money. I started that way doing extract kits from NB. It lasted 2 brews then I upgraded to brewing 3 gallon batches. Getting ready to raise that to 5 gallons once I get my keg system set up.

I am a BIAB brewer and like it for ease and not a lot of extra equipment needed to get started. I bought a 10 gallon kettle from Colorado Brew Systems. If I had to do it again I would probably have went with a Spike Kettle. Not saying the Colorado kettles are not good. Just prefer the style now of the Spike pots.

I never brewed true all grain using mash tun, etc so have nothing to compare to but at the moment I am satisfied with BIAB. If you go that route, then get a good bag. The ones from the HBS are not good.

Fermentation is probably the most important thing you need to consider. I tried the bucket/ice deal but that became a PITA. So bought a chest freezer and picked up a temp controller. If you go this route get at least a 7 cu ft freezer- the 5 cu ft are too small.

Wort chillers are a necessity. Check out Jaded Brewing. A bit pricey but they are nice. The HBS has them which is where I got my first one. Think it was $60 or so.

I also use buckets and glass carboys to ferment in. The buckets came from the grocery store's baking dept (icing buckets). They are free but you do need to clean them. Not a big deal- just soak in Oxy. I drilled a hole in the cover and added a rubber washer (food grade). Only issue is I need to tape the lids closed as sometimes the co2 buildup pushes up the lid. Never had any issues using these but will say the lids from the HBS are better and seal tight.

Good luck with this addicting hobby.

Thanks for all the help guys.

brew703 said:

I agree. One gallon batches are a waste of time and money. I started that way doing extract kits from NB. It lasted 2 brews then I upgraded to brewing 3 gallon batches. Getting ready to raise that to 5 gallons once I get my keg system set up.

I am a BIAB brewer and like it for ease and not a lot of extra equipment needed to get started. I bought a 10 gallon kettle from Colorado Brew Systems. If I had to do it again I would probably have went with a Spike Kettle. Not saying the Colorado kettles are not good. Just prefer the style now of the Spike pots.

I never brewed true all grain using mash tun, etc so have nothing to compare to but at the moment I am satisfied with BIAB. If you go that route, then get a good bag. The ones from the HBS are not good.

Fermentation is probably the most important thing you need to consider. I tried the bucket/ice deal but that became a PITA. So bought a chest freezer and picked up a temp controller. If you go this route get at least a 7 cu ft freezer- the 5 cu ft are too small.

Wort chillers are a necessity. Check out Jaded Brewing. A bit pricey but they are nice. The HBS has them which is where I got my first one. Think it was $60 or so.

I also use buckets and glass carboys to ferment in. The buckets came from the grocery store's baking dept (icing buckets). They are free but you do need to clean them. Not a big deal- just soak in Oxy. I drilled a hole in the cover and added a rubber washer (food grade). Only issue is I need to tape the lids closed as sometimes the co2 buildup pushes up the lid. Never had any issues using these but will say the lids from the HBS are better and seal tight.

Good luck with this addicting hobby.

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When I started brewing we were in the middle of sever drought....I just didn't want to waste the water cooling wort. I do full boils and then slap the lid on and clamp it down with spring paper clips. The next day, she is room temp and I transfer to a bucket. The Down Under guys call it no chill...I still do it this way. My kettle has a spigot...most of the pot trub settles out before I transfere to the bucket.

I have two coil chillers and one counter flow chiller....never used them. Never had a problem. I see it as a non-issue.....and I have a flame suit on right now!

To me, it's like shotgun shooting....find what works for you, then do that!