Absolute rookie here...

[JMBrown22]

Hey guys, I am going to start brewing my own beer. I am looking for advice on a good starting kit to brew 8-12ish bottles of beer for starters. Are there different kits for different types? Preferably, I like wheat ales and in the future, I want to start adding different fruit flavors to them. Do you guys have any recommendations for a rookie like myself? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Colorowdy]

I started with Mr. Beer. It brews around 20 or so cheap and simple way to get started. Although it didn't take long for me to upgrade.
My advice with the Mr. Beer kit is skip the booster and add a pound of dme. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[JMBrown22]

Which Mr. Beer option would you recommend for purchase? Should I get the one that comes with the plastic bottles, or should I buy the cheaper one and get glass bottles?

 

[xmacro]

Northern Brewer and Midwest both sell starter kits, with supplies you can reuse in subsequent batches; Mr. Beer is kind of a one-shot deal

8-12 bottles, you're probably looking at about a 1 gallon starter kit

 

[Sublimis]

Which Mr. Beer option would you recommend for purchase? Should I get the one that comes with the plastic bottles, or should I buy the cheaper one and get glass bottles?

Personally I would not use the PET bottles. A case of bottles, caper, and caps will run about $30. But Personally I would just skip the Mr Beer. They are almost the same price look at this http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html This is all the kits http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/equipment-kits/compare-all-kits.html you can always buy a smaller carboy for secondary fermentation if your making a smaller batch. My buddy got the Mr. Beer now he wishes he got the 5Gal kit.

 

[inhousebrew]

Just go with Northern Brewer and jump into the five gallon extract batches. Read up on the process, it's easy enough.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Just go with Northern Brewer and jump into the five gallon extract batches. Read up on the process, it's easy enough.

This, you'll be more happy probably. I can only imagine how much it would suck to have to brew and age a beer for 1-2 months for only a few bottles.

 

[woody34]

Was it this forum where somebody was giving away a free starter kit? It was just yesterday too. Search a little on this forum you may get lucky..I'm loving my northern brewer kit. I do 5 gallon extract kits. Couldn't be happier.

 

[woody34]

Was it this forum where somebody was giving away a free starter kit? It was just yesterday too. Search a little on this forum you may get lucky..I'm loving my northern brewer kit. I do 5 gallon extract kits. Couldn't be happier.

Searched and couldn't find it.

 

[JMBrown22]

The only thing I see that I like about the Mr. Beer is the fact that they have fruity beer recipes. I really want to get into brewing because I enjoy Blueberry, Raspberry, Citrus, etc. flavored wheat ales. I do not see these options with Northern Brewer. Do you guys have any recommendations for recipes that I could make fruit beers, or when to add fruit extracts w/ the Northern Brewer 5gal?

 

[FATC1TY]

Don't buy equipment based on recipes. You can build or find recipes for stuff to brew ANYTHING if you get the northern brewer/mid west start up kits.

Look around here, or online, or you local home brew store for recipes. If you want a fruity beer, it's easy enough to find a recipe to work with what you want. Don't just settle on a process because someone has a recipe!

Thats like saying you want to go with Ford over Toyota because you heard the Toyotas can go up to 80 MPH! They can all do that!!!

 

[inhousebrew]

Thats like saying you want to go with Ford over Toyota because you heard the Toyotas can go up to 80 MPH! They can all do that!!!

Lol, I like that analogy. And yes, you bring up a good point about adding fruit/fruit extract. It can be done easily to a lot of recipes if you want. I would find a base style, think of a fruit that would go with it, and post your idea on here for feedback. Or make a post for suggestions.

 

[HopSong]

Nothing wrong with MrBeer kits as a starting point. In fact, you may not want to brew 5g batches. I'm set up to do 10g batches but only brew 2.5g batches cuz I can't drink it fast enough before it starts heading south. The plastic bottles in the MB kits are just fine.. but, they are large.. and I need someone to help me drink that much at one sitting.

If MrB is the way you want to go.. first check Craigslist.. I see them on there every so often. but beware of the price.. I wouldn't spend more than $10 for one on CL. Here is what I'd do if no luck on CL. Go to the MB website and order one or two KEGS only.. they are only $10 each. Then you can order whatever extract kits you like. Have friends save their NON SCREWCAP bottles for you. Heck, you can even bottle your beer in personal soda bottles or "craft" water bottles like arrowhead, etc. (not the kind with the drinking cap.. just the regular screw cap). Just keep those clear bottles out of the light while you are storing them. Otherwise, go to you homebrew shop and buy about 24 bottles w/caps and a capper of your choice. There are inexpensive "wing" cappers as well as the desktop kind that work like a charm.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I started with MR Beer and it's a fine little fermentor. Their recipes are a bit overpriced, but you can buy any 5 gallon recipe and split in two and still use your Mr Beer. I only made 4 batches in it before going to 5 gallon batches because I drank it faster than I could make it. If you drink often, the smaller batches will be hard to keep in pipeline. If you