Beginner Needs Advice

[kash]

We have been comparing prices on many of the starter kits on the internet being that their isn't local store to get them. Most of the kits appear to be pretty simple and thought we could probably piece most of it together and just buy the more specialized equipment. We would like to start with the "double fermentation" kit.
Do you recommend us trying thsi and maybe saving some cabbage or just buying the kit. Keeping in mind that we are on a budget.

So i guess my question is how should we go about putting together our own starter kit?

Thanks in advance for any help!


Cheers

 

[Sea]

I started with a kit. Course I got it for $75 at Costco. The benefit of a kit is that someone assembles all that you need to start for one price, and in doing so, hopefully offers it for cheaper than buying all the pieces separately. That being said, read what's in the kit and shop around. There's certainly no problem with getting your stuff together on your own.

 

[RadicalEd]

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat=11166&fd=1

Midwest has the best kits/prices I've come across in my searches, but I'm thinking that I'll go a la carte. That way I have more control over what equipment I get, and don't pay for extras I won't need.

 

[Corjyn]

Hey Kash:

Welcome to the forum!!!!

I am a noobie also. I purchased a Brewing starter kit from Midwest Brewing Supplies for $80 and ordered a extract kit also and with shipping it was about $120. It arrived in about 4-5 days and brewed the next weekend. It had everything I needed to start except a brew kettle. The free DVD was enlightening as well. If you decide to shell out the cash and purchase a starter kit, I would recommend this one.

Good Luck!! I can be slightly addictive!!

John

Primary: #1 Autumn ale

 

[david_the_greek]

I very recently started my own adventure in brewing and did not purchase a kit from the get go. I eyeballed a lot of kits and decided to throw together what I wanted. Doing this can save you money but be warned that it can also cost you more. One reason that it can cost you more is if you decide you want more than you need. I for example ended up buying multiple carboys and a few other little gadgets. This threw my cost up but tailored my brewing a little closer to my wants. Kits are convenient and can come with everything you need. However if you can find the necessary equipment at good prices then by all means jump on it (craigslist.com can be good). John Palmer's book on brewing is the best tool you will ever purchase (or read online), reading this before brewing is a great help.

 

[kash]

Thanks for the advice guys. We have actually been looking at the kit one of you mentioned earlier. I think your recommendation actually pushed our decision through to purchase it.

Our next question is : Where do we go to buy the ingredients while trying to avoid online purchases. Their isn't a brew shop or what have you anywhere in our area. Any other places that would conviently have what we need or at least part of it.


Cheers

Kash

 

[david_42]

Only brewing stores carry the right supplies.

 

[RadicalEd]

Try out health food stores for extract and brewer's yeast, but be prepared to shell out a bunch of money for it. Your best is to buy from a reputable online source with a good shipping policy. www.morebeer.com is good is you're buying by the pound (free shipping on orders > $59), and www.AHS.com is great for bulk orders ($5.99 flat shipping rate). Both of the aforementioned should ship out your stuff pretty fresh.

 

[Ize]

IMHO, get your ingredients from one of the online shops. (I'm assuming you're starting with extract brews.) Northern Brewer, Austin Homebrew, More Beer and others will get you the quality ingredients to turn out a good first batch. You can get a mulititude of extract kits for 30 bucks and under that are top notch, and it will get you to wanting to brew more and expand your horizons. Go easy on yourself and learn the basics, but don't cut corners when it comes to what you're putting IN your brew.

Ize

 

[Philip1993]

I'm thinking that I'll go a la carte. That way I have more control over what equipment I get, and don't pay for extras I won't need.

Ed, I thought you were already brewing?

Our next question is : Where do we go to buy the ingredients while trying to avoid online purchases. Their isn't a brew shop or what have you anywhere in our area. Any other places that would conviently have what we need or at least part of it.

Kash,

For your first batch, buy an inexpensive starter kit and a "pre-assembled" beer kit in a flavor you will like. You'll brew a great beer and have a lot of fun doing it. Later, you can always add more sophisticated equipment as you like and you will find that very little of your original investment hase gone to waste.

Also You'll read all about every gory detail of brewing beer and the science behind it. You'll hear how each add'l step is a must have for truly great beer. Remember that the perfect beer is as elusive as free beer. You can brew great beer in a plastic bucket. Grow as far and as fast as you want, and don't be afraid to stop when it becomes more work than fun.

Remember: Never forget that this is a hobby. It is supposed to be fun. If it ain't fun anymore, why are you doing it?

 

[abracadabra]

Not knowing anything about you other than you are on a tight budget or if you made your purchase yet.

I'd say if you are handy and patient you can put together everything you'll need for little or no money. If not you'd be better off with a kit.

The book "Brew Ware" has some good ideas of things you could build yourself.

You can pick up plastic bucket's for free and modify them yourself.
Here's some examples: you can get buckets at restaurant's, coffee shop, & dounut shops. Also there are other sources as well. What you want to look for is HDPE and or the number 2 inside the recycling symbol. I got some 7 gal. buckets that chlorine for my pool came in. Once I finished using the chlorine all I have to do is rinse it out and it's sanitized.

Don't be reluctant to buy supplies online and you can get anything you can't make yourself at the same time.

I'd also encourage you to read John Palmer's book "How to Brew" and he has a free online addition. The more you know before you start brewing the better off you'll be and the more money you'll save.

Good luck welcome to the forum

 

[kash]

Thanks for the advice. I think that we have decided to go with the kit from midwestsupplies.com Also, we have started looking at the John Palmer book and started browsing for ingredients trying to decide what to make.


Any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.




Kash

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Try out health food stores for extract and brewer's yeast, but be prepared to shell out a bunch of money for it.

I wouldn't buy brewer's yeast from a health food store. It's probably not alive.

From one of many sources online that state the same thing: http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/bre_0043.shtml

Brewer's yeast has been a popular nutritional supplement for many years. Much of the brewer's yeast marketed for nutritional supplement use is grown specifically for that marketplace. The supplements are prepared from dry, crushed cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cells are not alive. There are other yeast preparations, such as Saccharomyces boulardii, in which the cells are alive; are used as probiotics. (See Probiotics.)

 

[RadicalEd]

Good catch, sparky. I just remembered that "advice" of mine from a couple months ago before I found this forum .

And no, I haven't started brewing yet; I need to move back into my fall apartment first. My dad is 100% fine with me brewing, but my mom is completely conservative about this sort of thing, and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. So I have to wait another month or 2 . I'll invite my dad over and we can have a few brewskies. I may occasionally sound authoritative, but it's only because I've read the stickes and like 20,000 posts, so if a message gets put out there I tend to repeat it myself. Feel free to call me out as a noob at any point in time .

 

[Philip1993]

And no, I haven't started brewing yet; I need to move back into my fall apartment first.

That's no excuse! Get the pot on the stove.

 

[Thomas R. Williams]

Hello experienced home brewers: Looks like this is an interesting forum for lots of kinds of brewing and I hope you won't mind a question in a sidestream.

We are brewing ginger beer with good results, experimenting with formulae, etc. Our progress has been slowed down by not having a reliable fermentor. It needs to have a screwed on cap that will retain pressure from the evolved carbon dioxide, and most recipes we see advise against glass. So far, we have tried two liter soft drink bottles, three liter water bottles, and one gallon jug. All have distorted badly under pressure. Usually it is the bottom that bows out first, making the vessel unstable for future use. The one gallon jug seemed heavy enough to withstand the modest pressure involved and was a disappointment in that regard.

Any ideas on a candidate reusable fermentor for this purpose. Something in the range of four liters would suit our purposes well.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[RadicalEd]

Lol, pldoolittle, but I'm afraid I crash at my parents' for the summer, and I have been strictly forbidden to brew at home by the female parental figure . Believe me, I'm placing my orders a couple days before I move in, and hope to have the pot boiling by the next weekend .

How much pressure are you talking about, Tom? Does the recipe specifically call for allowing the fermenter to pressurize without an airlock? My suggestion would be to find a 5 liter commercial mini-keg (legally, of course!) and commandeer it for the higher purpose of fermenting.

 

[Thomas R. Williams]

Hello RadicalEd: I have no way of guaging the pressure at the moment. I just opened my last batch and it foamed all over the place. I obviously had not cooled it well enough before unscrewing the cap. A lot of pressure was released as the cap came off. I would guess it must have been near a psi, perhaps a bit more.

Well, a five gallon fermentor is a bit too ambitious for me at the present time. There would be too much preparation work for such a large batch; the main obsticle would be grating enough fresh ginger for such a large batch. Second problem is bottling and storing that much. I have a half-dozen liter clamp lid bottles that work fine, but going beyond that is not in the cards at the moment.

I see some good remarks on the Wiki regarding Perfect Bottles. I think I will check that out, perhaps they have an industrial strength plastic jug that will not deform. Will also have to look into your idea of an airlock. Hopefully there will be practical information on that subject on this webpage.

Thanks for responding,

Tom

 

[RadicalEd]

Tom, check out www.howtobrew.com; it'll fill you in on 'proper' fermentation vessels etc. 99% of brewers, to my knowledge, use airlocks to allow the excess CO2 to vent from the vessel while avoiding contamination. Very few ferment in a pressurized container, likely for the very same reasons you've been experiencing. All carbonation is then generated in the bottles or kegs. But if you do want to pursue this route, a 5 liter mini-keg is very close to your 4 liter target, and was made to hold pressure. Check it out.

FYI Better Bottles (which is what I think you meant) cannot hold pressures well, at least not vacuums.