Beginner Rig

[rmcrae]

So I'm wanting to get into home brewing. I don't have too much experience, but I'm a pretty industrious person and tend to go whole hog into what I get into.

I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it to get one of the starter kit rigs or if it is better to source equipment individually. I was looking at the Brooklyn Brewer's 1 gal kit, but want something a bit bigger like a 5 or 10 gallon. I also want a more robust equipment. Here are some bullets of what I want:

-No less than 5 gal
-Reliable temperature control for fermentation, without having to get a refrigeration unit
-Good, clean system for bottling.
-Good, elegant system for boiling and sparging
-Well made equipment that won't crap out.

I'm giving myself a 100 to 200 dollar budget.

I'm also wondering were a good place to source ingredients is. I know Brooklyn Brewer's has recipe kits, but surely there is a better method.

 

[grampamark]

Define "robust".
Define "elegant".
Just so you know, bottling is messy and tedious.
And, "reliable temp control without refrigeration" is an oxymoron.

That said, you can brew beer for $200 or less. Partial volume extract brewing on your kitchen stove can be accomplished with equipment which can be purchased for something close to the low end of your budget. Full volume BIAB (brew in a bag) can be done for close to your upper limit, maybe just a little more.

A starter kit with a 5 gal kettle, fermenter, bottling bucket, bottle capper, auto siphon, hydrometer, sample cylinder, thermometer, funnel and Big Ass Spoon, plus an extract kit, will get you going on your stovetop for a little more than a hundred bucks.

Add a burner, a kettle of at least 8 or, preferably, 10 gallons and a bag and you're doing BIAB for $200 or a bit more.

Temp control will have to be the room in your house with the most stable average temp, helped out by ice, a fan and/or space heater and probably more babysitting than you were planning on (at least for the first few days after pitching the yeast).

One other option is to check Craiglist and the various, local for sale social media pages, etc., for someone wanting to quit brewing and sell their gear. Right place, right time, some good deals may be found.

Good luck, keep asking questions. You'll get a lot of advice/opinions here, much of it actually useful.

Mark

 

[irontodd]

A budget of 200, IMO, is quite low to get "robust" and "elegant". A starter kit will have a bunch of reusable components and would get you started, fermenter, racking cane, bottling bucket, and you could even use the included kettle to heat sparge water later.

Do you have a basement, or how cold is your place of residence? If you keep your place cold enough, you could add an inkbird temperature control and a FermWrap to heat up your fermenter to the right temp without having to worry as much about cooling, but as grampamark said reliable temp control without refrigeration is an oxymoron. The act of fermentation alone can raise the temperature of your beer as much as 10 degrees. Without temp control you'll still get decent beer, but you will have difficulty maintaining consistency and greatness batch to batch.

The 10 gallon kettle I just got was over $100. Entire All Grain systems can get spend quickly, especially as they get more robust and elegant.

For bottling I put my bottling bucket up on a crate on my kitchen counter and fill bottles in the sink. Others put their bottling bucket on the counter and fill over the open dishwasher door. Either way, you're not spilling in the floor. I like to stand when I do it, as getting on the floor isn't as comfortable as it used to be.

Don't forget that you'll need to buy bottles, or start collecting them. My local home brew shop (LHBS) sells them 12 bucks a case. You'll need 2 cases for a 5 gallon batch. Bottles don't come with starter kits, from what I have seen. You'll need a hydrometer.

My suggestion, is to get a starter kit. Work on the stovetop with partial boils for now, and get the stuff you really want as budget allows. If you can make great beer with a basic setup, you'll also know what things you want to spend you money on later.

I am still a relative beginner (7 months) and have about 300+ in equipment, but that includes the starter kit, wort chiller, multiple fermenters, the 10 gallon kettle, and temp control and FermWrap . Not included is the 10 cases of bottles I have amassed, the fermentation fridge, or the kegging equipment, nor the ingredients. I still have hundreds of dollars worth of stuff on the wish list like a mill, pH meter, wort pump and tubing, and the rest of the gizmos for electronic mash control.

Good luck!

 

[Transamguy77]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-homebrew-starter-kit.html

If i was starting over this is a great beginner kit has everything you need except for bottles and it comes with a kit for your first brew.

This is a good starting point and then you can add or change things as you start to brew and figure out your system.

 

[Staticsouls]

Are you a diyer? If so go big. I started with the idea that I could drink 5 gallons by my self and brew 10 to share. I made a set up that can accommodate both. If you went biab, I bet you could make a very simple electric keggle set up for just about $150. Now that being said this is a hobby, and hobbies are time suckers and money wasters. You will spend more. I have been in the thick of it for 2 years now. If I knew I would stay in the game this long, I would have gone big from the get go.

 

[chaps]

I second that your budget is optimistic at best. I recently had to repurchase everything when I started brewing gluten free and I easily hit $300 for basic quality equipment to do BIAB.

 

[stieg000]

That morebeer kit is pretty good for 229. But that pot could only be used for 5g batch full boils. Too bad they don't offer a kettle size upgrade option. In any case if i would've had that kit from the get go i would have been way happier. You probably wont be able to do a full boil without a propane burner.

If you want 22oz bomber bottles hit up your local sushi place, got mine for free. Sapporo and Kirin bottles. Less bottles to clean and fill.

 

[ancientmariner52]

That morebeer kit is pretty good for 229. But that pot could only be used for 5g batch full boils. Too bad they don't offer a kettle size upgrade option. In any case if i would've had that kit from the get go i would have been way happier. You probably wont be able to do a full boil without a propane burner.

If you want 22oz bomber bottles hit up your local sushi place, got mine for free. Sapporo and Kirin bottles. Less bottles to clean and fill.

Do we know for certain Morebeer won't do an upgrade? You don't know until you ask. Remember, we're the customers. The customer isn't always right, but he IS the guy spending the money.

Thanks for the tip on 22oz. bottles.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Wow, you're asking a lot for $200. There are a few things to consider. The old school progression was to start with extract brewing, partial boil on the stove top and ferment in the coolest spot in the house (assuming that's in the 60's). After getting the bug, you upgrade to all grain brewing, which can run you more.

To do partial boil extract brewing you realistically need:

Large stock pot. 3-4 gallon would be good
Fermentation bucket for other vessel
Bottling bucket
Hydrometer
Sanitizer
racking cane or autosiphon
bottling wand
capper
bottle caps
Thermometer

The More Beer kit above is a pretty nice rig for extract brewing. Much of it carries over if you move into all grain except for the kettle. Unless you control fermentation temps, you'll be inconsistent at best and, worst case, could end up with beer with a lot of off flavors that gives you a whopping headache.

For all grain, I think BIAB (brew in a bag) is the most cost effective method. All grain brings more stuff into the realm of "must have". Assuming BIAB, you need:

A bigger kettle. Probably a 15 gallon unless you're only brewing low gravity stuff.
A burner with enough BTUs to boil 7 gallons of liquid
A chiller
A BIAB bag
Maybe a better thermometer if the original was not accurate enough
A method to insulate the kettle during the mash (sleeping bag, old coat, reflectix, etc.)

With this rig, you're now committed to brewing in the garage or outside unless you jump through some hard core ventilation hoops.

Ultimately, what are your goals? Do you have any flexibility on how much you spend?

 

[jamespz03]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-homebrew-starter-kit.html

If i was starting over this is a great beginner kit has everything you need except for bottles and it comes with a kit for your first brew.

This is a good starting point and then you can add or change things as you start to brew and figure out your system.

Would you recommend this for someone only wanting to do 1 gallon batches? It seems this would be fine for future scalibility to 5 gallon too.

 

[mongoose33]

The morebeer kit is the one I wish I'd bought when I started out. Shockingly better value than what I got with the Northern Brewer kit considering all the extras I had to buy. Like a chiller. And a kettle. Star-San. Spoon. Hydrometer.

All complete w/ the Morebeer kit. IMO, one of the nicest things about it is that you're not, as a new brewer, trying to figure out what belongs, and what's unnecessary. All you need to add is bottles and a heat source to boil, and you'll have beer. Even comes with an extract kit.

I've since upgraded everything in my setup EXCEPT the spoon; for a beginning kit, that is the best available, IMO, hands-down.

And if you later decide to expand, you'll find a lot the stuff like the kettle will come in handy, even if you upgrade past that.

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

Speaking of upgrades, and it's too soon for that in one sense, I sold my burner, kettle, and chiller to a friend who started brewing; I used the proceeds to buy upgrades.

 

[SanPancho]

Would you recommend this for someone only wanting to do 1 gallon batches? It seems this would be fine for future scalibility to 5 gallon too.

No. Way too big. For 1 gallon batch you only need like a 2-3 gallon pot. And a gallon glass jug or 2gal bucket to ferment in.

But you could use the other stuff like chiller, etc.

 

[zonkman]

You can definitely get going for less than $200. Even for the semi-industrious.

How?

Look on Craigslist / Marketplace, etc. Brewing gear is often sold off when folks move, no longer have time, etc. I bought two very nice kettles - 6.5gal (BIAB, boil) and 5gal (dunk sparge) - for $20 and $15, respectively. Good as new. This is all you need: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-with-pics.90132/

Build your own immersion chiller. Took about 5min. Save 50%.

Rinse commercial bottles after use. Soak in Starsan before bottling.

Do all grain. Cheaper and much more rewarding.

Consider buying StarSan and PBW in relatively large volumes to save.

Wash your yeast and re-use.

If you have a home brew supply store nearby, buy your ingredients there. It'll be fresher. Particularly in summer.

There are great recipes on here that cost around $20 for 5 gal. E.g. Kiss Yer Cousin Kentucky Common. My favorite.

Forego temperature control for now. If you've never even brewed a batch, you're really jumping the gun. Instead, get a regular $7.99 thermostat and take readings in closets/basement/dark places. Choose a yeast accordingly. Remember: ambient temp is lower than the actual temperature inside the fermenter by a good 4-8 degrees.

 

[Justin Archer]

I bought a starter kit from northern brewer for 50 bucks that came with a pale ale recipe kit. I’m very pleased with it. Bought a brew kettle at Walmart. Don’t remember how much. And a thermometer. Saved bottles from the store bought beers I drank. So I’m in for less than 100 bucks and I brew every time my fermenter is emptied. Not as elegant as it seems you’re wanting. But it is all I need. I’m sure I’ll upgrade when I decide to go the all-grain route. But this is a great start for really very little investment.

 

[mongoose33]

You can definitely get going for less than $200. Even for the semi-industrious.

How?

Look on Craigslist / Marketplace, etc. Brewing gear is often sold off when folks move, no longer have time, etc. I bought two very nice kettles - 6.5gal (BIAB, boil) and 5gal (dunk sparge) - for $20 and $15, respectively. Good as new. This is all you need: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-with-pics.90132/

Build your own immersion chiller. Took about 5min. Save 50%.

Rinse commercial bottles after use. Soak in Starsan before bottling.

Do all grain. Cheaper and much more rewarding.

Consider buying StarSan and PBW in relatively large volumes to save.

Wash your yeast and re-use.

If you have a home brew supply store nearby, buy your ingredients there. It'll be fresher. Particularly in summer.

There are great recipes on here that cost around $20 for 5 gal. E.g. Kiss Yer Cousin Kentucky Common. My favorite.

Forego temperature control for now. If you've never even brewed a batch, you're really jumping the gun. Instead, get a regular $7.99 thermostat and take readings in closets/basement/dark places. Choose a yeast accordingly. Remember: ambient temp is lower than the actual temperature inside the fermenter by a good 4-8 degrees.

I agree that, with exactly the right guidance and luck, a newbie can put together a kit for maybe a bit less. But it won't be as good, and there is a high likelihood that mistakes will be made.

Further, you're asking for some leaps here, that most if not all newbies aren't prepared to make. All-grain? Washing yeast? Nothing about water, nothing about how to care for yeast?

The smart move for all newbies is simple, simple, simple, until they understand more about the process. The more variables that are their responsibility, the greater the chance for one or more to go haywire, screwing things up.

That kit from Morebeer solves all those problems. And while you may save some money, you're not going to save all that much, and you open up the potential for all kinds of mistakes and errors.

And as far as temp control: this actually IS easy, with a swamp cooler.

 

[Transamguy77]

Would you recommend this for someone only wanting to do 1 gallon batches? It seems this would be fine for future scalibility to 5 gallon too.

If you look at like it as it would be a one time purchase then yes but if you are really only planning on 1 gallon batches for the foreseeable future there are other kits out there designed for that purpose that would be a better choice.

The catch is if you start with 1 gallon batches then realize you want to go bigger then you have to make another investment in more equipment.

 

[Transamguy77]

I agree that, with exactly the right guidance and luck, a newbie can put together a kit for maybe a bit less. But it won't be as good, and there is a high likelihood that mistakes will be made.

Further, you're asking for some leaps here, that most if not all newbies aren't prepared to make. All-grain? Washing yeast? Nothing about water, nothing about how to care for yeast?

The smart move for all newbies is simple, simple, simple, until they understand more about the process. The more variables that are their responsibility, the greater the chance for one or more to go haywire, screwing things up.

That kit from Morebeer solves all those problems. And while you may save some money, you're not going to save all that much, and you open up the potential for all kinds of mistakes and errors.

And as far as temp control: this actually IS easy, with a swamp cooler.

I agree with this, is it really worth all the extra time to piece something together to only save may be $30? For me my time is not worth it, I'm all about saving money and DIY'ing stuff but not to save a few bucks when I can just buy it and save all that time (that I could use to be brewing)

Also that kit comes with a brew kit so again you don't have to go anywhere to get anything, the kit gets delivered to your door and you open it up and make beer! Keep It Simple.

 

[zonkman]

I agree with this, is it really worth all the extra time to piece something together to only save may be $30? For me my time is not worth it, I'm all about saving money and DIY'ing stuff but not to save a few bucks when I can just buy it and save all that time (that I could use to be brewing)

Also that kit comes with a brew kit so again you don't have to go anywhere to get anything, the kit gets delivered to your door and you open it up and make beer! Keep It Simple.

Yeah, I guess it depends on whether putting together all these things is part of the enjoyment for you. For me it is. As is washing yeast or building immersion chiller, both of which I put in the "very easy" category. Suppose I'm the jump-right-in type. But point taken: if you're a total newbie and not really all that industrious or very nervous about screwing up, totally buy everything new / collected into kits, if doing otherwise would take away any of the joy. Fair enough.

I read the OP's "I'm a pretty industrious person and tend to go whole hog into what I get into" as willingness to go for the extra effort/learning, not just the spending.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Yeah, I guess it depends on whether putting together all these things is part of the enjoyment for you. For me it is. As is washing yeast or building immersion chiller, both of which I put in the "very easy" category. Suppose I'm the jump-right-in type. But point taken: if you're a total newbie and not really all that industrious or very nervous about screwing up, totally buy everything new / collected into kits, if doing otherwise would take away any of the joy. Fair enough.

I read the OP's "I'm a pretty industrious person and tend to go whole hog into what I get into" as willingness to go for the extra effort/learning, not just the spending.

I suspect that the OP is probably a DIYer and that he'll go whole hog into learning. I was too (my first batch was my own recipe, AG, full water chem, yeast starter, temp controlled ferm, kegging). That being said, I see the same thing with brewing that I experienced as a guitar player. To the outsider, it's almost like magic. Things that seem obvious, easy, no-brainer and "old hat" are all new to the rookie and it's a lot to take in at once. I spent months of 20+ hrs a week reading books, reading this forum, recipes, etc to get comfortable with the process. Short of doing that, most people learn incrementally as they progress through a growing level of knowledge, ability, process and equipment.

Not everyone is going the full monty from day one, even if they are a go-getter.

 

[zonkman]

Totally. Part of the awesomeness of brewing is that there is so much to learn, and so many different types of processes / comfort levels available. My prime suggestion would be: start BIAB'ing all grain. Just go for it. Absolutely nothing wrong with extract or anything. If extract looks like more fun, there you go. I'm currently reading up about growing barley

I'd consider kegging, water chem (well, depends on your local H2O) as next level stuff.

 

[jbraaten]

So I'm wanting to get into home brewing. I don't have too much experience, but I'm a pretty industrious person and tend to go whole hog into what I get into.

I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it to get one of the starter kit rigs or if it is better to source equipment individually. I was looking at the Brooklyn Brewer's 1 gal kit, but want something a bit bigger like a 5 or 10 gallon. I also want a more robust equipment. Here are some bullets of what I want:

-No less than 5 gal
-Reliable temperature control for fermentation, without having to get a refrigeration unit
-Good, clean system for bottling.
-Good, elegant system for boiling and sparging
-Well made equipment that won't crap out.

I'm giving myself a 100 to 200 dollar budget.

I'm also wondering were a good place to source ingredients is. I know Brooklyn Brewer's has recipe kits, but surely there is a better method.

At that price point, I would advise Craigslist or your local variant. A good boil kettle can run 200+, so you are going to have to look into used equipment. If you are willing to be patient, you can cobble Keggles together over time for a low overall cost. A immersion chiller is a must for AG brewing, not so much for Extract.

 

[PADave]

Start slow, figure out what you are doing and slowly upgrade from there. Like with everything in life, you get what you pay for. If you think $100-200 is going to get a quality, elegant, well made setup for brewing, good luck. If you fall down the hole and get into this hobby be prepared to add zeros to those numbers.

 

[GnenieGone]

So I'm wanting to get into home brewing. I don't have too much experience, but I'm a pretty industrious person and tend to go whole hog into what I get into.

I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it to get one of the starter kit rigs or if it is better to source equipment individually. I was looking at the Brooklyn Brewer's 1 gal kit, but want something a bit bigger like a 5 or 10 gallon. I also want a more robust equipment. Here are some bullets of what I want:

-No less than 5 gal
-Reliable temperature control for fermentation, without having to get a refrigeration unit
-Good, clean system for bottling.
-Good, elegant system for boiling and sparging
-Well made equipment that won't crap out.

I'm giving myself a 100 to 200 dollar budget.

I'm also wondering were a good place to source ingredients is. I know Brooklyn Brewer's has recipe kits, but surely there is a better method.

You said no less then 5gal, but here we go anyway.

Home depot bucket/lid with spigot and airlock about $7 each. 3.5gallon batches with final 2.5ish bottling volume. Bought a step bit from Harbor Freight for like $4 to make holes.

30qt aluminum pot from Academy. $35

Small container to place bucket in w/water and icecubes for temp control. Wallmart $2.

Save your beer bottles..$0

Caps, caper, some tubing, bottling spigot $20.

Wort cooling system... a bathtub and ice you gathered and stored over the previous week $0. Also get several freezable ice packs. My LHBS gives them out for free.

I'm at $70ish.

I just bought a 10.5in x 14in SS 300micron Hop Spider to do full All grain in the described pot, $120. But the 6x14 which I've been using is $60 and fits 5lbs of grain and great for Partial Mashes. Or you can make your own with Home Depot parts. A 6in PVC coupler, 4 long bolts/nuts, paint strainer, clamp for like $15.

Hydrometer, SS spoons, thermometers, another $30 or so.

I did 6gal all grain batches in converted 10gal coolers for years but just too darn heavy and too much beer..I know heresy. I can do different styles in smaller batches now which is more enjoyable for me. The smaller batches won't stress your kitchen stove neither. Otherwise plan on $150 for a great burner that doesn't smoke up.

Good Luck and welcome to the funny farm!

Many places online for supplies. Northern Brewer is the big one. Don't forget Beersmith for recipe development. It cost 20 but I think others are free. Getting away from kits will help with cost. And you can taylor make your own or convert others to a 3.5gal batch. Brew'n Water for building proper water chemistry is free online.


And now that I've read through comments...Fermentation temp control is important but just to keep the yeast in it's happy zone. Not to control within .1 or even 1 degree. Mid-upper 60s are fine for 99% all ale yeast. Container with water and a few ice cubes every 8hrs for only 2 days of fermentation is all you need.

Make sure you dump the wort into the bucket to oxygenate but leave about half a gal in the kettel with the protiens and hop material. Whirlflocc tablets will help.

Be sure to cold crash before bottling. This drops out the trub/hops for cleaner finishing flavors.

Sanitize everything; hands, yeast packaging, fermenters. scissor, bottles, caps...with a spray of Starsans.

You do this and you can make really good beer. Humanity had NONE of this stuff yet we still kept brewing beer. That says something about how easy it is to make decent beer.

 

[Bamos6928]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-homebrew-starter-kit.html

If i was starting over this is a great beginner kit has everything you need except for bottles and it comes with a kit for your first brew.

This is a good starting point and then you can add or change things as you start to brew and figure out your system.

This is the kit I just started with last week and I don't have any complaints yet. This is a very good company to deal with in my limited experience.

 

[stieg000]

Lowe's sells food grade buckets for about the same price as the homer bucket.