Beginner's kit or "la carte"?

[facesnorth]

After being introduced to some of the tastier microbeers out there, and tapping out my budget, I've decided to start brewing my own beer. I don't have any equipment yet. I've seen beginner's kits ranging from under 100 to over 200. However, I am wondering if there is any excellent "must have" equipment and tools out there that are only sold separately and not part of a kit. In which case, it may make sense financially to avoid the kit all together and buy all my items separately. I'm looking for quality equipment that is going to last at least a few years, and give me great quality beer. Money is most definitely a factor, but I'm thinking long term - if I end up replacing items from my kit that were insufficient, then perhaps buying a la carte up front is better to begin with. Or is there a rockin kit that will do a great job, containing great quality parts, without any superfluous items included to jack up the price that I'll never use? Thoughts on this?

 

[rwinzing]

Most intermidiate kits have everything you need beside a brew kettle. Plan on buying at least a 40qt kettle if you don't want to have to upgrade.

Beside that a wort chiller is a real nice to have

 

[boswell]

I am just getting back into brewing, so i am in the same boat as you. I purchased a kit a few years ago, but am finding that it is cheaper to buy things piecemeal this time around. Just picked up a 20qt stainless kettle with a lid at my local Family Dollar for $14!

 

[BrownDogBrews]

i started with a kit and moved up from there. i still use everyhting that came in the kit beside the bottle capper and filler. i moved to kegs a while ago. a brew kettle is about the only thing i have upgraded when moving to all grain. like said before a 40 qt+ is what i sould have bought the first time. kits are nice since they have everyhitng you will need to start.

 

[cvstrat]

You'll probably need something like this:

2 5 gallon buckets (at least one being a bottling bucket with the valve)
Autosiphon
Thermometer
A better bottle or 3 hehe. (or glass carboys if you want)
Air locks and stoppers for each carboy/better bottle
StarSan
Beer thief (or turkey baster)
Hyrdometer and hydrometer tube to test gravity
A few hundred bottles, caps, and capper
Whirfloc tablets (or irish moss)
A clear 1 gallon pitcher with 1/4 gallon increments

If you go all grain you'l need these too:

Immersion chiller
10 gallon boil kettle
Full propane tank
Mash paddle (4 dollar long plastic one is good)
Bayou Burner (or some propane burner)
Mash Tun (cooler conversion of some sort)

I'm sure I've probably left something out. I think I ordered a kit from midwest or something that had most of it in there. It's probably cheaper to buy a bulk of it in a kit and piece together the rest.

 

[facesnorth]

Most intermidiate kits have everything you need beside a brew kettle. Plan on buying at least a 40qt kettle if you don't want to have to upgrade.

Beside that a wort chiller is a real nice to have

So it doesn't really matter which one I choose? I will be happy with any of them for years? What about size? I see fermenting jugs ranging from 5-7 gallons. I'd like not to be restricted to buying ingredients from just the company that I buy my kit from. Some of the packs seem intended for a 6 or 7 gallon jug. I don't think I could put one of those packets in a 5 gallon jug. But would I be able to put a 5 gallon packet in a 7 gallon jug? Or would having the extra space detrimental to the process? Thanks.

 

[facesnorth]

You'll probably need something like this:

2 5 gallon buckets (at least one being a bottling bucket with the valve)

A better bottle or 3 hehe. (or glass carboys if you want)

Better to age in glass carboy or better bottles? I haven't looked into the better bottles much. But it sounds like something I should make a decision on early on and stick with, because if I buy a glass carboy and then decide I want to use better bottles, I'll have wasted money on the carboy and it will just sit around taking up space.

Also, same question about the size of the gallon buckets. Is 5 a good number to go with? Does that then disallow me from using ingredient packs intended for 6 or 7 gallon containers?

And wow, all grain sounds like a much bigger investment in terms of time and money. I'll have to look into that more to decide if that's worth it.

 

[philrose]

if you're going jug, carboy, better bottle-

Get at least 6 gallon for fermenting. When I made my first batch I had no idea that 5 gallons was insufficient for actively fermenting wort. I had pale ale on my ceiling!

I use both 6.5 gal glass carboys and a ~8 gallon plastic bucket almost identical to this one, the graduations on the side are really helpful. The extra headspace is nice so I don't have to worry about blowoffs on heavy 5g batches.

 

[rwinzing]

Like people are saying. You want your primary to be 6.5 gallons which the Ale Pale is. Most kits come with a 5 gallon for secondary and a bottling bucket.

Down the line you may want to get another primary so you can multiple batches going the 6-7 primary gives enough head room for more active fermentation.

 

[rknrll]

First post here...but I've been reading/lurking a bunch.

I pulled the trigger today on the $80 kit (Better Bottle secondary) from Midwest Supplies...and added 144 caps, 8oz Star San, a stirring spoon, nylon boiling bag, and an extra liquid thermometer and 3 piece air lock. $123 shipped to Boston...couldn't find a better deal than that anywhere. The dial thermometer went out of stock today, so I'll just pick one of those up somewhere local.

I went with a cheaper/smaller brew kettle for now...figuring that once I'm better at this whole thing, I'll go propane and invest in a nice big kettle.

 

[eibbor]

I bought a brewcraft starter brewery kit. It came with 2 big buckets, a drilled lid with and air lock, auto siphon, hose, bottling wand, fermometer, small bottle of star san, a hydrometer and a bottle capper. I thought about buying everything separately but i decided i really liked the idea of just opening a box and having everything in it. (i already had a big pot). The only things I have added to it is another lid and a test jar for my hydrometer.

 

[meddin]

After being introduced to some of the tastier microbeers out there, and tapping out my budget, I've decided to start brewing my own beer.

Are your trying to save money homebrewing? Good luck with that . This hobby spends my money faster than I can earn it.

Seriously though, for supplies, the basic/intermediate kits (for example http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html) + at least a 5 gallon brew kettle + bottles and an extract kit should be enough to get you started.

If you get addicted to brewing though, look out!

 

[calbrew]

Many kits come a with glass thermometer. Check out the digital cooking thermometers. They are only 15-20 bucks and you don't have to worry about them breaking. Plus they are easy to read. I just got one and love it.

 

[facesnorth]

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. I may go the same route as rknrll and get what he got. Turns out my brother in law will just let me borrow his 40 quart pot which is great because it's not something I will need all the time.

 

[GunnerMan]

Are your trying to save money homebrewing? Good luck with that . This hobby spends my money faster than I can earn it.

I didn't start saving money homebrewing untill I went AG. Sure I might spend more money on brewing but it might just be a function of my increased beer consumption and not the cost of the brew.

 

[philrose]

i think now that I homebrew I actually buy more commercial beer

Take right now for instance, I have 20 gallons in kegs and 10 gallons in bottles but I'm still buying new beers to try every single style out there.

 

[Dr_Gordon_Freeman]

I didn't start saving money homebrewing untill I went AG. Sure I might spend more money on brewing but it might just be a function of my increased beer consumption and not the cost of the brew.

People say this a lot but I don't buy it. It depends more on what type of beers you're making. If you're making BMC style lagers, then yeah homebrewing probably won't be cheaper. But if you make anything like microbrews or belgian ales, or other rare or expensive recipes, you'd be hard pressed to spend more on homebrew extract ingredients.

For example: a 750mL bottle of good Belgian ale is usually $8-10, and a sixer of microbrew can run up to $15. Cost per bottle is WAY below that when homebrewing, with either extract or all-grain.

Now if you tried to clone Natural Ice, I don't think you're going to make it cost effective.

It's also easier to not go nuts buying gadgets when you're an extract brewer

 

[jturie]

I still believe in the KISS rule. People go a little too nuts with their first couple of batches. Stick to basics. What I mean is, just do primary fermentation, do a prepackaged kit (like AHS or NB), do something dark with a low BG (like a Stout around 1.050). Concentrate on sanitation, be patient, and your beer will turn out pretty darn good. Later on, add stuff if you wish, like a kegging system, glass carboy (if you still want to secondary--I don't), brew belt, wort chiller, wine thief, aeration system, nitrogen, SS conical fermentor, propane burner, kegerator, $, $ and more dollars (hey, it's a hobby and we're guys--would you prefer we go buy a boat???)

Too many times I see threads like: "first batch, Belgian Tripel, 10 kinds of hops, secondary fermentation, dry-hopped, yeast starter, kegged, tastes like sulfur--what did I do wrong????"

Seriously, Shawn White didn't do 720's on his first run down the halfpipe....I think.