Best first kit

[Bravo8Dex]

Hi guys! I'm Jamie. I would like to know what the best kit is for a beginner? I have seen Mr. Beer and honestly would rather take the time to do a 5 or 6.5g brew.

I would like to do large brews but I don't understand some things like carboys for instance. Do they actually come with the cork//airlock mechanism? If they do not how do I construct them? If someone could take me under their wing I learn fast. I'm very new to all of this but im willing to try! I just don't want to make any 3.5-3.7ABV brews as im actually trying to 6.0+ABV.


Sorry if you get a million posts like this. Most info i've seen speaks of things I just dont understand.

Thank you!

Dex.

 

[Grinder12000]

Welcome Jamie - best way to start is read this online line book - then come back with questions. It's probably the easiest way.

How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

Brewing is like chess - easy game to play until you really learn it and then it becomes an obsession where you can never learn everything.

For instance - you don't HAVE to make full boils to make great beer. Also - why do you want to make high ABV beers ??? It's OK but many of the best beers are below 5%.

 

[wild]

Welcome Jamie, Dex, or Bravo8Dex to the forum and the hobby.
+1 on the Palmer book. It's a great place to start.
Are there any clubs in your area? Joining a club will help you learn much faster through the use of their vast knowledge along with buddy brews and brewouts. And you get to taste everyone else's beers to boot!

 

[jklotz]

+1 for Palmers book. Great place to start!

Also, you might want to pick up a brewing kit if you don't already have one. It comes with everything you need to do your own brews. Here is an example:

Austin Homebrew Supply

You might also want to look at some recipe kits that are designed to be easy. The list is extensive:

Austin Homebrew Supply

Hope this helps!

 

[joe6pack]

Also, try to find a local home brewing supply (LHBS) in your area. Mine is very helpful for me. You can look at different items hands on and ask questions. My LHBS even does brewing demos from time to time.

 

[Bravo8Dex]

Thanks so much for all the replies! It's nice to have such an active forum!

Heres the thing, the high ABV is just one of the types i'm shooting for. One thing I hadn't noticed mentioned here very much (im new so sorry if I'm way off) but I wanted to try icebrewing and see how much better a home ice brew would be compared to like an Bud Ice for instance.

IDK, dare to be different! Or somethin like that. lol

 

[Rounder999]

I found this kit to have everything you need in one package to get you started. New Brewers Complete Homebrew Kit | Home Brewing Supplies from Monster Brew

Austin Homebrewe can get you started with a kit that emulates beers like Bud and some of the HG beers you are contemplating as well. I would suggest making something close to what you already like and work up from there so as to have a baseline so to speak.

 

[debauch]

Bravo - I just started my very fist brew 4 days ago and I'm telling you it may not be the preferred method by most, but it's certainly one of thie easiest....."Fest Brew" wort. It's a Canadian (Ontario) brand, so if you are in the states or elsewhere you would need to find a comparable brand.

I honestly just dumped 23 L of wort into a bucket and stirred in some yeast. That's it!! A good way to learn the ropes IMO. I hear it's pretty good. Will keep you posted once I actually try it!

http://www.noblegrape.ca/beer/festa_brew_recipe.htm

I got my whole kit (with bottles, primary, secondary, hydrometer, syphon, etc) for 89$! Sweet deal.

 

[Bravo8Dex]

Okay I've finally decided on what I want to brew.

You recall I wanted to brew a Highish ABV beer
Porter style seems to be the answer
I want to brew a 6.0%+ Porter!

I'm inspired by this 12 pack of Labatt "heritage series' I got yesterday. The porter is DELICIOUS! And I poured it into a pint glass and held it up to my T.V. and could NOT see any light at all through it. Very dark. In my eyes, beautiful!

I cant believe its a macro brew, although I've heard it's very limited supply, my store only recieved 12-12 packs as thats all we were allowed to have.

And it being a macro, I think I can do even better. If it were me brewing it I would have added a tad more hops.

What do you all think? Is a porter too hard for a first timer?

 

[Bach7210]

What do you all think? Is a porter too hard for a first timer?

Nope, shouldn't be any more difficult than any other. You will have to be a little bit more patient with a porter. I'd let it condition for 4-6 weeks (at least) after you bottle or keg. Good luck.

 

[nosmatt]

labatte porter?


try a sierra nevada porter.......bomb! or a deschutes (mirror pond) awesome.

never seen a 6.0+ porter though... sn is close @ 5.6%.

with a 5 gallon batch, your gonna get about 2 cases when all done, so dont worry so much about abv....drink more

also, the bigger the beer, the longer you wait to drink it....

 

[Bravo8Dex]

Okay question time.

Can I use the 'bottling bucket' as a short term secondary?

 

[ifishsum]

Can I use the 'bottling bucket' as a short term secondary?

You can if you have an airlock lid for it, but IMO it's not ideal for a couple of reasons. One is that there will be a lot of extra space in it, and you don't want your beer exposed to oxygen if it can be helped. I primary in buckets, but I prefer a 5 gallon glass carboy as a secondary because there is very little headspace left once it's full. Another reason is that you can see when your beer is clearing up, which is one of the main points of doing a secondary.

Another reason is that when it comes time to bottle you'll need to stir in the priming sugar, and that will very likely rouse up the sediment from the bottom - again defeating much of the point of doing a secondary. Ideally you want to put your priming sugar mixture into an empty bottling bucket, then rack your clear beer on top of it so it mixes as it's transferring.

You don't have to secondary of course - I often do, just because I want to free up my primary bucket for a new batch. Otherwise I would just leave in primary for 3+ weeks.

 

[Bravo8Dex]

Interesting. Thank you! I'm still learning before I put a chunk of change down into this. Brewing my own seems so exciting, i'm just not very patient. And recently i've gone overboard with my drinking! lol. I've been drinking a 6er every couple nights or so. Had a 6er of Warsteiner tonight.. Whew! Needa slow down hehe but it becomes a routine. A cold one after work is like breathing air, you just DO it!

Maybe I'll just not drink in between batches (yeah right). Looks good as I type it anyway though! lol.

But your right! I never even considered it, but I'm going to want to do probably 2 batches at a time. But the whole exploding carboy club thread has me kind of weary over them. And better bottles are even more expensive.

More so, I cant find a equipment kit that comes with a porter. I'm sick of American Fizz Water. Any other suggestions?

 

[Bach7210]

More so, I cant find a equipment kit that comes with a porter. I'm sick of American Fizz Water. Any other suggestions?

Doubt you will find an equipment kit that has a porter recipe kit attached to it. But, this link will get you what you want. MoreBeer | Porter- Extract

 

[ifishsum]

Yeah, that carboy disaster thread gave me the heebie-jeebies too. Just be real careful, and use a plastic milk crate or carboy harness whenever you move them full. Once I fill my carboys I only have to move them about 25 feet, and I still get one of my kids to help me if I can.