Cheers!

[colinX]

Hey all, just joined the site because classes are almost done and realized I'd like to dedicate some of my summer to learning the fine art of brewing beer.

After traveling through parts of Europe this summer, I'd like to buy a kit or something that will help me start making my own beer.

I'm still trying to decide on something, hopefully you all could help me out a bit.

Although I realize that brewing beer is a timely process and I will ruin many batches before making good ones, I am not sure whether I should get one of these smaller kits before getting into the bigger ones or if I should just get the larger capacity and higher end kits.

A goal of mine is to start making beer in higher capacities and put it into kegs when I host parties of family and friends. So should I just start out by getting one of the more expensive set ups with co2 set up and all that, so that after doing some small bottling experiments, I can quickly move to kegs?

Thanks all, I'm really looking forward to getting into the homebrew culture.

 

[arturo7]

Welcome to the board, Colin!

How well did you survive the fires last week? I was in SB Fri/Sat. Looked like a couple areas were hit pretty hard.

Equipment is usually a matter of budget. Most of us start simple and add more gear/capacity as our obsession grows.

Which kits are you looking at?

Also, I would suggest that you buy Palmer's "How to Brew." It is one of the bibles of homebrewing.

cheers!

 

[staffVAJoe]

"I will ruin many batches before making good ones" ?????

Did you ruin the first Cheeseburger you ever made??? Don't tell my friends this (they think I am a god because I can create alcohol); but this is not rocket science.

step 1: Get a recipe and directions and follow them.

step 2: Using the same recipe change / alter 1 ingredient at a time to experiment.

your first beer probably wont be spectacular but it should at the very least taste better than Milwaukee's Best (they need to try A LOT harder)

Buy the good stuff to start out... otherwise you will be spending the cash down the line upgrading instead of getting new stuff.

happy brewing

 

[colinX]

arturo- yep the fires were pretty rough, school even got cancelled for a few days, but didn't really affect us in isla vista..

I've been looking at some of the kits from this site, there's one for 135 and one for 265, which obviously covers you by having more of the necessary things( or atleast it seems like it) are these good kits? maybe i might need to upgrade the brewing pot if I want to have a higher yield?

Also looking at the draft system, but in the beginning I will probably just use bottles.

And Joe youre right, I don't think I could possibly mess up bad enough to make my beer any worse than the natty or keystone we usually drink..

So what "good stuff" sets would you recommend? any help would be great.

 

[arturo7]

links for the kits?

 

[colinX]

yeah, based on what I'm ultimately aiming for, at making keg batches once i get some decent experience. do you like the kits from this site? or from somewhere else or what?

 

[arturo7]

Colin, I don't know to which kits you are referring. That's why I asked for a link.

Also, you might spend some time reviewing, searching the Equipment/Sanitation or DIY forums.



Look, a search result!

Home Brew Forums - Registration




EDIT: not sure why that says registration. i copied a link from a search result

 

[khiddy]

ColinX, you're not linking to the sites you keep asking about, so it's hard to give some specific advice.

Here is a good beginners kit.

As far as kegging, what I always heard was that people who get into homebrewing usually find the bottling process to be so time-and-effort intensive that they lose interest. I decided quite early on that I wanted to get into kegging, so I dropped the coin on a setup from Midwest Supplies and got a 2-keg setup. I've since added three additional kegs, so that I can get a pipeline going, and it's working pretty well.

But you can begin with bottles and caps, they're much cheaper to acquire, and I'll bet your friends can help you gather enough for your batches. You don't want bottles that are twist-off, nor do you want clear or green bottles. Brown bottles that require a bottle opener are what you want. Brown glass protects the beer from the danger of the beer getting light-struck, which produces nasty "skunking". (Think Corona or Rolling Rock.)

Figure on needing 52 cleaned and sanitized 12-oz bottles for each 5 gallon batch, plus a few extra in case you have a problem. Or you can use Grolsch-style flip top bottles, but they're a bit more expensive to acquire (and you gotta drink the nasty Grolsch in order to get them) - again, avoid green bottles unless you can store them in a dark place!

 

[colinX]

hey, really sorry, for some reason I thought that this forum was part of the site i was looking into buying from. the link to the kits is here
The Brew Hut - Beginner Brewing Kits

it looks like the kit for 265 has it all pretty much covered, but do you guys think i should be dropping that much money for it or no? I saw that kit on brewmaster, does it compare with this other kit and would it cover me for my purposes?

 

[arturo7]

A couple things about this kit a first glance. It looks like it has most everything you would need. Plus a couple that you might not.

I don't like the 20qt pot. If you want to move into all grain this is too small.

Also, if you've got the budget, I'd invest in some swing top bottles. You don't have to screw with capping and they offer an enormous cool factor.

Have you browsed any of the other forums yet? ie. Beginners, Equip/Sani? (HINT!, HINT!)

Also, is there a homebrew shop in your area? I would suggest a trip there before you buy anything on line.

Good luck.

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[colinX]

Okay so today I went to a local brew shop because I've decided it's time to get this dream goin.
this is what they offer, if anyone knowledgeable on this subject could give me their input on whether they think this is good or not, please let me know.


basic kit is $85-

6.5 gal fermentor w/ lid
6.5gal bottling bucket
2 spigots, airlock, and stopper
bottle brush, bottle filler
bottle capper, 144 bottle caps
transfer tubing, fermometer strip
intro homebrewing dvd
cleaner and sanitizing chemicals
instructions and 10% off first kit

also they have a deluxe kit which is 155 dollars and includes also:
floating thermometer, hydrometer
hydrometer test jar
2 cases of 12 oz bottles
5 gal stainless steel brew pot

so let me know what u guys think about these deals please, all input is accepted

 

[mvdilts]

The basic kit sounds very similar to what I started out with a few years ago when I wanted to get into the hobby, although I'm surprised it doesn't come with a hydrometer. If you have easy access to empty bottles (non-twist-off) I'd go with the basic kit and add a hydrometer, test jar, 5 gal brew pot and an auto-siphon. (I hate trying to siphon using a hose).

 

[mvdilts]

If you're not sure whether you'll brew long term or not I'd definitely go with the basic kit (although I'm really surprised that it doesn't come with a hydrometer) and add a hydrometer, test jar and a brew pot. If you're willing to hunt for bottles you can often get them for free (or, if you're like me you save your empties). If you're sure you want to get into more advanced brewing I'd substitute a larger (7.5 or 10 gallon) kettle (you'll need the extra space for full volume boils of batches).

 

[colinX]

yeah that's what i was thinking but the guy was telling me that anything larger than 5 gallons wouldnt work too well on a household stove, is that true?

 

[colinX]

what do you think?