help me with Pros & cons...

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Wow, I think you win the award for most responses in he shortest amount of time!
 
jsweet said:
Do you trust your measuring cup? I have a 1-cup measuring cup that is off by nearly 15% :confused:

(If I had to bet, I'd put money on the measuring cup for accuracy over the bucket, but still...)
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Yeah, I know...I thought about the cup being off, but I trust it more than some printing on the side of a bucket. Plus, I measured out two different buckets and they were off by different amounts. If/when I find a more precise way to measure the water, I'm going to. Until then, I plan to use my newly marked buckets.
 
If you have a kitchen scale that you trust, you can calibrate your measuring cups pretty accurately by weighing a given volume of water. A pint's a pound the world around, as they say.
 
jsweet said:
If you have a kitchen scale that you trust, you can calibrate your measuring cups pretty accurately by weighing a given volume of water. A pint's a pound the world around, as they say.
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True, and I never really thought of that. I have a postal scale that goes up to 75lbs. I could just put the bucket on the scale, zero it, weigh out 8.34lbs of water and so on and so forth. Maybe I'll do that in the future...
 
Definitely go with the starter kit over the Mr. Beer!

That was the route I went, so I am biased. I had another friend start brewing around the same time as me, and he went the Mr. Beer route. A couple months/batches later he was just as hooked as I was and was regretting not spending a little more for a full kit right from the get go. The best part about a full kit is that it is expandable and won't get outdated very quickly as you move deeper into the hobby (obsession?)
 
If you go the 5 gallon route and hate it, its pretty easy to get rid of the gear on craigslist.

Mr Beer is such a cheaply made item to start with, it has no resale value.

Get the 5 gallon kit...you'll more easily make better beer with less effort, and won't have to relearn things vs 'the mr beer way'.
 
jdubb75 said:
Don't let the price fool you. It's a nice kit. Are there things that could be upgraded? Sure, but it includes some quality equipment that will last a long time. I wouldn't consider it a low grade kit. It just doesn't have the Better Bottles or carboys included. And, depending on what type of beer you want to make, you may never need a better bottle or carboy for secondary fermentation. It's seems like a lot of people just leave the beer in the primary (fermenting bucket) for 3-4 weeks instead of racking (transferring) to a secondary after a couple weeks. If you are going to be getting into beers that will need to ferment and age for several months, it will be a great idea to pick up a secondary to transfer it to for aging to get it off the yeast cake. That can be added at a later date though.

If you get a basic extract kit, it seems like most of the instructions included will tell you to rack to the secondary after 10-14 days (give or take depending on the type of beer brewed), but you can just let it set in the primary like I mentioned above. So, if you are looking at recipe kits and reading the directions, don't let that step worry you.
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I think we will be alright.. shoot if we go bigger, i sell the tanks half of these vendors suggest when making 100-500 gallons :) I sell them to people daily saying they are looking to make beer! perks of working in a plastics store :)

wildwest450 said:
You'll never see a guy's post get 44 responses in 3.5 hours.
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this was the 2nd post i saw mentioning that. I find it very odd... Its not like i came in here hitting on people. I stated right from the get go who I & hubby were and that this was for his birthday? I sort of plan on him joining me in here once he figures stuff out, but chances are he will send me on for questions :) anyways i wasnt stepping on anyones toes. Im beyond happy i got all this info!! I cant wait to get it all here & start!

Sad to see I missed a $20 kit sale... have to keep looking for good deals on here & everywhere.. need to find a place locally. there has to be something... i would think!
 
With a 1/2 inch hole punch and a 50c grommet, you can turn any clean food grade plastic bucket with lid into a fermenter. Just realize for a 5 gallon batch you'll want a 6.5-8 gallon size bucket. If there's not enough room, the yeast can clog up your airlock and build pressure until the bucket explodes.
 
OBDA1stLady said:
this was the 2nd post i saw mentioning that. I find it very odd... Its not like i came in here hitting on people.
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Ha, it's not you at all, ladies tend to get more than their fair share of attention around here. What do you expect from a bunch of grown men who make alcohol as their hobby? ;)



-
 
I think what they mean by most posts in a short time is this page on here that shows who got the record for most posts in a short time. I found it in the red strip all the way at the top of the page.
 
We would be delinquent in our duties if we didn't direct you to John Palmer's book that is entirely online and free. It contains step by step guidance and explains the 'why's' of each step.

www.howtobrew.com

Did I mention that it is free?
 
for anyone who is looking for a kit from Midwest!!! this deal is good till Nov 11th I think...

Make alcohol the easy way with today's Groupon: for $64, you get a brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value), a steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value), your choice of either an Irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an Irish stout ingredient kit (up to a $25.95 value), an instructional DVD (a $4.95 value), and a $25 gift certificate for your second batch shipped from Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies (up to a $127.80 total value). A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of this Groupon.
 
OBDA1stLady said:
for anyone who is looking for a kit from Midwest!!! this deal is good till Nov 11th I think...

Make alcohol the easy way with today's Groupon: for $64, you get a brewing essentials equipment kit (a $56.95 value), a steel bottle opener (a $14.95 value), your choice of either an Irish red ale, an autumn amber ale, or an Irish stout ingredient kit (up to a $25.95 value), an instructional DVD (a $4.95 value), and a $25 gift certificate for your second batch shipped from Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies (up to a $127.80 total value). A $12 shipping fee is not included in the price of this Groupon.
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Just got this kit not too long ago. I love it. I highly recommend getting the amber ale it's delicious! Just need some additional things like star san, spray bottles, wine thief, brew pot and maybe an auto siphon. Oh yea, and of course bottles.
 
kyle6286 said:
Just got this kit not too long ago. I love it. I highly recommend getting the amber ale it's delicious! Just need some additional things like star san, spray bottles, wine thief, brew pot and maybe an auto siphon. Oh yea, and of course bottles.
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and carboys, kegs, CO2 tank, faucets, line, sculpture, keggles, false bottoms, pumps, temp controller, temp chambers, caps, mash paddle, stainless spoon, stir plate, flasks, quick disconnects, etc...

I love this hobby... get's darn expensive though!
 
woah... just starting out do i need all this????

the kit said it came with everything but the pot, the beer kit & something else.. all of which i will have now..
 
ThePearsonFarm is joking... that's if you're obsessive. :)

You say you already have an adequate brew pot. You don't strictly need a wine thief if you have a turkey baster or equivalent, though you'll probably find it handy. The kit comes with sanitizer, but you'll be happier using StarSan with a spray bottle. That's it really, the kit has everything else that you absolutely need. There's a bunch more stuff that you may decide you want, but start there and decide what you need.
 
OBDA1stLady said:
woah... just starting out do i need all this????

the kit said it came with everything but the pot, the beer kit & something else.. all of which i will have now..
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totally and emphatically NO!!!

I was just kidding and expressing (as many here will) that you'll quickly get sucked into the hobby. I started with a simple True Brew kit and have slowly progressed from there. I have no idea how much I've bought/spent over the years, but how many addicts ever know how much they've spent???

:mug:
 
That's a great deal and even though I've obsessed myself into a fair selection of equipment, even I considered buying one of those kits, or at least telling some people about it.

You don't "need" all that stuff to start. But if you really enjoy the hobby, i bet you will constantly find little things to make it even easier. I like to play with tools and make things, so there is always another project to put together for me!
 
Homercidal said:
That's a great deal and even though I've obsessed myself into a fair selection of equipment, even I considered buying one of those kits, or at least telling some people about it.

You don't "need" all that stuff to start. But if you really enjoy the hobby, i bet you will constantly find little things to make it even easier. I like to play with tools and make things, so there is always another project to put together for me!
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amen!
 
ThePearsonFam said:
and carboys, kegs, CO2 tank, faucets, line, sculpture, keggles, false bottoms, pumps, temp controller, temp chambers, caps, mash paddle, stainless spoon, stir plate, flasks, quick disconnects, etc...

I love this hobby... get's darn expensive though!
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Don't forget the 8-10 g's for a place to brew in!


_
 
my 2 cents. we've had really good luck with the brewers best kits that we've purchased. they'll come with everything (ingredients) to make 5 gallons. i find their instructions easy to understand and follow.

i'd go ahead and buy an extra 6.5 gallon bucket and get a second batch going right away. you'll taste test your first batch to death! when we first started brewing i found that brewing a batch a weekend kept me busy enough that i didn't feel the need to constantly be checking on the previous batch.

another suggestion would be to go easy on collecting too many bottles. we bought a 2 cases worth for our first batch and then started getting bottles from friends and everyone else. by our 3rd batch we had decided to go with a keezer. bought a used freezer and 3 kegs and haven't looked back. have added another keg and i now have 4cases worth of 12oz and another case of 22oz bottles gathering dust in another room.

cheers!
 
I just found that the bottling wand designed to fit my cooper's micro brew fermenter won't fit inside my wife's Brewer's Best ale pale. Is there a particular brand that does fit BB's "hose style" spigot? I need one by Sunday. Her BB summer ale kit brew looks like it'll be ready to bottle by then.:drunk:
 
I vote no on Mr Beer. You should do a little reading first. Check out How to Brew. At least take a look at section 1. That'll get you pointed in the right direction.

The advertisers on HBT that have great homebrew websites. Check out the vendors forum and banner ads. A kit is a good way to start out. Plan to spend anywhere from 100-200 once you figure out what you want. You'll also need a large pot. 5 gallons is the normal starting size but you'll more than likely upgrade that to 10 or 15 gallons if you find out you really like making beer.
 
And if you have a restaurant supply house in your area, they can often be gold mines for brewpots.
 
I started brewing 8 weeks ago and skipped the Mr. Beer. I personally wouldn't waste my money as if you like making the beer then everything is garbage when you go to upgrade to the 5 gallon setup.

8 weeks in and I have 5 batches under my belt and I'm already looking to go to 10 gallon batches and keg half of every batch.

Also I very highly recommend the first bit of How to Brew:
How to Brew
Read the couple chapters on brewing. Don't get into yeast, grains, hop etc yet. That will come in time.

Again like was suggested, go to a local homebrew store. Most have good people that will make sure you have everything you need AND if you have prolems will (or think you have problems) they will be more than happy to answer your questions.
 
One more vote to skip Mr Beer. I've never read one post from someone saying that a batch of beer from one of those things came out well. Read Palmer's book and start with a simple pale ale kit. Have fun and enjoy the obsession, I mean hobby!
 

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