Looking to build out 1st brewing setup

[marjen]

Hello. I am new to the forums. I have been reading about, watching videos about and even went to a couple classes about home brewing for the last year or so and think i am finally ready to give it a go. I am looking to brew NE style IPA's.

I currently have no equipment. I dont think I want to just go with a cheap starter set, I am thinking instead of buying quality equipment that would last a long time and hopefully make the process easier thus leading to good consistent beer. Does that plan make sense? Or should i go with some cheap starter set to start and see how it goes? I hate to throw money into throw away equipment.

For example kettles. Most say to brew 5 gallon batches you need at least a 10 gallon kettle. Should I buy a cheap one or go for a Spike or SS Brewtech and be done with it? Obviously it makes the cost of entry more expensive, but as long as I stick with the hobby it would be cheaper long term. Also carboys vs something like a SS Tech conical Fermenter. These are the things I am not sure about at the moment.

Any advise from some experienced brewers?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

I was in your shoes 4 years ago, had been wanting to brew for years but was moving a lot so I put it off. Once we finally settled I was where you are. A good friend and brewer visited and we went to the store to get me setup. The best thing he did for me was to convince me to skip the "starter set" and go all in, this meant skipping bottling and go right to kegging. I'm not saying thats what you have to do, but if you really think your going to be into this hobby, its something to really consider. I'm so glad I did this. My friend also convinced me to get some decent equipment so I got a blichmann burner I still use, a cheaper 10 gallon pot with ball valve (still use to heat strike water), and a 70 qt mash tun (still use for 5 gallon batches).

My advice, you dont need to spend a ton on the best pot, but make it at least 10 gallons. If you make it 15 gallons then you wont need to 'upgrade' that pot when you grow into the hobby and want to start doing 10 gallon batches. I bought a used keg from a local brewery, for $50, spent $25 on weldless bulkhead and ball valve and bam you have a nice 15 gallon keggle.

Also get the biggest burner you can afford, a TON of time is spent waiting to heat things up or waiting to boil when brewing, I couldn't imagine brewing with a dinky little burner, it would add at least an hour to a 10 gallon brew day.

I still dont have a conical, they are nice but not necessary to make great beer. I'd hold off on that big expense until you know you love the hobby. Instead, make sure you have temperature control for fermentation for batch one, thats something else my buddy told me and he was so right, every beer I've made has been good if not great. his last two tips for great beer were make starters/pitch enough yeast, and properly oxygenate your wort with pure O2 and a aeration stone.

Cheers and good luck.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

oh and if you go with 10 gallon batches chilling can take a while, i ended up building a counterflow chiller and use a pump, but I really like the looks of the jaded brewing immersion chillers, those may really be something to consider to make the brew day simpler/shorter if you have the change for it.

 

[marjen]

Thanks for the advise.

I am thinking of maybe a generic starter kit plus a solid Kettle might be a good balance. Looking at maybe a Spike or Anvil or SS Brewtech for the kettle. Would probably just get a 15 gallon to be done with it.

Any advise on an aeration stone? I dont know anything about them, how they work, or how to integrate into setup.
What kind of temp control is needed? I will be making IPAs, will also be dry hopping.

How long does beer in a keg last? I only usually drink 4-6 beers a week on average. Maybe more if we have friends/family over or its nice fire pit weather So I would be worried about it going flat. Also I assume its a much more expensive setup? And do you go from fermenter to keg without secondary container?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[yeastylad]

It depends on your budget and your intended brewing environment. If you have an indoor space with access to a 240V dryer outlet, I would recommend electric, and if you want to minimize your brewing footprint, go single vessel BIAB. This is just my opinion and I don't have another point of reference as I went from stovetop extract brewing to a 15 gallon Brew Boss system which I absolutely love. I can roll it around my basement on a small metal cart, hook it up to my dryer outlet to brew. I have a simple turbine fan/ducting setup to remove the vapor during the boil to outside.

LIke I say, just one option to consider.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

1) Have you looked at Brew in a Bag (BIAB )? I batch sparged for years in an igloo cooler and made great beer. But I wanted to simplify my process and I switched to BIAB and never looked back. If you decide to go that way definitely go with a 15 (or 20 &#128521 gallon kettle. Ratchet pulley and big PVC or silicone gloves are a must.

2) No need for a secondary in most cases (fruit, long aging, wood, etc.). I just upgraded to a Speidel fermenter and love it. Was considering the SS buckets but glad I tried this first. Big opening for cleaning and adding dry hops, can rack straight to a keg or bottle, handles, heavy plastic...Love it!

3) You need temp control to make good beer. For most that is a fridge or freezer with a temp controller but there are other options depending on space and cost. Used can be had all the time at yard sales or Craigslist

4) I'm glad I keg now, but bottling won't hurt you. I actually enjoy bottling, it just takes a little time. Kegs make life easier, but they don't make better beer. A good chiller, temp control, even burner will.

5) check out https://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-5-MICRON-OXYGEN-AERATION-SYSTEM-P3668.aspx

If you can find a bottle of medical oxygen with a regulator you can control flow and it'll last forever!

6) Welcome to your new obsession! 🤘🍻

 

[jerbrew]

Keg beer will last a long time depending on style if your process is solid and you eliminate oxygen from packaging. once it's carbed you can leave it alone without it going flat as long as there are no leaks and if its on CO2 to serve it will never go flat unless you have a leak and run out of CO2.

On your comment about equipment makes things easier. It won't. Your process is what matters and getting comfortable with your system will make it easier. That said, I recommend going for what you think you'll want later if you're going to stick around because every time you change something in your equipment you're setting yourself up for a learning experience. Even something like a kettle will change your brew day since your boil off rate is likely to change.

Do you need SS or Anvil or spike? no. A concord kettle will get you there but you'd have to modify it and if you have the money i'd go for the plug and play kettles.

I'm not sure where you live and how much room you have or what your weather is like but fermentation temperature control is probably the single best thing you can do for your finished product (sanitation and avoiding oxidation aside). Something like a mini fridge or chest freezer with an inkbird attached and a brew belt or something will get you what you need. Again, a lot of this is about how much you wanna spend there are a lot of other cheaper options for fermentation control and a ton of DIY stuff if you're into that.

I also recommend a chiller. If you're looking to speed things up a decent chiller will cool your boiling wort in minutes and get you pitching yeast and cleaning up quickly after the boil.

I second a good output burner. I have a a cheap 100,000 btu burner that's noisy as hell but it will get 7-8 gallons boiling in under 10 minutes.

 

[marjen]

So for now I think I will stick with bottling.

I am still considering a real good kettle but might go with a starter kit for the rest.

I am going to get a chiller and probably build a recirculating setup in a chilled cooler.

I have a basement room that is usually between 50-65 degrees. I assume this is a decent spot to store the fermenter while its fermenting?

 

[Dcpcooks]

I would suggest that any kettles will make beer. From big bling down to a cheap starter set. From little turkey fryer to an all electric 50 amp set up.

One thing I see people miss early on is yeast needs controlled temperature ranges to produce the flavors we want and limit off flavors.

So I suggest you focus on the process of controlling fermentation. So you'll want to focus on the ability to heat and cool your wort and understand the impact of pitch rates and the role of O2. This can be as simple as a used freezer and a temp controller with a carboy and a thermo well or it can be a jacketed conical fermentor and a glycol unit.

Everything is relative and its impacted by your budget and the space available to brew ferment and store your beer.

Good luck with the process. The journey is pretty fun in and of itself. Mug

 

[marjen]

I went ahead and made my first purchase the wort chiller. It seemed to be a smart purchase and looks like it will help reduce the brewery process time and also will help possible make better beer. So one decision has been made

 

[marjen]

As far as space, its not really an issue. I have a good size kitchen, patio and basement. So depending on where I set things up I am good with space.

so is the suggestion here that controlling the fermenter temp is really important? I thought you just through it in a dark cool room and were done with it?

 

[broadbill]

My recommendations:
1. Buy capacity for 10 gallons batches from the outset, even if it means not being able to afford the "fancy" type kettles....especially if you are even a little handy you can drill the holes yourself. I've used nothing but weldless fittings with no problems.

2. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably would not bother homebrewing if I didn't have a good way to control temps. I think alot of people give up because they start out without temp control, make sub-par beer and figure its not work the effort after all. Its that important.

3. Kegging makes everything so much easier.

4. BIAB is underappreciated.

 

[broadbill]

I thought you just through it in a dark cool room and were done with it?

Go this way and its a good chance your equipment will be moth-balled or on Craigslist after a year. You just don't get the results anyone is looking for without adequate temp control. Period.

I think alot of folks want to get into the hobby for cheap, make sub-par beer and think its their technique. Chances are they don't have the right tools for the job. Lets be honest, making beer is only slightly more difficult than your average casserole dinner preparation.

 

[bleme]

I thought you just through it in a dark cool room and were done with it?

Yeast can survive in a wide range of temperatures but we don't usually want the flavor produced at those temperatures. The tighter you can control the temperature swings, the better off you will be. Early in the fermentation, yeast produce a LOT of heat. If you let the heat build, you will get off flavors. Late in fermentation, they stop producing heat. If you let the temp fall, they will go to sleep without cleaning up after themselves and you will get off flavors. The narrower you can control the temperature swings, the better off you will be.

I fermented for a couple of years with just a big rope tub filled with water and a meat thermometer. In the winter, I put an aquarium heater in the water and wrapped it all up with a sleeping bag. In the summer, I covered the fermentor with a t-shirt and blew a fan on it. I was constantly watching the temperature and making little adjustments and a nervous wreck, but it made good beer. When I got my fridge and STC-1000, all that stress went away.

 

[mkyl428]

As far as space, its not really an issue. I have a good size kitchen, patio and basement. So depending on where I set things up I am good with space.

so is the suggestion here that controlling the fermenter temp is really important? I thought you just through it in a dark cool room and were done with it?

I agree with others about temp control I ferment in plastic buckets and have a very minimal BIAB set up, but I also have a chest freezer and a Johnson control attached to regulate my fermentation temps.

When I got started the freezer and temp control were one of the first things I bought and after 4 years of brewing I have yet to make a bad batch of beer.

Get a decent kettle you can find a nice SSpot on Amazon or a restaurant supply for a decent price fittings aren't necessary, and can be purchased and added later, spend your money on temp control.

I also second the previous poster who recommended BIAB it's an easy process and a lot less equipment to clean on brewday.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[oujens]

Good on the wort chiller. I'm assuming you want to do all-grain? I started on extract for one beer and quickly moved to all grain with a mash tun. I just recently switched to BIAB. I would recommend BIAB to start.

Kettle - I did upgrade my cheap aluminum pot to a SS Brewtech and like the functionality. However, I committed to it after I determined I wanted to keep brewing for a while. The extra money could be put towards other equipment. Edit: I would recommend a 10 gallon kettle for 5 gallon batches, preferably one that actually has closer to 11 gallon capacity. I think Spike and I know SS Brewtech is 10.7 capacity (extra space for full volume mashing).

Bucket for fermenting - Don't need anything fancy to ferment. Easy to use, clean and store. Save money on a fermenter and/or kettle and invest in temp control for fermentation (cheap fridge).

Grain mill is always nice. I would think its a necessary piece of equipment to help control a factor in efficiency, but your LHBS might have a good mill. Money saved could go here as well.

Wilserbrewer bags have done well for me.

I would advise to get a better burner than a turkey fryer. Don't waste your time and fuel. Might also check what it takes to do electric and see if that is a possibility for you (induction or element).

In the end, it really depends what your budget is and what you want to do. A nice kettle, burner, or fermenter will not impact your beer as much as a sound process and controlling fermentation temps. Not sure if my thoughts help you, but at a minimum make sure you can control your fermentation temps.

 

[Dcpcooks]

so is the suggestion here that controlling the fermenter temp is really important? I thought you just through it in a dark cool room and were done with it?

Let's assume you do that. Your making a nice IPA, spent some money on hops and your really psyched after your brew day on your awesome new burner and brew pot.

Your house is set to 70 when your home and 65 while your at work. Yeast creates heat during active primary. it's 70 in the room and your beer may be 75-77. Fermentation then slows and the beer temp falls back to 70, then the room temp drops to 65 and your beer drops to 67. In a short window of time you have seen a spike and a crash in temps. That can cause many problems. The first is a diacetyl which tastes like cheap move theater butter. It's a yeast byproduct from warm fermentation. I can be reduced by hold the beer in the low to mid 60's. It tastes like crap, especially in an IPA.

If the cooling causes the yeast to flocculate (crash and go dormant) it may stall during the later stages of fermentation. Leaving you with a sweet under attenuated beer.

If both happen you have a sweet butter Bomb with hops. Then you wonder what happened and get frustrated with the hobby you just dropped several hundred dollars on.

Lots of other examples out there so you might want to consider fermentation control as a very important part of making really good beer.

There are lots of ways to solve the problem!

Cheers

 

[Dcpcooks]

Duplicate: delete

 

[Kharnynb]

First decision you have to make:

3-vessel or brew in bag.
Personally I prefer biab, but there is a big group of people who prefer 3-vessel as well.

Then you would need to decide if you want gas or stovetop or integrated electrical elements.

If you don't mind the spend, a grainfather or similar system will make your brewing easier and more repeatable, but comes with limitations in batch size.

Personally I prefer plastic buckets for fermenting, with maybe a carboy or stainless secondary later on if you want to make beers that require longer secondaries.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

I wouldn't worry about buying the most expensive equipment right out of the gate or buying everything all at once. You will spend a fortune. To make sure you are really wanting to do this hobby buy what you need to get started and decide if it's for you. You may find that spending 8-10 hours to brew and package a nice beer is too much of an investment of your time. Believe me, no matter what everyone says, it takes that long to get ready with a recipe and grain, get a starter going, brew, set up fermentation, clean and bottle (or keg).

A good intro would be to buy a BIAB setup to make 10 gallons. Start with 5 gallon batches. But, as long as you are spending the money on a pot the 15 gallon pot doesn't cost that much more than the 10 gallon pot. You can buy a 15 gallon Concord pot with a steamer basket, thermometer, some fittings and grain bag for <$125. For a minimum investment in a step bit and some weldless fittings you will have a nice setup, not spent a lot of money and will have a nice enough system to expand if you decide to. Pick up a burner for $50 and your good to go. Don't forget the Hydrometer and a capper for bottling ($20), a 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket or a couple food grade 5 gallon buckets, lids and air locks, siphon hoses and spigots. StarSan, Oxi Clean (Dollar Store Oxy/PBW)You already have a chiller.

Later you can expand as you get better and more comfortable with the process. A 15 gallon pot is great for 10 gallon or less batches (start with 5 gallons or less). If you can set up a fermentatation chamber or dedicate an old fridge or freezer on an inkbird, all the better. A cool spot in the basement will work in the winter, but in the summer it may be hard to keep the temp under 70. Temp control is a big thing for better beers. Later you can buy a pump, HLT and dedicated mash tun maybe convert to electric. If you want nicer, this stuff will sell easy.

Then a little down the road you can buy a keezer, kegs, taps and a CO2 tank. Fill them and some bottles too. You will still want/need to share your brews (you really can't drink it all yourself).

Welcome to the obsession.

 

[aangel]

With hindsight being 20/20, here's what I'd buy if I was getting into the hobby without any equipment and trying to spend minimally:

To make wort:
This thing ($300)
-a plain old immersion chiller of appropriate size to use with that thing ($75)
-whatever grains/hops you need. Get your local homebrew store to mill the grain for ya.
-a cheap pH meter ($20)
-a cheap refractometer ($15)
-the free version of Bru'N Water, some bulk water salts, and your local water report
-lactic acid for getting your pH right

To ferment:
-a few plastic carboys ($25-$35 each) to ferment in
-a few carboy bungs and airlocks
-a steel transfer wand and a sanitary air filter (use the brulosopher sterile siphon starter method for transfer)
-a forgiving yeast (US-05, or san diego super yeast)
-a basement that hovers around the 60 degree temperature range

to serve:
-a set of flip top bottles
-a set of replacement gaskets for them

There, done. Making wort is a pain in the ass, having some sort of appliance do it for you is worthwhile. Bottling is also a pain in the ass: flip top bottles save you from cappers breaking your bottles.

Best possible not-very-necessary upgrade: buy a mark's carboy washer, a CIP spray ball, and one of those bottle-cleaning racks for it. You'll save quite a bit of money on cleaning chemicals (pbw) and quite a bit of time spent soaking/scrubbing your equipment that way.

Full disclosure for me:
-i dove into the deep end when I joined the hobby. Kegging system, 5 gallon two-vessel setup, etc. I then went even crazier and build a 3-vessel 10 gallons setup. Hated it. Spent so much bloody time cleaning, and a brew day would literally take the whole damned day. Now I just have a picobrew zymatic and mark's carboy washer, and even now I'm thinking of ways to cut the amount of time and energy brewing takes.

 

[marjen]

Wow lots of advise, I appreciate it.

SO lots of talk about BIAB, I just did some VERY quick searches and it looks like it is an all grain method? I was looking to start with extract brewing. Is it much more difficult than extract brewing?

Looks like LOTS of recommendations on temp control. The room I have in the basement I was planning on storing the fermentor is probably in the mid 50s to low 60s in temp. What temp does the fomenter need to be in? Also if getting real control, do you get some kind of mini frig? or freezer? Or some kind of other control?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

I got my oxygen regulator and stone from williams brewing, they have a regulator that screws onto the little tanks you can get at a hardware store. I probably get 6-10 10 gallon batches aerated with those tanks which cost ~$10.

I second what other are saying: get at least a 15 gallon pot, try to limit expenses for the first few batches to make sure you get into it, then purchase more equipment as you go. at the time I was really hesitant to spent $200 on a grain mill two years ago, but man has that changed my brewing. Now I just buy a years worth of grain at wholesale prices by working with one of our local micro breweries, I keep a stock of specialty malts on-hand and I have all I need.

If you have a really cold room like 50-65, you can start out with what I call 'poor mans' temperature control, buy an inkbird and a reptile heater wrap, set your IPA to ferment at 64 in your colder than that room, plug the heater into the heating outlet and wrap around your carboy, plug a fan into the cooling outlet. This is not as good as a fridge as you can only get to room temp at best but it works just fine if your room is cold enough. I have an STC1000 and often ferment 5 gallons in my shop this way which is like 55 in the winter when my other two chambers are full and I need to run three different temperature profiles at once.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

BIAB is all grain, you just mash with more water in the same pot you boil the wort in, and simply lift the sack of wet grains out of the pot when the mash is done. This is a great and easy method. I use the cooler mash tun approach, but I have heard and tasted great things from BIAB beers.

 

[marjen]

BIAB looks interesting and something I would probably look to move towards, would probably start with extract.

So I am back to thinking, decent pot, start kit for other items and maybe some kind of temp control, mini frig?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

BIAB looks interesting and something I would probably look to move towards, would probably start with extract.

So I am back to thinking, decent pot, start kit for other items and maybe some kind of temp control, mini frig?

Drop the 'maybe' from temperature control, make sure that pot is 15 gallons and that's the list I would give any of my friends who said they wanted to take up the hobby.

 

[McKnuckle]

I like your recent thinking. "One and done" does not work for everyone, because there is so much room for personalization in this hobby, but that only can be refined with time and experience. My very first brew setup was a cheap aluminum turkey fryer, extract, and a stovetop. I fermented in a bucket, and bottled. After two batches, I dove in head first with all grain.

I went out and got two heavy duty SS 8 gallon kettles with fittings, two propane burners, a 5 gallon cooler with false bottom, and still didn't plan for anything beyond bottles or room temperature fermentation.

Over time, I switched to BIAB. I also started kegging. Then I decided to "upgrade" by ramping my batch size DOWN from 5 gallons to 2.5 or 3 gallons. I got a fermentation fridge and temp controller. I replaced the propane mess with an electric heat stick, then an induction cooktop. Whew...

NOW, finally, I make beer my way, and my tweaks to the system are more nuanced. But I did spend too much money on stuff that sits idle. So... I would definitely NOT invest in lots of gear until you have a much better idea of your preferences, capacity, and what flaws you need to fix in your product.

The trick is to buy cheap but functional gear at first. Don't go to middle-tier stuff. That's where the money waste is likely to happen. The cheap stuff can always be repurposed later. But the middle cost stuff might end up redundant or simply unnecessary.

 

[marjen]

So I ordered a kettle yesterday for now I went with a 10 Gal.Tall Boy® Brew Kettle as I was able to get it on sale for under $100. I figure it should be plenty good enough to get started and if I stick with this I can move up to a final kettle later on down the road.

I also order a wort chiller, and some clean up and sanitation supplies.

Next going to order a starter kit to get all the other components.

I am going to start I think with at least a few batches of extract brewing then I might try BIAB technique after. Also for now I might start with smaller 3 gallon batches as I will probably cook on the stove. I figure if I do 3 gallon batches plus I ordered Fermcap-S, there should be little to no chance of boil over in a 10 gallon kettle. It will also allow it to hopefully heat up in a reasonable time frame.

Thanks for all the advise so far.

 

[McKnuckle]

You will not come close to boiling over a 3 gallon batch (4ish gallon boil) in a 10 gallon kettle. No need for Fermcap. I do my 3 gallon batches in an 8 gallon kettle with no drama.

 

[marjen]

Good to hear. Also if I do a full 5 gallon recipe, does the full 5 gallons get boiled? I have seen some videos that show only 2.5 gallons getting boiled and then adding in the rest of the water to the fermentor.

 

[McKnuckle]

Extract brewers commonly boil less than full volume and top up with plain water in the fermenter. All grain brewers can do that, but usually do not.

A 5 gallon batch - meaning 5 gallons into your fermenter - will typically require a 6 to 6.5 gallon boil, subject to boil-off rate and whether you try to filter out your kettle trub.

 

[marjen]

How do you know if you need 6 or 6.5 gallons?

 

[McKnuckle]

How do you know if you need 6 or 6.5 gallons?

Experience!

But you can plan a little bit. Do a boil-off test with plain water, using the kettle and the same heat source, boil for 60 minutes. Accurately measure your starting and ending volumes, and note the difference, which is your hourly rate. Wait for the water to cool to measure the post-boil volume, or divide the result by 1.04 if you measure right after boiling (volume expands by ~4% at 212F).

 

[marjen]

Thanks for the advise! Man there are a lot of things to think about and remember. I am taking notes and will probably write up all the steps before i start my first brew so i can check them off as i go.

 

[broadbill]

Experience!

But you can plan a little bit. Do a boil-off test with plain water, using the kettle and the same heat source, boil for 60 minutes. Accurately measure your starting and ending volumes, and note the difference, which is your hourly rate. Wait for the water to cool to measure the post-boil volume, or divide the result by 1.04 if you measure right after boiling (volume expands by ~4% at 212F).

You could do this, or you could add malt and hops and actually make wort to ferment into beer instead of a bunch of hot water! Just a thought...

Just go with a SWAG of 1 gal/hr boil off rate...

 

[bleme]

You could do this, or you could add malt and hops and actually make wort to ferment into beer instead of a bunch of hot water! Just a thought....

This is what I would do (and did) with the exception that I started with a 5 gallon boil, added extract and hops, chilled and transferred to my fermentor that I had carefully marked 5 gallons on. Then I topped off with a gallon jug of water and measured what was left in the jug to see how much boiled off.

If your fermentor has pre-marked measurements, don't assume they are accurate. You need to measure for yourself before you get started. Also, make sure you turn off the flame when you add the extract. Make sure it is mixed in completely before the flame comes back on. Leaving the flame on is a sure way to turn a Kolsch into a Porter.

We've all made mistakes and even if you learn from ours, you are still sure to make your own. Just try to pass on some of that wisdom to the next generation.

 

[marjen]

Ok I think I have all my starter gear ordered. This is what I got:

1. Midwest supplies starter kit - Kit include the following:
5 gallon carboy plastic
Universal carboy bung
6.5 gallon fermentor and lid
Fermometer Dual-scale liquid crystal thermometer
Airlock
Herculometer&#8482; - Triple Scale Hydrometer and test jar
2 oz Midwest Oxygen Wash
Instructional step-by-step DVD
5/16&#8221; Auto-Siphon
5/16&#8221; siphon tubing
Small tubing clamp
Bottling bucket with spigot
Bottle filler
Bottle Capper
60 gold bottle caps
Bottle Brush

2. 10 gallon Tallboy Kettle
3. 12" SS thermometer
4. 21" Spoon
5. Wort chiller
6. digital kitchen scale
7. Room thermometer
8. brewing gloves.
9. 2 cases 22oz bottles.

Did I miss anything? I think I have everything i need to brew my first batch.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Looks good, whatcha gonna brew?!?!

 

[Sadu]

Did I miss anything? I think I have everything i need to brew my first batch.

If you are serious about brewing you need to address temp control one way or another, so make this part of your plan from the start.

To do this properly you want an old fridge or freezer large enough to hold the fermentor. And a temp controller (STC-1000 or Inkbird). And you need some sort of heating device, a brew heat belt works good.

If you don't have space for a fridge, you need a swamp cooler. This is a large tub that can hold the fermentor. You can add an aquarium heater (which usually have a thermostat on them) to prevent temps dropping too low. You will need to manually add ice bottles to the water, or drape a wet towel over the fermentor to keep it cool.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

If you are serious about brewing you need to address temp control one way or another, so make this part of your plan from the start.

To do this properly you want an old fridge or freezer large enough to hold the fermentor. And a temp controller (STC-1000 or Inkbird). And you need some sort of heating device, a brew heat belt works good.

If you don't have space for a fridge, you need a swamp cooler. This is a large tub that can hold the fermentor. You can add an aquarium heater (which usually have a thermostat on them) to prevent temps dropping too low. You will need to manually add ice bottles to the water, or drape a wet towel over the fermentor to keep it cool.

While temp control will help with consistency and give you generally better beer, go ahead and get started with what you have. Do not feel like you absolutely have to have everything right from the start.

If you have a cool space that stays around 70 without a lot of fluctuations you will be just fine. Lots of brewers make great beer without all of the frills. If you have an old fridge and can make yourself a cheap fermentation chamber by all means do it. But don't think your beer will suck if you don't have it right from the start.