New Brewer from Illinois

[markwarren66]

Hi,

I'm just getting ready to take the plunge into homebrewing. After doing some research, I've come to a few conclusions, and a few dilemmas. I've read a lot on the boards already, but could appreciate some help.

I will keg beer rather than bottle. I have the funds available to set up a nice kegging system with an old freezer. Read some great articles on the process and I fully understand what I need to buy / do in order to set up my kegs.

I have yet to purchase a "Starter" kit or any of the actual brewing supplies. This is where I could use some input. I think I'll buy the starter kit from Northern brewers as it includes 2 glass carboys. It has bottling equipment which I won't need initially, but I'm sure I'll bottle something along the way as gifts or whatever. Don't mind having that stuff.

What about kettles? I see these $200 SS kettles with spigots and thermometers built in, and then I see $50 kettles made of aluminum without the bells and whistles. I like to buy things once and not upgrade later.

My initial thought was that I'd do full boil in the kitchen with an immersion wort chiller hooked up to my sink. I have 2 concerns with this: 1, my faucet in the kitchen won't accept a normal adapter and I'll have to rig something (Not a big deal, but any suggestions?) - It's a handle faucet that has a sprayer built in. 2, how is the smell? I know, it's beer and all, but seriously does it stink? My wife is expecting our first child (actually twins) late this year so I don't want to hear about it.

So I may decide to move it outside, which would solve the wort chiller hookup problem (garden hose) but it gets pretty damn cold here in the winter. Which means I will be freezing, plus my outside faucets are turned off in the winter.

I appreciate any input. I can't wait to get started, and my wife is anticipating a fresh batch for her when the kids come!

Thanks in advance.

 

[ZacMac]

Welcome to the great world of brewing!

Here are some of my suggestions:

Starter Kit:
The kit you are looking at is a nice once, but the 6 gal carboy would not be my personal choice for a primary fermenter. I use a 6.5 gal plastic bucket, the may look cheap and unattractive, but they work great and are more durable then the glass. You may also want to look into Better Bottles. The are lightweight and nearly unbreakable. I have a 5 gal glass and 5 gal. BB for my secondaries. Both work well.

Kettles:
These are a functional and personal choice. Always get stainless steel, aluminum reacts with the acids in the wort and can cause off flavors in your beer. Getting a full boil on a elec. or gas stove takes forever. If you plan to do a full boil at 6-7 gallons, then do it on a turkey fryer outdoors using propane or nat. gas. I would recommend, if you plan to work inside, to get a 6-7 gal. SS kettle and do partial boils of about 2.5-3 gal with an extract beer kit. You add more water to your primary fermenter to make up the difference to reach 5 gals. before your pitch your yeast.
The spigot and thermometer are great, but I don't personally need them. I have a clip mounted thermo. that I use. I am able to read it from above and don't have to bend down all the time to check it. I also use a auto-siphon to rack the beer into the primary.

Chiller Problem and Smell!:
What I do for the chiller is hook it up in my utility sink in the garage which accepts a normal adapter. If you have a garden hose spigot located in your garage that you dont' turn off in the winter you can try it there as well. As far as any suggestions on using the sink, you could always run a seperate supply line under your sink strictly for tapping your chiller into. My father-in-law is a plumber, so for me that may be easier said then done. But just an idea.

The smell is a distinct one. Some love it, some hate it. I compare it to hot soaking wet bread baking in the oven. If you can imagine that. All the grains and hops come together and produce a smell that you may not want to eat, but is very tolerable. The hops have the strongest smell. Very fragrant, once you smell them for the first time, you will pick it up the next time you have a microbrew or craft beer. Then you will know when you a drinking a good beer. Bud and Miller don't have that distinct smell. My first batch was done when my wife was pregnant, and she didn't have any reactions. However, she doesn't care for the odor normally. I personally, am impartial to it. It's for a good cause, right. I think you will be fine and so will she and hopefully the future brewer will have it instilled in them an appreciate your hard work.

Good luck with the twins and your first batch, and feel free to PM me with any questions.
Cheers,
ZacMac

 

[Cheesefood]

Where in Illinois are you?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Yeah, what Cheese said...and welcome!!

 

[srm775]

Kettles:
These are a functional and personal choice. Always get stainless steel, aluminum reacts with the acids in the wort and can cause off flavors in your beer.

I’m not trying to start an aluminum vs. SS debate. Aluminum doesn’t react with the hops acid any more than SS does. Many brewers use aluminum and many brewers use SS. Buy which ever you are more comfortable with. If you prefer SS and have the money to spend, by all means, purchase SS. Otherwise, aluminum is perfectly fine as well.

Where in Illinois are you? There are a few Chicago suburb homebrew clubs worth looking into joining.

 

[markwarren66]

Great, thanks for the advice.

I think I'll go the propane burner route so I can conduct business outside. I do have a hose bib in the garage, which I just never used in the winter....I'm sure it works, though my garage does get in the low teens during the winter.

I live in Round Lake, north / northwest of Chicago.

 

[ZacMac]

Northern Suburbs Guy uh! I work in the city, but live in Northwest Indiana.
Welcome to HBT and good luck

 

[ZacMac]

I’m not trying to start an aluminum vs. SS debate. Aluminum doesn’t react with the hops acid any more than SS does. Many brewers use aluminum and many brewers use SS. Buy which ever you are more comfortable with. If you prefer SS and have the money to spend, by all means, purchase SS. Otherwise, aluminum is perfectly fine as well.

Where in Illinois are you? There are a few Chicago suburb homebrew clubs worth looking into joining.

srm, i always thought that there was an issue with aluminum. i'm always up for being proven wrong!

 

[markwarren66]

Northern Suburbs Guy uh! I work in the city, but live in Northwest Indiana.
Welcome to HBT and good luck

Well aside from living here, I don't consider myself a "northern suburbs guy" . I grew up in Cal City, and moved hear to be near the wife's family. I have family in Northwest IN as well.

What I'm saying is, Go White Sox! Too bad the Cubs keep losing...

 

[ZacMac]

Nice, Cal City was my old stomping grounds in high school. I grew up in Whiting and had alot of friends out there. Went to Bishop Noll in Hammond. How about you?

 

[z987k]

srm, i always thought that there was an issue with aluminum. i'm always up for being proven wrong!

The aluminum oxides after being heated up and exposed to about anything, especially air. This makes a nice barrier between the aluminum and wort. Not that I've heard of the aluminum reacting with the wort before anyways. Further, the thermal conductivity of Al is roughly 10x that of SS. I love my Al pots.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Welcome to HBT! I'm now an imported Iowian, I used live in Brookfield & LaGrange Park. So I was a west suburbanite.

You don't need the chiller yet unless you really want to do full boils. You can do partial boils. If you're striving for the lighter side, color-wise, then do a late extract addition at last 15 minutes or so.

IMHO - Doing a full boil with extracts is needless extra work. Not something I recomend for a new HB'r. I only will do it with AG's With the partial boil you can crash cool your wort with good cold bottled water. (2 or 3 - 1 gal jugs of wal-mart spring water) It'll help make for clearer beer and less chance of getting DMS.

Regarding the faucet you could change it for a more standard type that would take the adaptor. How often do you use the sprayer?? You could offer to install one on the side with a standard faucet.

Welcome to the obsession. Its a good hobby, it'll keep you at home and in supply of good beer!!