Jekster
Well-Known Member
This is a lot of information and any suggestions / input on any part would be wonderful. Whether it is the selection of my equipment or the ingredients I'm going to use in my attempts to brew a wonderful German Weizen.
Below is a starter list of supplies that I am getting for my first brew. I wondering if anyone could lend me some comments about things that I possibly do not need or things that I am totally missing or forgot to add to the list. As a side note, this is only the hardware components of what I need for a first batch. (minus a Kettle that I'm going to get locally at Target or Kmart) I also plan to order all my ingredients that I need through morebeer.com since I enjoy their free shipping, variety, and it was highly recommended on this site.
Shopping Cart
Your shopping cart contains 11 item(s):
DELETE QTY # PRODUCT PRICE TOTAL
FE345 Plastic Bucket With Spigot (6 Gallon) 11.45 11.45
CL25A Cleaner - PBW (1 lb) 6.95 6.95
FE314 Better Bottle - 6 Gallon Carboy 22.95 45.90
FE370 Airlock - 3 Piece 1.00 2.00
MT300 Hydrometer 5.95 5.95
B480 Bottle Capper - Brev 13.50 13.50
FE500 Rubber Carboy Hood Orange w/White Caps(5 Gallon) 2.50 7.50
FE510 Carboy Handle Orange - (5 gallon) 4.50 4.50
FE313 Better Bottle - 5 Gallon 18.95 18.95
R330 Tubing - Vinyl (1/2'' ID) - By the Foot 0.40 1.60
R320 Tubing - Vinyl (3/8'' ID) - By the Foot 0.35 1.75
Getting my racking canes at a LHBS because they are cheaper
SUBTOTAL: $120.05
I decided to get better bottles over plastic buckets even though they were more expensive due to the recommendations on this site. I also chose to grab two because I am going to secondary fermentor in order to try and reduce that homebrew flavor I hear so many people talk about. I also splurged $18 on another 5 gallon BB Carboy to brew up a famous batch of Ed's Apfelwein. Extra $20 there, but not only do I want to try some (and don't want to wait for my first batch of beer to be done), but my GF also wants to get in on the fermenting action. Again, any thoughts on my list would be wonderful.
As for ingredients I am planning on making a Weizen to try and match my local brews wonderful seasonal Weizen. It is a nice full bodied hoppy, spicey brew with a nice hit of clove. It definitely is not the subtitle hefeweizen that I have tried in so many different brew pups. My current thoughts for this brew are:
1. Centennial hops for bittering, flavor and aroma (getting a 1 lb bag and freezing the rest to save money) (Possibly Hallertauer as well not sure on that)
2. Wheat Malt Extract
3. 5. lbs American Wheat and 5. lbs of Belgian Pilsner
3. Whitelabs Hefeweizen liquid yeast strain that I can buy from my LHBS. (It's $8 per tube, and "pitchable into a 5 gallon batch" however I think I'm going to make a couple starters (washes?) and keep that for my second brew if the batch goes well to save money).
Thoughts on the ingredients and how to get a hearty full flavor Weizen and not just a subtitle light brew?
Thanks to anyone from the community who post and voice their insight. I appreciate your time and knowledge.
Below is a starter list of supplies that I am getting for my first brew. I wondering if anyone could lend me some comments about things that I possibly do not need or things that I am totally missing or forgot to add to the list. As a side note, this is only the hardware components of what I need for a first batch. (minus a Kettle that I'm going to get locally at Target or Kmart) I also plan to order all my ingredients that I need through morebeer.com since I enjoy their free shipping, variety, and it was highly recommended on this site.
Shopping Cart
Your shopping cart contains 11 item(s):
DELETE QTY # PRODUCT PRICE TOTAL
FE345 Plastic Bucket With Spigot (6 Gallon) 11.45 11.45
CL25A Cleaner - PBW (1 lb) 6.95 6.95
FE314 Better Bottle - 6 Gallon Carboy 22.95 45.90
FE370 Airlock - 3 Piece 1.00 2.00
MT300 Hydrometer 5.95 5.95
B480 Bottle Capper - Brev 13.50 13.50
FE500 Rubber Carboy Hood Orange w/White Caps(5 Gallon) 2.50 7.50
FE510 Carboy Handle Orange - (5 gallon) 4.50 4.50
FE313 Better Bottle - 5 Gallon 18.95 18.95
R330 Tubing - Vinyl (1/2'' ID) - By the Foot 0.40 1.60
R320 Tubing - Vinyl (3/8'' ID) - By the Foot 0.35 1.75
Getting my racking canes at a LHBS because they are cheaper
SUBTOTAL: $120.05
I decided to get better bottles over plastic buckets even though they were more expensive due to the recommendations on this site. I also chose to grab two because I am going to secondary fermentor in order to try and reduce that homebrew flavor I hear so many people talk about. I also splurged $18 on another 5 gallon BB Carboy to brew up a famous batch of Ed's Apfelwein. Extra $20 there, but not only do I want to try some (and don't want to wait for my first batch of beer to be done), but my GF also wants to get in on the fermenting action. Again, any thoughts on my list would be wonderful.
As for ingredients I am planning on making a Weizen to try and match my local brews wonderful seasonal Weizen. It is a nice full bodied hoppy, spicey brew with a nice hit of clove. It definitely is not the subtitle hefeweizen that I have tried in so many different brew pups. My current thoughts for this brew are:
1. Centennial hops for bittering, flavor and aroma (getting a 1 lb bag and freezing the rest to save money) (Possibly Hallertauer as well not sure on that)
2. Wheat Malt Extract
3. 5. lbs American Wheat and 5. lbs of Belgian Pilsner
3. Whitelabs Hefeweizen liquid yeast strain that I can buy from my LHBS. (It's $8 per tube, and "pitchable into a 5 gallon batch" however I think I'm going to make a couple starters (washes?) and keep that for my second brew if the batch goes well to save money).
Thoughts on the ingredients and how to get a hearty full flavor Weizen and not just a subtitle light brew?
Thanks to anyone from the community who post and voice their insight. I appreciate your time and knowledge.