What do I need to get started?

[agdodge4x4]

I am frequent winemaker. I currently have 10 gallons of wild wine fermenting now. I don't always have enough grapes to do it and I need to mix other natural fruits like Agarita or Prickly Pear. Anyway, it occurred to me that in the times I don't need wine or have the fruits to do it, I could make beer. I like beer. I enjoy making it and I feel like it would be a simple transition using most of what I have already. My major supplies I already own are racking equipment, 6.5 gallon fermenters with lids, air locks, etc.

What do I NEED to get started? As with wine making, I have a pile of stuff I don't use because it isn't absolutely necessary or I bought it because someone said I needed it and I never did. So, I am looking for bare minimum here.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Depends, are you looking at brewing extract or all grain?

 

[bellhp]

I brew all grain with a 4 gallon SS stock pot from walmart (25 bucks) a 5 gallon picnic cooler I found in a barn . a 6 gallon plastic bottling bucket with bottling wand (35 bucks) a siphon (20 bucks) a mesh bag for grain (15 bucks) a bottle capper ( bench model 40 bucks) and a thermometer . and various carboys roughly ( 35 bucks a piece) thats it. you can get as fancy or as basic as you want ... but my beer tastes good and 5 gallons of english bitter costs me about 20 bucks and I don't skimp on ingredient quality . Extract kits are a good way to start and will cost 20 - 50 bucks for 5 gallons . Have fun .

P.S. I plan on getting a bigger (10 gallon) pot but I make do with the 4 gallon on my stove top .

 

[AlexKay]

For brew-in-a-bag you can do smaller batches on your stovetop, as long as you have a pot roughly twice the volume of your batch size (there are ways to make do with a smaller pot, too) and your stove can get that volume to a rolling boil.

• Absolutely necessary things that you might or might not have are a thermometer, a mesh bag for grains, and a way to measure gravity (I prefer a refractometer; most folks here will tell you a hydrometer). If you're not buying pre-packaged kits you will also need a scale to weigh ingredients.
• If you have a way to bottle already, you may already be good, though remember that unlike with wine, you'll need to add sugar for bottle conditioning. You will probably need to get a bottle capper.
• I would personally have a beer-dedicated fermenter (a plastic one with a spigot will let you bottle directly, and they are not expensive.) Also remember that because beer has hops, the fermenter must be protected from UV light (could be as simple as throwing a blanket over it or putting it in a closet.)

 

[Miraculix]

UV Light gets filtered out by nearly every modern window, so you're good in that regard anyway.

Otherwise, I agree!

 

[AlexKay]

UV Light gets filtered out by nearly every modern window, so you're good in that regard anyway.

Otherwise, I agree!

Glass lets enough UV through to make your beer lightstruck. And even blue light (down to bluish-green 500 nm) is potentially a problem, and glass doesn't block any of that.

Even without windows, LED and fluorescent lights can skunk your beer given enough intensity and time.

Fermenters should be covered up.

It's possible I'm paranoid about this because I am particularly sensitive to MBT (and I hate it.)

 

[bellhp]

I just slip an old T-shirt over the carboy.

 

[agdodge4x4]

I want the simplest and easier way to be successful since this will be my first go. I didn’t start out fermenting fruit from scratch for wines so I need something that has a good success rate for my first go so I can understand the big picture process before getting into the weeds.

 

[jsphlynch]

I want the simplest and easier way to be successful since this will be my first go. I didn’t start out fermenting fruit from scratch for wines so I need something that has a good success rate for my first go so I can understand the big picture process before getting into the weeds.

Simplest way will be to use an extract kit, which are available from any of the online homebrew suppliers. It will come with malt extract (either liquid or dry) and hops. Yeast is often an add-on, with strain recommendations provided on the page for the kit; for simplicity, use one of the dry options. For water, you can probably use your tap water, though if you find your plain water in anyway distasteful, I'd recommend purchasing bottled water.

For executing the brew, you'll need:
-A big pot, 5+ gallons. If you're using only a 5 gal pot, you'll be boiling with only a partial volume and topping up at the end.
-A way to cool your wort after the boil. An icebath in a big sink/tub is a bit slow but works.
-A fermentation vessel that has room for 5 gallons of beer and plenty of headspace. Sounds like you have this.
-A way to transfer from the boil pot to the fermenter. Sounds like you have this.
-Though not strictly required, I highly recommend having some sort of bottling bucket for mixing in the priming solution with your fermented beer.
-A bunch of bottles (~50 12-oz bottles). You can buy these empty from a homebrew supplier, or buy them full from your preferred beer supplier and empty/clean them yourself.
-New crown caps.
-A bottle capper. The wing-style will be cheapest.
-A bottling wand to attach to your racking tube is quite helpful.
-A way to sanitize absolutely everything that will contact the beer post-boil.
-Plenty of patience.

 

[Broken Crow]

The absolute easiest way, since you already have fermenters, is probably to pick up one of those pre-hopped extract kits like Coopers or some such. You can do a partial-boil, or even cold-brew so you don't have to buy a large kettle yet. A lot of folk deride those kits, but those are what a lot of us on here started with as the beer you make; 9 times in 10, tastes better than most of the BMC beers. There's a whole thread lately on these kits:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/no-boil-prehopped-beer-kits.727519/

 

[redrocker652002]

I started with an extract kit from Northern Brewer. I bought all the supplies as well in their starter kit. If I was to do it again, I would recommend going on Craigslist or whatever you use to buy used stuff. You can get stuff cheaper and even if it is used, if it is not beaten up it will be fine. I started with a 5 gallon pot on the stove. I think I poured 3 or so gallons in the pot, then topped it off per instructions in the fermenter. Very easy to do, and once you get a few under your belt you can think of all grain,, but that takes a bit more equipment and time. I could do an extract brew in a few hours. All grain takes me the better part of the day to brew, add to the fermenter and then the clean up that goes with it. I like doing the all grain just because there is more options, but the extract recipes are abundant as well. So, in my opinion, extract is a great starting point, then after you get a good handle on the process I would think about all grain. But, know that it is much more user intensive. LOL Rock On!!!!

 

[martin0718]

I personally like anvil brewing ferment in a kettle. You mash,boil and ferment in same kettle. Easy to clean and one thing to clean and store for brewing and fermenting. I would suggest the 10 gallon as that covers moving up to brew in a bag and all grain at no expense. It comes with thermometer, spigot/ racking arm so you can drop it right in your keg. I don't use bottles as they are a pita cleaning, bottling, storing you name they are a pita. To cool either sink and ice bath or chiller. Then keg/s and co2. Beer and co2 lines. When I was extract brewing I used 3 gallon distilled to 2 gallons of my extremely hard well water. Worked fine. If using city water you'll have to compden tablet to take care of chlorine or chlora mine. I use a induction plate as I brew in my basement and it does not throw nearly the waste heat like gas burner. I used stove top for years but got tired of lugging stuff up and down stairs.