what do i need

[emil_brogaard]

hello everyone

two days ago, i made my very first batch of beer. it was a pretty simple one. (boil the malt extract, add the hops and spices, add the yeast, wait for it to ferment). it was quite fun, and now i need to know what i need.

first of all, i definitely need a new pot. last time i borrowed an 11 liters one, which barely hold the whole batch. i would like to buy a new one. what do you guys reccomend?

other than that, i have the following items:
one plastic bucket for fermentation 30 liters (don't know if it's the right word)
a siphon
a thermometer
a hydrometer
a bottlecleaner
bottles
bottlecaps
the thing you use to put caps on the bottles


do you have any suggestions to what i need?


any advice would be appreciated


emil brogaard

 

[jessup]

it sounds like you have the list down to the most important items. get all of them, then continue to increase your equipment on an as needed basis.

most important thing is to get a LARGE pot so you can do full boils and not water down your wort later. this will make a BIG difference!

large pot
stir spoon
thermometer
hydrometer (very important)
mesh grain bags for partial mashes - paint strainers work too
siphon
caryboy or bucket
air lock & bungs
sterilizing solutions
bottle caps & bottle capper
priming sugar (corn sugar)
ingredients

after you have all these ^^^ go ahead and get an immersion chiller to chill your wort quickly. 3/8" copper with some vinyl tubing will work. before you know it you'll have tons of brew stuff laying around

 

[emil_brogaard]

do you now if i can make the chiller myself, or where do i buy it? how does it work, is it a copper coil with cold water running through it? last time i had to water down my beer, how will this affect the final outcome? i had 9 liters, and added 2 so it came up on a total of 11 liters. one last thing, how do i read the hydrometer? it only has sugar per liter, and alcohol volume

 

[FensterBos]

In regards to pots, I always say go bigger in case you decide to evolve to all-grain brewing, which will require you to get a 7.5 gallon pot (30 quarts); aluminum or stainless steel is fine.
Other than that, it looks like you're in decent shape for beginner and extract brewing. You could always get another five gallon fermentor for other batches or for secondary fermentation.

 

[DonutMuncher]

Highly recommend a bottling bucket since it doesn't look like you have one. This is used to mix your beer with priming sugar, and is much more efficient than adding sugar to each bottle separately.

Also recommend a bottle filler attachment, which connects to the bottling bucket spigot using some siphon tubing. I think it's a must have if you're bottling (as opposed to kegging). You want your siphon, siphon tubing, bottle filler, and bottling bucket spigot to match in size (such as 3/8'').

A good immersion chiller would be recommended if you're doing 5 gallon full boils. If you're only boiling 3 gallons, its not as big of a deal.

 

[iv_hokie12]

If you have a local homebrew store get a beginners equipment kit. It will have everything you need in there except the pot and thermometer. You can easily build your own wort chiller, but there are plenty online for around $50 and it usually takes at least that much to build your own anyway.

 

[FensterBos]

I purchased my wort chiller; I don't have the right equipment to make one, nor do I know anyone who does. If you do not have any experience with working with copper I would recommend just purchasing one. You can see if there are any local home brew shops in your area or check out an online shop like Midwest: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/.
It works by inserting the coiled copper into your wort; you then connect it spigot; the cold water from your well or city runs through the copper without diluting your wort and chills it. It will not affect your final outcome.

do you now if i can make the chiller myself, or where do i buy it? how does it work, is it a copper coil with cold water running through it? last time i had to water down my beer, how will this affect the final outcome? i had 9 liters, and added 2 so it came up on a total of 11 liters. one last thing, how do i read the hydrometer? it only has sugar per liter, and alcohol volume

 

[DroolingNeoBrewery]

just go buy a homebrew kit - one at the grocery store down the street is 49.00 bucks and includes primary bucket, and plastic carboy secondary (as in this should be your second primary you wont need a secondary for a long time), and most everything else you need except bottles and the ingredients. you can also go online for more involved/fancier kits. That way is much cheaper then buying everything one piece at a time like I did starting with a Mr beer kit which really only has a fermentor + bottles + ingredients for 1 - 3 batches.

as for the pot go to one of those liquidation/bankruptcy/extra stock stores that buy stock others stores don't want. you can probably get a 5 - 6 gallon pot for under 20 bucks.

wort chiller wise idk. don't have a need for one with 2.5 - 3 gallon batches they cool in 15-20 in the sink.

forgot about the bottling bucket. you don't need one if you bottle prime. i made one from a 3 gallon Tupperware style bucket and a spigot from the lhbs. but you can use a 2 dollar hardware store bucket for this as the beer doesn't spend long in this container.

 

[emil_brogaard]

thanks for all the answers guys. i think i will have to look around for some shops (i live in denmark, so i don't have tons of options). i'm probably gonna buy a chiller and a bottling bucket. for the bottling bucket, why is it that i can't add the sugar while its in the first bucket (might be a noob question, but hey, we all gotta learn).

 

[jbaysurfer]

You can buy copper in 25' coils at the local home depot or hardware store. Two bends and some vinyl tubing and 2 hose clamps. Done. two more barbed water hose fittings male and female to attach it to your hose.

It doesn't save you as much as much money as you think though, The copper is the expensive part.

 

[iv_hokie12]

thanks for all the answers guys. i think i will have to look around for some shops (i live in denmark, so i don't have tons of options). i'm probably gonna buy a chiller and a bottling bucket. for the bottling bucket, why is it that i can't add the sugar while its in the first bucket (might be a noob question, but hey, we all gotta learn).

You really can, but its easier to get it mixed up better in a 2nd bucket. You really don't want to stir in the primary and introduce oxygen and kick up extra sediment.