What equipment will i need in addition to my basic brew kit?

[tweakerlime]

I will still be sticking to 5 gal batches extract brewing for a while. I have so far...

6.5-gallon Plastic Fermenter and Lid
6.5-gallon Bottling Bucket
Airlock
#2 drilled Rubber Stopper
Racking Tube
Bottle Filler
Five feet of Flexible Tubing
Hydrometer
Floating Thermometer
Two-handle Bottle Capper
144 Bottle Caps
Sanitizer
Starter Booklet
5 gallon pot

I am preparing to buy my next set of ingredients along with a 6.5 gal carboy and hydrometer test tube (?). Are there some other essential things I should pick up that weren't included with my kit, or that I need with the new carboy?

 

[BendBrewer]

Get a real thermometer and through that floating one away before you break it in a batch of beer.

You are going to need some bottles and OxyClean. Then the rest is up to you.

 

[heferly]

some way of grabbing a sample...i use a wine theif, some use a new turkey baster...that's all you really 'need'

bottles took the longest to collect...no twist-offs!

as bendbrewer said, the rest is icing on the cake

edit: if your 'racking tube' isn't an auto-siphon, i would invest in one of those!

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

Invest in an autosiphon. I don't know what I did before I got one. Also, a bottle washing attachment for your sink makes bottling day a bit less of a chore. If you're interested in literature, Brewing Classic Styles is a really good one with tons of great recipes

 

[unionrdr]

Get some Five star PBW & star-san. They're both no rinse at the proper dilution level. And one of those white plastic long handled spoons to stir with. They're about 2' long. Your hands will thank you. I'd also get the one with the paddle shape on the end to help aerate wort wit,or stir in DME/LME additions.
Not to mention,start collecting bottles to clean & use. And some boxes big enough to store them in to keep the light off them whilst age/carbing.

 

[tweakerlime]

Nice! I'm compiling a list now. Also, as far as the bottle rinsing faucet attachment goes, can i just dunk the bottles in sanitizer and/or oxyclean instead?

 

[BendBrewer]

Nice! I'm compiling a list now. Also, as far as the bottle rinsing faucet attachment goes, can i just dunk the bottles in sanitizer and/or oxyclean instead?

Yep. Soak them in Oxy, rinse well. Then into a bucket of star san, drain (no rinse) and fill. You don't need those gadgets and you'll be building a Keezer and moving to kegs soon anyway.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,I figure if one is going to rinse'em out anyway,why not get the faucet blaster & eliminate the oxyclean step? Unless they're newly recycled,& you need to soak the labels off. Then,a 5G bucket of PBW works overnight & is safer.

 

[rancidcrabtree]

+ 1 to the autosiphon and wine thief

 

[Qhrumphf]

Instead of a bottle blaster, I use a vinator and Star San to sanitize. I put a vinator up there with an auto-siphon in my list of inexpensive essentials.

 

[mattmcl]

+1 on ditching the floating therm. Mine literally blew up in my batch. I use an (almost) instant read digital meat thermometer.

 

[whyrat]

You need a big spoon too (long enough to stir the bottom of your 5 gal pot).

I also recommend some neoprene hot mits (non-permeable is my preference in case hot wort splashes on them).

Hop socks are useful (IMO). I like the re-usable nylon kind.

A grain bag (unless you know you're only doing all extract, which is perfectly legitimate).

A heat source (stove top works if you don't mind smelling up the house, most brewers go outside and use gas... I.e. A turkey-fryer type burner).

 

[onipar]

I've only brewed one batch, and it was with the same kit you have, so here's what I realized I needed *as* I was brewing/bottling:

A good thermometer.
A good (long) spoon that won't scratch the plastic bucket.


Things that I don't need, but found would make life *a lot* easier:

A no-rinse sanitizer. Those little packets that come with the kit are okay, but you'll be dunking and rinsing bottles for a long time.

Something to drain/dry the bottles on. We ended up lining our bottle boxes with plastic bags and paper towel, placing the bottles upside down, but I don't think that's too sanitary.

A wine thief. We've been using a sanitized measuring cup that we dunk into the bucket, but you'll need the thief or baster with your glass carboy.

 

[whyrat]

I always dried bottle in my dishwasher. Just stick the bottle on the "pegs" and let it sit open. Guess it might not work if an open dishwasher was in the way for your kitchen layout...

 

[onipar]

I always dried bottle in my dishwasher. Just stick the bottle on the "pegs" and let it sit open. Guess it might not work if an open dishwasher was in the way for your kitchen layout...

Yeah, I just don't have a dishwasher. Wish I did.

 

[tweakerlime]

Okay, so i have my list and I am ready to make an order. This forum has a long list of sites to use. Whats the general consensus on the best site for equipment?

 

[Malric]

Any major site will treat you well. Northern brewer, austin homebrew, williams brewing, rebelbrewer, morebeer. I finally have a local homebrew shop by me that doesn't try to empty your wallet, so I try to shop there whenever possible. Welcome to the obsession.

 

[NorthRiverS]

A bottle tree is nice. . . . .

NRS

 

[Wakadaka]

Don't know if you have already purchased (I imagine you have), but if it were me, I would hold off on buying an auto-siphon, a wine theif or a bottle washer. All of them are nice to have, but I didn't mind starting a manual siphon, or using a turkey baster or just hand rinsing bottles for my first few batches. I enjoyed doing anything I could that had anything to do with brewing for a while. I bought an auto-siphon first, but I wish I had got a 1/2in size. I still use the turkey baster for samples, but a wine theif would be easier.

Basically there are a lot of things that you "can" get that will help out your brewery, but its all personal preference. I have no problem dumping bottles in my sink, I don't need a bottle washer. If you don't have a dishwasher, you more or less need to get a bottle tree. A lot of people will say an immersion chiller is another MUST HAVE item, but I have a double sink and an ice maker, so i can cool full boil batches down relatively quick. Yes an immersion chiller would be better, and i am in the market for one, but saying that it is needed for your first couple batches is inaccurate.

But to answer your question things that I think would be the best first step would be a no-rinse sanitizer. Not only to make your life easier, but to help ensure you don't get an infection. You didn't specify what you have, and any one that came with a brew kit should be fine until it runs out.

One other thing, throw out your starter book that most likely came with your kit. I just browsed through the book that came with my brewer's best kit, to see what it had to say, and I realized it was from 1991. A lot of the information on there was in direct contradiction to general knowledge on this site, as well as common sense.

just my two cents. YMMV

 

[tweakerlime]

Don't know if you have already purchased (I imagine you have), but if it were me, I would hold off on buying an auto-siphon, a wine theif or a bottle washer. All of them are nice to have, but I didn't mind starting a manual siphon, or using a turkey baster or just hand rinsing bottles for my first few batches. I enjoyed doing anything I could that had anything to do with brewing for a while. I bought an auto-siphon first, but I wish I had got a 1/2in size. I still use the turkey baster for samples, but a wine theif would be easier.

Basically there are a lot of things that you "can" get that will help out your brewery, but its all personal preference. I have no problem dumping bottles in my sink, I don't need a bottle washer. If you don't have a dishwasher, you more or less need to get a bottle tree. A lot of people will say an immersion chiller is another MUST HAVE item, but I have a double sink and an ice maker, so i can cool full boil batches down relatively quick. Yes an immersion chiller would be better, and i am in the market for one, but saying that it is needed for your first couple batches is inaccurate.

But to answer your question things that I think would be the best first step would be a no-rinse sanitizer. Not only to make your life easier, but to help ensure you don't get an infection. You didn't specify what you have, and any one that came with a brew kit should be fine until it runs out.

One other thing, throw out your starter book that most likely came with your kit. I just browsed through the book that came with my brewer's best kit, to see what it had to say, and I realized it was from 1991. A lot of the information on there was in direct contradiction to general knowledge on this site, as well as common sense.

just my two cents. YMMV

Yeah, I used my dishwasher to clean and dry my bottles for my first batch, and like you, my ice bath did the job. My kit was very limited; I was using a long paint stirrer from home depot to stir because I didn't have a long enough spoon. So, at this point I am looking for the little things that will make my life easier, and contribute to better brewing.

 

[Rivendell]

Must haves:

Brewing Kettle (I went for an 8 gallon size)
Bottles
A long handled stirring spoon

Nice to haves:

Nylon grain bags
An autosiphon
A bottle washer attachment
A bottle tree for drying bottles
A wine thief (makes taking gravity readings simple)
Another carboy/better bottle (or two) so you can make more beer)