Would like to start brewing my own beer, a few questions for the pros!

[Kevin K]

Good morning!

In the last few months, I've come to realize that I want to begin brewing my own beer. My friends, and most of my family drink 'beer' that is rather questionable. Molson Canadian, Labatt Blue, Lite etc. (My Father-In-Law drinks only Labatt Lite, and I'm forced to ingest it several times a week, as we live on the same street. I'd really like to convert him, and I think he'd be willing to start brewing again, if I started.)
Now I know that there is a time and a place to drink this type of beer, but as I age (28) I have come to realize that I enjoy it less and less. I want something that isn't bland and boring.
About a year ago I began drinking beers that are less 'mainstream' (I'm Canadian, we say beers ).
Rickards Honey Brown, Sleeman's Honey Brown, Two Rivers Red, Fort Garry Pale Ale, etc etc.

At Christmas time this year, I began to experiment with imported beers, mostly German/Austrian wheat beer. I've really grown fond of this beer, and would like to brew my own.

Is this a realistic goal for a first brew? If not, what would you recommend I start out with, based on the above information?

I have yet to purchase equipment, as I like to make informed purchases. Can you make some recommendations regarding the equipment as well? I'd specifically like to hear about items that are typically not included in a 'starter kit'.

We have a few local brew supply shops, the largest of which is The Brew Doctor. (Very original name.) http://www.thebrewdoctor.com/equipment.php

Here is the text from the above link - what do you think about their Starter Package?

Wine and Beer Making Equipment

The Brew Doctor carries a complete line of equipment to make wine or beer. From our Starter Kit for the new winemaker to all the gadgets you might want, to make winemaking as fun and easy as possible. We have all the basics like primary fermentors and carboys to start your wine, to labels and shrink tops for that professional finish. The following list contains some of the more popular and necessary items we carry.

Getting Started

The Brew Doctor's Starter Kit comes with all the equipment you need to get your wine kit (or beer kit) started and take it through to bottling stage. We also include a set of information sheets that will help you with everything from cleaning and sanitizing to preparing your bottles for bottling time. All of our store phone numbers are on all of the information sheets and also on the primary fermentor- so we are only a phone call away if you need any help.

The Brew Doctor's Starter Kit includes:

* 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermentor
* 23 litre Glass Carboy
* Bottle Brush
* Spoon
* Syphon
* Hydrometer
* Thermometer
* Airlock
* Stopper
* Primary cover
* Cleaning & Sanitizing Agents
* Information Sheets
* $50 worth of coupons for savings on wine kits and equipment rentals!

Cleaning & Sanitizing Equipment

Keeping your equipment clean and sanitized is one of the most important aspects of making your own wine or beer. The Brew Doctor stocks a wide selection of products for making this as simple as possible:

* NEW! Our Pembina Highway store recently installed an Automatic Bottle Washer. Simply bring in your 30 bottles and fill the rack- 8 minutes later your bottles are washed, cleaned and sanitized. So next time your getting ready to bottle- take the easy way to sanitizing and use our Pembina Highway store's Automatic Bottle Washer.

* Sparkle-Brite is the most important tool for cleaning and sanitizing. Chlorine based, this pink powder should be used by all wine or beer makers and is the most effective way to keep your equipment clean & sanitized.

* Sodium Metabisulphite is a reusable sanitizer for clean equipment.

* Aseptox is a no-rinse, odor free sanitizer for clean equipment.

* Carboy Caddies fit across your sink or laundry tub to hold your carboy upside down to easily rinse them out.

* The Quick Tap Connect works great with the above Carboy Caddie and is also useful for filling primaries and carboys.

* Avvinators pump sulphite solution or Aseptox into your clean bottles for quick and easy sanitizing.

* Bottle Washers come in three models and shoot a high-pressure spray of water into your bottle or carboy for quick rinsing.

* Bottle Trees are a great way to hold your bottles while cleaning them and getting them ready for filling and corking.

* Brass Carboy Wands fit directly on your faucet for rinsing carboys.

Fermentation Equipment

As well as the necessary pieces of equipment like Primary Fermentors and Carboys, The Brew Doctor also carries some other tools that make fermentation a little easier. Here is a sample of some of the more popular pieces:

* Bag De-cappers are a simple little tool for getting those pesky yellow caps off of the bag your wine kit juice/concentrate comes in.

* Heat Belts are good for keeping your fermentors warm if your house is a little cool.

* Syphon Clips are a simple little device that holds your syphon in place when syphoning your wine or beer, avoiding sediment disturbance.

* Digital Thermometers stick onto your primaries or carboys and provide a quick and easy way to check your temperature.

* Carboy Handles and Carboy Carriers are both handy ways to carry a carboy. Especially useful when carboys are full.

* Auto-Syphons automatically start your syphon so you don't have to get a mouthful of partially fermented wine.

* The Thief is a quick and easy way to take samples of wine for hydrometer readings.

* The Whip fits into your drill so you can easily de-gas your wine. Save your arm for holding a glass of wine, instead of stirring 23litres of it.

Filtering Equipment

One of the easiest ways to improve your wine is to filter it. Filtering will take out small particles that are naked to the eye but when removed leave your wine with a commercial polish. The nice thing about filtering your wine is that it actually forces the wine ahead in its evolution. As wine ages certain flavour and colour compounds combine and settle out leaving sediment. This aging process enhances the wine by leaving a clean smooth flavour. Because filtration does such a good job of removing these compounds it effectively force ages the wine. The Brew Doctor carries the following equipment for all of your filtering needs.

* The Buon Vino Mini Jet Filter is the industry's most popular filter. This compact unit will filter your wine in under 15 minutes. The Brew Doctor sells or rents the Buon Vino Mini Jet Filter.

* Buon Filter pads are the only filter pads that meet the Buon Vino standard and The Brew Doctor stocks the Buon Vino Mini Jet pads and the Buon Vino af-2 and af-3 pads for the round plate system.

Bottling and Corking Equipment

From cleaning to corking The Brew Doctor has all the handy gadgets to make this as fun and easy as possible.

* NEW! Our Pembina Highway store recently installed an Automatic Bottle Washer. Simply bring in your 30 bottles and fill the rack- 8 minutes later your bottles are washed, cleaned and sanitized. So next time your getting ready to bottle- take the easy way to sanitizing and use our Pembina Highway store's Automatic Bottle Washer.

* Avvinators pump sulphite solution into your bottles for quick and easy sanitizing.

* Bottle Washers come in three models and shoot a high-pressure spray of water into your bottle or carboy for quick rinsing.

* Bottle Trees are a great way to hold your bottles while cleaning them and getting them ready for filling and corking.

* Bottle Fillers make filling your bottles quick and easy. Attached to your syphon they shut-off automatically and fill your bottles to the appropriate level.

* Hand Corkers insert the cork into your wine bottle.

* Floor Corkers make corking easy. The unit will hold the bottle for you and easily inserts the cork by simply pushing down on the handle.

Sorry for the lengthy post! This sure seems like a great forum, and I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay here!

Kevin

Oh, forgot to ask - recommended reading - which books would you recommend? I've been reading a bit at the www.howtobrew.com website, and it seems very informative. Should I buy the print edition, or is it available in ebook format? Are there other books I should be looking at?

Thanks!

 

[david_42]

Buy How to Brew, yes! I have five books on brewing and Palmer's is the best. I'm seriously biased towards paper books. I like to write in them, add notes, mark pages, etc. And I'm not taking my computer into the brewery!

The kit looks good. Spend the coupon on a kettle. I started with a 20 quart kettle that was fine for extract partial boils. It's now my mash tun.

Get extract kits for your first few batches. Not the "beer in a can" type, but ale-specific clone kits. Since you like germen wheats, that's a good place to start. Alternately, talk to the brew doc. I bet they have a recipe book and can sell you the exact extracts and hops you need.

 

[Kevin K]

Thanks David, I'll give them a call, and see what they have to offer.

Kevin

 

[Blender]

If I can make good beer I am certain you can too. I have finished 2 extract kits and they are really good. I'm pretty much hooked at this point and there is a certain satisfaction that comes from opening up your own brew. Good luck.

 

[Kevin K]

Thanks Blender.

A few questions if you don't mind;

Have you got a link to the kit you're using, or a list of what it contains?
What did you use as a guide? Palmer's website/book?

Thanks!

Kevin

 

[Blender]

I have been doing kits from Morebeer but you can probably get something very similar in your area/country. They come with liquid malt extract ,hops and some grains that your steep in 150° water for 30-40 minutes prior to boiling your water. The yeast is extra. Theyare better than the prehopped kit that I tried initially although some folks use them with good results. I started reading the online version of How To Brew after making the first batch and then found this forum and my knowledge and methods went up considerably. I would suggest that you get the largest kettle that you can afford. I got a 5 gallon kettle and that works pretty well for extracts. Look here at http://www.northernbrewer.com/beer-kits.html the kits of Northen Brewer.Click the inventory link and the ingredients are listed.

 

[Kevin K]

Thanks for the input Blender, I'll start looking for a bigass kettle.

Kevin

 

[Rhoobarb]

I agree with everything stated so far.

Also, BYO magazine has a good website to look over. Some good recipes there. My personal favorite books when I began were Homebrewing For Dummies and Papazian's 'Bible'. Here's a link to a whole slew of books.

Good luck!

 

[Kevin K]

Thanks for the links! I've got some reading to do.

 

[boo boo]

BTW this place is awful close to you http://www.paddockwood.com/index.php and they are very prompt with their orders.
Cheers, good to see more Canadians brewing better beer and chatting on this site.

 

[Kevin K]

Awesome! Thanks very much for the link!

 

[EVILsteve]

get a whole bunch of 1 gallon growlers. Experiment with one gallon at a time. My first year of experimenting I probably consumed about 100+ liters of beer I wish Id never brewed.

You'll make mistakes just finding brewing techniques, recipes or even the style that fits your palate most. Brew small when experimenting, learn from your failures and keep at it. its rewarding when suddenly you realize that your favourite brew is your own.

 

[black_belt]

He probably figured it out after 8 years