Couple questions before Placing order

I've done a lot of reading to try to minimize questions, but I still have a couple.



1) First, outside of bottles themself, am I missing anything?

I'm ordering from http://www.austinhomebrew.com, shipped to NY.


1 x AHS Brewing Equipment Kit (2 Stage Plastic Secondary)

This kit includes:
7.9 gallon plastic primary fermenter with a lid and stopper
5 gallon plastic carboy secondary fermenter
Medium universal stopper
Two 3-piece airlocks
6 feet of Siphon Hose (3/8" Thin Wall)
Auto-Siphon (3/8")
Auto-Siphon Clamp (3/8")
Bottle Filler (3/8")
Red Baron Bottle capper
Bottle caps
Nylon grain bag
Triple scale hydrometer
Floating thermometer
21" stainless steel spoon
Cleaner/Sanitizer
An Illustrated Guide to Homebrewing

1 x AHS Gold Seal American Pale Ale (10A)
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10924{30}37{152}37

1 x Beer Bottle Brush
1 x 20Qt Stainless Steel Super Pot
1 x 6 Gallon Bucket with Spigot

Total Cost of Items: $223.95



2) I like APA and IPA a lot. Is this specific "kit" OK? Reason I as is it says, "Specially designed for beginners by Austin Homebrew Supply". I want to make a good first brew, and if the "beginner" kit is inferior, I'd like to know.


3) My water sucks. I also plan on doing partial boils. Can I boil say 3 gallons the day before for 30 mins, and put it in a sanitized fermentation bucket to store it until the next day? I would then do a 2 gallon partial boil (or whatever the recipe called for, obviously adjusting volume differences in the first day boil to equal 5 gallons), cool the wort, and add it to the previous days water I boiled. Is this OK?


4) Temperature. It's the summer, and my place stays 78-80F. Is this OK?




Thanks for all the help in advance!

 

looks like you have everything you need. That kit will be good. AHS doesn't really cut corners with their kits IME, so it should be good. Using that method for cleaning your water will work to kill germs.

78-80 is too hot for fermentation though. The kit you got comes with nottingham yeast, which works best in the mid to low 60s. Search swamp cooler, and try to find a place that is cooler in your house to leave your fermenter

 

I think the equipment list is fine - check out other big vendors too (Midwest, Northern, etc.) they all sell eqipment kits that are similar and prices vary a bit.

Also for boil pots, see if there are any restuarant supply stores around. You might be able to pick up something cheaper (and Aluminum is ok as long as you oxidize it first). I'd highly encourage you to start with a bigger pot, but you can definitely boil some water the day before for topping off to 5 gallons.

 

I think you got everything covered with that purchase. But definitely rig yourself up some kinda swamp cooler to bring your ferment temps down. High 70s to 80* is too hot for most ale strains and will cause off flavors big time (Belgian strains not included)

 

I'd go with a bigger kettle. Amazon as a 35qt for $74 (free shipping) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00107EARQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 or a 30qt for $60 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00267Q3JW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

.

 

Awesome, thanks for all of the great input everyone.

I looked at both the swamp cooler solution and the Son of Fermentation cooler. I think I'll build a SoF. I already have an old non-electronic thermostat with cool function, lots of old unused AC adaptors / PC fans (I work in IT, and also repair PCs on the side). Only thing I'll need to buy is some foamboard and adhesive. My local lowes has a 2"x4'x8' sheet for $21.99, and adhesive is cheap.

Should be an easy and cheap afternoon project.

 

I'd upgrade the floating thermometer. Almost everyone who has started with a floating thermometer has ended up with a ruined batch when it shatters in the wort, adding mercury and glass to your beer. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN. Get a thermometer with a metal probe, like a meat thermometer except with at least a 0-212 F temp range.

Oh, and you can make good beer in a kitchen pot and a pickle bucket. Plenty of peeps on here that use grocery frosting buckets as fermenters. The AHS beginner set is more than adaquate to make a great batch of beer. The process is more imporatant than the equipment in most cases. The two most important elements to making good beer are SANATIZATION and PATIENCE!!!!

 

Bigger brew kettle. I bought a second brew kettle at my local sporting goods store for $19.00. It was an Aluminum 7.5 gallon pot and actually came with thermometer.

Also, if your water sucks, stop at the store and get 6 gallons of spring water. Put 3 of them in the fridge overnight. Then top off with this water and it will also help bring your temp down faster after boil.

 

19 bucks for 7.5 gallons is a great deal. What store was that? And I think he was asking about the ingredient kit on whether or not it would make good beer. And yes those are quality ingredients. Just stay away from coopers and muntons and mr beer kits. they are directed towards beginners, and make inferior beer apparently.

 

I just don't like plastic fermenters, think you will agree with me after you use it a few times. Glass will last you a lifetime. Brew stores want to sell you a plastic one to keep you coming back. Don't use that stainless spoon in the plastic bucket. Also I don't think a beginner needs a secondary its a beginner scam. The only reason I use a secondary is if lagering or if I'm going to harvest the yeast. That brew pot is not big enough, you need one big enough to do a full boil, you will make a lot better brew. Think of it like this if you make tea cut it with water thats what you are doing in a partial boil you have watered down wort.

This is what I would do:
Drop the plastic bucket and carboy, the floating thermometer, bottling bucket
Get a 6.5 glass carboy, A brew pot at least 7gal with a ball valve (will double as bottling bucket)

About your water, if you don't like drink the water you are not going to like the beer. You can draw your water a day ahead let it sit to let the city's chemicals disperse. You may need a filter.

 

I got the 7.5 Aluminum pot from Academy Sports in Gulfport, MS. I have mentioned it several times on here and people have said it must be a regional store because they never heard of it. It is actually a turkey fryer pot, but works great. I am going soon to get the turkey fryer burner which is $30 and pumps out 58,000 btus. (They are online, but not sure if the shipping kills the deal.)

 

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. I have used buckets for many years without ever having a problem or infection. Glass will last you a lifetime until you drop it or bump it against something. I hear this advice given to new brewers by new brewers all the time, and it disturbs me because its just not true. Buckets are great. They're easy to use, easy to clean, and can be stacked and stored in less space than carboys.

Although secondaries are typically not necessary, it is not a scam by brewshops. They are selling kits that work with the methods outlined in books such as "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing". When I started in this hobby 20 years ago, I did what Charlie Papazian told me to do. The concept of long primaries (without ever transfering to a secondary) is a relatively new one in the history of homebrewing. That said, I agree that the OP could absolutely do without paying for a secondary fermenter.

I also agree with the advice to go bigger on the brew pot. Eventually you'll probably want to do full boils. Why pay for a pot twice, when you can just buy a bigger one to begin with?

I'd suggest going with bottled or RO filtered water from the grocery store. Boiling your water isn't going to make it taste better (unless it tastes like chlorine). Considering water is the biggest ingredient in your beer, why would you want to skimp here? And, (before someone brings it up) yes, there will still be enough mineral content for yeast health.

Happy Brewing!

John