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Mini Auto Siphon! http://www.homebrewsupply.com/mini-auto-siphon-3-8-inch.html

I haven't used S-33 personally, but I'd mash a little higher than 148 too. Just seems to run the risk of drying out too much. You could also check the recipes section here and see what other people have mashed at for English IPAs with the same yeast.

If you're having a hard time finding it locally, I know Amazon stocks it.

Good advice here. Echoing what others have said, if you want to keep it simpler overall, stick with dry yeast for your first attempt. You don't have to worry about building up a big starter then. Good luck with whatever recipe you settle on!

Dry cider is much easier to get than sweetened, so you're definitely good there. I don't know this kit specifically, but the yeast should dry out your cider no problem. :mug:

Yup, pretty much this. Lots of late addition/dry hops will certainly give you a huge punch. Certainly won't be subtle!

You should be fine, especially when you pitch straight from the pouch/vial, some lag time is to be expected. Also, not sure if you're fermenting in a bucket, but sometimes they don't seal up all that well, so you don't see too much activity in the airlock, but it's still chugging along. Good...

3711 might be a good strain to consider then. I've found it to be relatively neutral, at least as far as saison strains go (though I've never used one in an IPA before).

23oz of hops?! Niiiiice. Looks juicy!

Definitely - that's one of my favorite parts, too! Seems like you could absolutely go that route, you just might end up with a less pronounced contribution from the speciality grains. I'd be more likely to try it with a recipe that I'm already familiar with, so I can see how steeping those...

Yup - definitely agree with this. It's likely that with 4.5gal (as opposed to 5), you're much closer to the target OG than you think. You won't know for sure what the ABV is, but that's ok, it'll still be beer! Good luck and keep brewing!

Any reason you want to do it? Interesting results here on mashing with darker grains versus adding at vorlauf: http://brulosophy.com/2015/11/30/roasted-grains-full-mash-vs-capped-at-vorlauf-exbeeriment-results-2/

Congrats on getting into the hobby! Looks like you need to treat yourself to a nice set of glassware :mug:

MADNESS! Ok, yeah, that would be a good idea too!

Ah, fair enough! I love my refractometer, so I'd go that route myself. Enjoy :mug:

If you want to get that tequila flavor in your beer, you can just add it at bottling. There isn't really a need to add oak unless you want that flavor too. That said, I tend to shy away from using expensive liquor in my beer. Once it's blended into the beer, you lose some of the specific...

Refractometer is a great choice. If you don't have one already, putting it towards a grain mill would be a great choice. You can buy grains in bulk, saving money, and then you've got it on hand to brew whenever the mood strikes!

Yup. if you don't want to pasteurize and don't want to try artificial sweeteners, that seems to be your best bet. Totally understand not wanting to pasteurize, but it might be worth trying at some point, if you're not satisfied with sweetening when you serve. If you're careful and take the...

An 8qt stockpot (2 gallons) works well. She'll have more than one gallon of liquid to boil to get one gallon into the fermenter. On the plus side, you might already have that in your kitchen, since it's a fairly typical pot size for pasta/soups. Good luck to both of you with your brewing...

You could consider adding the cold brew at bottling (or in secondary, if you're doing one), or "dry beaning" which some people have had good luck with. Lots of info here on coffee additions: http://www.homebrewsupply.com/learn/adding-coffee-to-your-homebrew.html