Beginner equipment

[Tidiwbh]

So Ive been wanting to brew my own beer for a while now. I was looking at http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...arter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html

I was wondering about the size. Im moving into an apartment and dont know if my oven will being able to handle heating enough water up to a rolling boil to fill the 6.5 gallons. If I buy that, can I still do like 3gallon brews with it? Will the extra space affect the brewing at all?

Also, would brewing an IPA for my first brew be difficult? Or would it not matter too much?

Thanks again

 

[firerat]

You should be fine with the extra head space. The CO2 produced during the fermentation process will purge out the O2 in the extra head space.

I've fermented a lot of 2.5 gallon batches in a 5 gallon bucket with no issues.

The only time head space may be an issue is with secondary fermentation, which for your first few batches I wouldn't bother with.

An IPA won't be anymore difficult than any other recipe.

Are you using a recipe kit? Which one if so? (just curious)

 

[Tidiwbh]

Havent picked yet. Still looking around for which I would like best, and still be an easy first brew.
Thanks for the quick reply

 

[WayFrae]

Havent picked yet. Still looking around for which I would like best, and still be an easy first brew.
Thanks for the quick reply

Your first brew should be your favorite style of beer. The style won't make much difference in the difficulty of your first brew. If you like IPAs then brew an IPA!

 

[Rockn_M]

I would start with extracts. You will only need to boil 2-3 gallons of water to create your wort and then you top off with fresh water until the desired OG is reached. Most people start out this way because the cost to get started is a lot less.

For the kit that is listed that is pretty much what I have. You want the extra headspace in the beginning of fermentation becasue of initital fermentation head (krausen) will expand into that headspace.

 

[hopjunkie26]

Agreed with Rockn...extract brewing will allow you to boil what you have capacity for and use water to top off.

If you are worried about space, you can always go the small batch route (Northern has a Small Batch kit, as well as Austin Homebrew Supply). I have the 1 gallon setup from AHS and love it. I use it to try out new recipes and experiment. If I don't like the result, I didn't just waste 5 gallons of beer.

My point is this: maybe you start with small batch and then move to 5+ gallon batches when you have the space. You will still use the small batch equipment after that, trust me.