Beginner Kit

[kalexan3]

Ok, first timer so go easy on me. My dad is about to retire, and I want to get him a good quality home brewing kit. When he was younger, he used to make his own wine, and I think he would love this. He likes to try different beers, and his tastes change from month to month.

I live in Michigan, and I planned on going to Brew and Grow for the last 6 months to ask them about it. Well,,they've close, and I dont see any other locations near me.

First question. Are there good quality online shops I can shop at? Also, does anyone know a good supply place in Michigan. Knowing my dad, he won't touch the computer to order supplies. I would rather order online.

2nd Question. Does anyone have an basics guidelines to give me. Is there a KIT of basics I can get. One that people have used and like

Thanks to any help provided.

 

[BendBrewer]

Skim this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beginner-kit-177651/

You can also look at the bottom of that and this page for similar threads that I am sure will answer your questions.

 

[kalexan3]

Yes,,right after I posted this, I saw a couple of good discussions. Thanks.

 

[RM-MN]

Where in Michigan will your dad be living? Don't answer that, just plug in into a Google search with the words, "brewing supplies ________, Michigan" and Google will find the places near there.

I'm near your dad's age and have recently started brewing. I bought a basic kit from Brewers Best that has a fermenter bucket, bottling bucket and the associated small items necessary to make beer. To that I immediately added a recipe kit for the kind of beer that I thought I wanted and got some pop-top bottles and was ready to go for around $100. The recipe kits from Brewers Best Kits (brewersbestkits.com) are pretty easy to follow and they have a decent selection. The worst instruction that I have found is the part about ferment for a week. That should be replaced with ferment for 3 weeks or until the specific gravity has stopped changing for several days. The kits include the specialty grains (if needed for the recipe), the malt extract, grain bag for steeping grain, hops, yeast and the caps needed for bottling the recipe (60 caps included for a 50 yo 55 bottle batch).

I have also bought recipe kits from Midwest Supplies and found them to be nearly as easy to follow but they contain no bottle caps in the kit.

 

[michur]

Northern Brewer has some good kits as well and so does Midwest. I've gotten kits from them both.

I've never used them but a lot of people here talk about Austin Homebrew.