Brand new to brewing...

[chalmer9]

Hello all, I joined back in May with the intention of beginning home brewing but life events prevented me from getting started, but I'm ready now!

My main goal is to brew my own beer as a hobby, not looking to try to brew beer to save money per case or anything. I like lots of different kinds of beer, so I'll be trying them all at some point. I read the FAQ's on here and unless I missed something, didn't see a brewing kit recommendation thread.

I ordered this book off Amazon, it should be here Wednesday:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060531053/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The Complete Joy of HomeBrewing 3rd Edition.
I reearched and it seems to be the highest rated book for a beginner.

My biggest problem (and reason for this thread) is I cannot decide which brewing kit to get. The main ones I've researched are:

Northern Brewer Deluxe Starter Kit:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html

and a similar kit from midwest supplies.com.

I love ordering on Amazon, but their brewing kits seem to leave much to be desired...although I'm a novice so they may be perfectly fine.

Anyway, I'm the type of person that likes to get a really nice starter base when starting a new hobby...and that's kits like Mr. Beer are out for me. Are these kits I've linked the types of kits I should be looking for?

Thanks and I look forward to learning more and more off these forums.

 

[HenryVance3]

First of all Great Choice of books, Papazian is a demi god in Homebrew, I would also suggest getting a membership to AHA
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/
this will give you a subscription to Zymurgy magazine which is priceless.

 

[HenryVance3]

In regards to your kit, I like nice tools and you will probably quickly out grow plastic fermenters. I think the best way to go is a good banjo burner like
http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-KAB4-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0009JXYQY
and if you are trying to save $$ cut out a Keggle for a brew pot and get 6.5 gallon Glass Carboys for fermentors along with all the other accouterments such as air locks, stir paddle, temp, chiller(which are surprisingly easy to make), bottles or Keg(bottles are cheaper at first but more work)and an extract recipe and you are ready to Rock!! Don't forget some cleaner and sanitizer.

 

[storunner13]

I got my first kit from Midwest...but that's not because it's better than the others (though it was cheaper at the time).

The kit you're looking at looks good...though it might be expensive to ship. Plastic "better bottle" carboys are really nice, and should be easier to ship. The 5 gallon 'secondary' fermentor isn't necessary unless you want to brew more than once a month.

Another thing you'll need is a nice big brewpot. You might have a 3ish gallon one at home, but a 5 gallon or bigger one is very nice. You'll eventually wish you got a bigger pot, but a 5 gallon pot to start isn't bad. I still use both of my 20 and 32 qt. pots. And don't knock aluminum...it heats better than stainless.

Other ideas to check out are "no-chill brewing" (to do away with a wort chiller), "BIAB" (brew in a bag), and DeathBrewer's "easy partial mash"

And both Midwest and Northern Brewer (and most homebrew shops) will each have great kits...albeit with not so great instructions (sometimes). Another source you can look to for information is howtobrew.com . It's John Palmer's book online in its entirety! It's where I started, and has lots of good information, as does this forum!

 

[dest149]

I bought the NB deluxe kit today myself. I think it pretty much includes everything you need, other than a kettle. I got it with the glass carboys, and went with it over the midwest kit because it seemed to encompass more things and although I could upgrade down the line, I still want to have something to start out with and have a base line of what is good vs. bad equipment. I think the kit should be pretty good anyways, and will certainly do the job. I am pretty happy with my purchase and really havent heard, or seen any better alternatives for an entry point in the hobby while still maintaining an affordable price point. Just take the plunge and I am sure it will be great. BTW you can go online and find a coupon so the shipping is 7.99 flat rate for whatever your order is and it will arrive in 3-7 days. Thats what I did, and it works out great especially since I ordered glass which is heavier. Don't forget to order a recipe kit too along with some sanitizer!

 

[Monkey55]

From some reason, kits seem to be more expensive than if you were to buy the items individually.

I think it cost my about $21 for a 6.5gl bucket, spigot, lid, and airlock - $7 for a thermometer at Target - $30 something for an 4gl aluminum brew pot at Walmart - and a few bucks for 3/8" vinyl tubing at Home Depot.

I have about 12 batches under my belt, literally , and have never used a hydrometer. I use 1 liter plastic PET bottles to bottle, and there videos on Youtube on How to Brew.

I don't think you have to be cheap, but I think it would be better to pick & choose your brewing equipment.

Anywho.. Have fun!!

E

 

[ravhawk2000]

Personally, I got John Palmer's How to Brew. This book has been a very good investment and he has the newest out in paperback. But you can read it in its original entirety online as the other guy said. Where you end up getting you kits through I think is a personal preference with whomever you start out with. While I have tried a few kits from different places. I like midwest supply. They seem to be simple and explicit without being too complicated. They also seem to be fair on their shipping prices. But that's just me.

As far as the first kit to use, just try whichever jumps out at you the most. I'm fermenting a belgian wheat atm, and look forward to drinking it.

As the other guy mentioned, unless you plan on fermenting for a few months, like a mead (a year on that one), your secondary could easily be used with the Better Bottle. While I as a traditionalist prefer glass. With two kids and for the purpose of cleaner, clear beer, prefer a secondary. The Better Bottle secondary seems to work just fine.

Have a blast with your new hobby.

 

[dest149]

Yeah, that sounds like a happy medium. We'll see. Perhaps when I start getting better and making more brews at the same time I can buy a better bottle or two as a secondary and use the two glass carboys that came with the kit as primaries.. we'll see though since they aren't the same size. The kit comes with a 6 gallon glass carboy and a 5 gallon one. I imagine I should use the 6 gallon one for primary and 5 gallon one when and if I decide to rack to secondary?

 

[theveganbrewer]

You're just a bit late for the $30.00 Prime 2-day free shipping glass carboys Amazon was selling a few weeks ago. I picked up 3 and they were here in less than 48 hours. 6 gallon variety. They look to be backordered now. The kit at brewgadgets.com that is on sale has amazon.com checkout and though it doesn't have an auto-siphon, it does come with a 5-gallon brew pot and a 5 gallon glass carboy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VFXW5W

http://brewgadgets.com/p-310-featured-gold-complete-home-brew-equipment-kit-w-kettle-kit.aspx

 

[dest149]

I mean I already bought the other kit, I was just wondering which goes to which. I just figure the bigger one is for primary so the krausen can have space, and since fermentation is mostly done, it is not as much of an issue in secondary. Good news for me though since I didn't want to have to deal with a blow off tube anyways.. one less thing to mess around with.

 

[bottlebomber]

The only real piece of advice I could offer a new brewer is to buy a 10 gallon kettle. Because you are going to want to go all-grain sooner than you'd imagine, and your 5 gallon pot will only be good for making gumbo after that