Brewing on the cheap...

[johnoswald]

I hate spending $8 a six pack, and it is harder to get good beer in a rural area.

aint it the truth

As for the can kit idea...I was able to find Muntons no boil kits...is that what you mean? Or would any kit work (assuming I went with something easy, like extract brewing)? Definately want simple to start...

the no boil is the simplest (but I boiled them just to make sure they and the utensils were complete aseptic).
I started with their Stout - still have the can label in my brew book!
You can then make a "True Brew" type kit. A little more to do and with OK instructions. After a few of these you'll know if this is what you want to continue with.

Bottling pail...I ... Basically, would I just need to get a bottling spigot and drill a hole to install it?

skip the spigot and use your cane and siphon tube to bottle

Why in particular a bench style capper? Most of the equipment kits seem to come with the two hander...is that something that would probably end up getting upgraded pretty quickly if I bought an equipment kit?
.

truth is the 2 handle capper is in the starter kit because it's cheaper. People learne to make do and not scale up. But, I know of no one who has gone to a 2 hander from a bench style. I personally don't like buying something and then setting it on the shelf. Sure it costs more but it won't be obsolete until you start kegging or invest in a lot of European beer (or the empty bottles).

Hydrometers are real cheap but also cheaply made - they don't last - CRACK!

A bottle brush? - you don't need it. A high strength bleach solution can soak off any residue easily over night (even the hop/yeast residue in the top of the carboy - just invert it carefully). If you rinse your bottles upon emptying, there is nothing to feed stray yeasts, ants and bugs. And, any bleach solutions can be re-used in the washer on a load of cloth diapers! (Experience knows)

 

[EvilTOJ]

Another word of advice. Those 5 gallon detergent buckets are great, but if they've actually had detergent in them, don't use them for for fermenting or otherwise directly touching the wort. I have one I thought I'd use, and even though I rinsed and rinsed and soaked with baking soda and bleach, the detergent smell and taste has never come out. So either buy new buckets, or ones that have had food product stored in them, like ketchup or pickles.

 

[olllllo]

Another word of advice. Those 5 gallon detergent buckets are great, but if they've actually had detergent in them, don't use them for for fermenting or otherwise directly touching the wort. I have one I thought I'd use, and even though I rinsed and rinsed and soaked with baking soda and bleach, the detergent smell and taste has never come out. So either buy new buckets, or ones that have had food product stored in them, like ketchup or pickles.

5 gallons of Ketchup or pickles? What kind of hot dog eatin' ARMY of a family they have over there?

 

[Beer Snob]

I don't mind the two-handed capper. If you give him a hand while bottling, even better. Haven't used a bench-top capper, but I imagine it makes much more of a difference if you're doing the bottling by yourself. I also use mostly 22oz bottles (as well as some 16oz swing-tops) to limit the number of bottles I need to use.

It's a $15 or $20 difference between a two-handed and a benchtop capper, and in my opinion there are much better things to spend that money on. Again, I'll argue for a secondary fermenter (about $20), or spend that extra money on better ingredients. Better to spend that $20 on something that will make the beer taste better, rather than something that might make the process marginally easier.

When I got my pacemaker some months back, some of you might recall I had two carboys of beer, but was not able to bottle it. I had the two handed capper. Man... got the bench capper (think it was 20) and it was so incredible. Well at any rate it gave me the ability to bottle the beer when I couldn't otherwise. Never would have goten it had I not medically need it... now... wow... dont think I'll use the two handed one again

 

[Yooper]

I got a couple of buckets (with lids) from the grocery store's bakery department. They are great because they are food grade buckets (had frosting in them!) and they were clean and free. You just have to drill a small hole in the top for the airlock or blow off tube. I ferment in them for a week, then rack to a 5 gal. carboy ($20).
However, we've talked quite a bit about kits. A good kit will run $80 and might be a good investment IF you actually going to purchase all those items separately anyway. I would invest in a glass carboy, a plastic bucket (either a free one or purchase a bottling bucket), the racking tube/cane, a long handled spoon, sanitizer, a capper and crown caps, a hydrometer, airlocks, and of course bottles (which I got for free).

So for the equipment I'd buy it would break down to something like this: Glass carboy (not necessary at all but I LOVE mine), $20; plastic bucket with lid, free or $14; racking cane, tubing, bottle filler, $10; spoon (already might have) $5; Sanitizer, $5 for a lot; capper and caps, $15; hydrometer, $6.50; airlocks, $1. So, for under $80 I got all I needed including a glass carboy. I bought food grade tubing at the hardware store for my blow off tubing for .39 cents a foot.

If you have a LHBS, it'd be worth it to stop in and talk to them and figure out what you'd like to get. Maybe your "must-haves" are different from other people's, so it's good to know what you want. A "kit" of the type of beer you like would be great to start. It would have everything in it, including a grain bag and caps and priming sugar. These are about $25 and make 5 gallons of beer.

Welcome to the most addicting hobby in the world- I'm new and I'm already obsessed.

Lorena

 

[the_bird]

Welcome to the most addicting hobby in the world- I'm new and I'm already obsessed.

Lorena

What the hell is it about homebrewing that makes it such an obsessive hobby? I mean, I love working on the house, but I'm not at thisoldhouse.org eight times a day.

It's nice, I need something to think about besides work, but man...