chosing the right bottles/right extract kit

[mordecai251]

i am literally in beginning stages of buying the stuff for my first brew,
i am wondering for a first brew would it be a better idea to get a bunch of 12oz bottles or get 1 liter easy cap bottles? would these make the carbonation in the bottle easier or harder for a first time brewer?

and also any suggestions on a good beginner extract kit would be greatly appreciated also.

 

[Germelli1]

The swing top bottles are a little bit easier since they donot require capping with crown caps. But then again I can drink beer and save the bottles for bottling!

Pretty much any kit from the reputable suppliers would work well but I can only recommend Austin Homebrew since they are the only ones I have bought a kit from!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I just use bottles left from commercial beers I drink. As far as kits, check out Midwest Supplies, they have some nice extract with grains kits. I recommend the Amarillo Pale Ale kit, personally.

 

[mordecai251]

i have been seeing a few kits on northernbrewer.com i have been interested in. i was thinking of doing wheat beer of some sort, is there any good beginner wheat beers that wouldn't be too easy to fudge up so to speak?

 

[shanecb]

Either will be fine, to be honest. The biggest advantage of the 1 liter ones is less bottles to fill!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

NB has good kits too. They both have an American style wheat kit, and both have hefe kits as well. Check out both places sites, you'll be amazed at the variety of kits they have available.
And welcome to the addictio...... hobby, it's a hobby.

 

[mordecai251]

Either will be fine, to be honest. The biggest advantage of the 1 liter ones is less bottles to fill!

thats what i was thinking also, i wasn't entirely sure you could use commercial beer bottles for bottling but now that i know that my vast collection of washed out kentucky ale bottles/great lakes bottles will help out big time with my first brew!

and the link below is the kit i have my eye on, the words hoppy,wheat, and ale caught my eye and by the reviews it seems like it would be a safe bet to try.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/wheaten-beatdown-extract-kit.html

 

[Germelli1]

A wheat beer is a great choice for a first brew. They are ready to drink soon and actually SHOULD be consumed young. So you don't even need to try and fight to be patient to try your first brew

One suggestion is buy a second kit along with your first, so when the first batch is in bottles you can start a mini pipeline while you have beer to enjoy already!

If you like the hobby/product, then you will surely be buy another fermentor, then another, then another, then another and so on haha

 

[mordecai251]

another quick question, would you guys recomend a setup with 2 stage fermentation? or would a basic beginner 2 bucket setup work fine for the type of beer i want to brew?

 

[Germelli1]

Read up on the endless Extended Primary vs. Secondary fermentation threads and see what you think. I personally think secondary is only useful when adding ingredients after primary fermentation is complete (fruit, dryhopping, coffee, cocoa, etc). A standard plastic bucket primary + bottling bucket will serve you beautifully!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I'd go with the long primary approach unless you plan on dry hopping or adding something else post fermentation.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Read up on the endless Extended Primary vs. Secondary fermentation threads and see what you think. I personally think secondary is only useful when adding ingredients after primary fermentation is complete (fruit, dryhopping, coffee, cocoa, etc). A standard plastic bucket primary + bottling bucket will serve you beautifully!

^ that

 

[mordecai251]

I'd go with the long primary approach unless you plan on dry hopping or adding something else post fermentation.

i would assume for my first couple brews it will be very basic beer brewing, no flavoring/no extra hopping. so primary would seem to be the right approach it seems.

 

[TopherM]

You'll find that most of the veterans don't secondary. Go ahead and get the two bucket setup, however, and you'll have two primaries to go ahead and start getting a good beer pipeline going so you never run out.

I personally use Austin Homebrew Supply, Northern Brewer, and Midwest Supplies when I buy kits. All have great instructions and fresh ingredients, and you really can't go wrong with either one.

Welcome to the cult!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

i would assume for my first couple brews it will be very basic beer brewing, no flavoring/no extra hopping. so primary would seem to be the right approach it seems.

Then I'd go with the long primary. But I agree with what topher said, get a set up with a couple buckets or a bucket and carboy. That way you can brew a second batch sooner. Plus, you'll end up with at least two fermenters most likely, so might as well be now. :rockin: