Day 1 - In the beginning...

[Boriasm]

Hey Y'all,
Today is day one of my beer brewing adventure! I just received a 20 lbs box of gear from NB that included:
1 gallon starter kit with Caribou Slobber (and all the fixins)
2 2 gal plastic buckets with grommeted lids
1 gal fermenter brush
3 piece airlock (additional to the one in the kit)
Bourbon Barrel Porter kit

I've already read 'How To Brew' and I'm super excited about this new hobby and am super excited to get started! The 1 gal kit is due to my small NYC apartment and roommate that can be less than accommodating at times. I'm going to start my CS kit tomorrow but before I do I have some questions I'm hoping y'all can help me with. I've also done A LOT of reading and I worry I may be reading into some things a little too much, so some of these questions may seem paranoid, but I'm hoping y'all may be able to educate me further:
-going to Target tomorrow and am wondering, besides a thermometer, strainer, and stainless steel spoon, do you see anything I'm glaringly missing to get going?
-New York claims to have the best water in the world but I wonder if it's good for brewing straight out of the tap? I have a pitcher filter and a large additional pitcher to store water in: should I use that filtered water to make my beer with? Does pitcher-filtered water strip some of the nutrients I may need for yeast? I don't want to have to buy a water tester if I can avoid it.
-how serious are people about 'scratches' in plastic fermenters? I understand the importance of cleaning and sanitizing and the risk of bacterial growth but some of the things I've read have me paranoid to the point that I need to take a UV light to my plastic to check for micro scratches or is that more for obvious, naked-eye, gouges?
-the exposure to light also has me worried. I understand not exposing to any light during fermentation but should I be brewing my beer after sundown?
-I plan on putting my fermenter in a modified/home made swamp cooler (water bath with ice and frozen water bottles) to keep temps cool but should I measure the temp of the water or the fermenter when monitoring? I don't have a fermometer but am thinking of getting one in my next order.
-do these have different effect measuring temps through plastic fermenters? I got the 2 gal plastic buckets to avoid blowoff (and for sanitizing things and other uses, and using the glass jug that came with the kit for secondary ferm) and am wondering if a fermometer has different efficiency on plastic than glass.
-can I put frozen water bottles, stripped of labels and sanitized, in my wort to help cool faster than ice bath alone? Or will I run the risk of melting the bottles?
-what is the 'safe' time frame for cooling a 1 gal wort in an ice bath from boil to pitching temp?
-am I overthinking everything and I should just go ahead and brew per instructions/basic advice I've read around here and just dive in?

Thanks for any help you can provide and I'm looking forward to getting started!



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[rodwha]

Can you be a more precise about the things you have so as to better say if you are missing something?

A hydrometer is great, and if you don't have a fermometer you might get away with a floating thermometer to get an idea of the water temp.

Before I truly understood that fermenting temps differ from other temps I monitored my water temp. When I finally bought fermometers I found it was about 5* warmer than the cold water. Knowing that might help until you get fermometers, which you'll want to place near the top so as to be out of the water, but under the high point of the worts level.

Great you've read that to start! I still read it and learn!

I'd filter the water anyway. If it tastes good, they say, you might be able to use it. Look up your local water report to find out more about your water though. Mine is hard and so I know what I can brew well with and what I can't (partial mash).

A filter doesn't take away the nutrients or fluoride.

Unsure about scratches.

Don't worry about the light. The bucket shields most/all of the UV rays that I'm aware of, though I certainly wouldn't put it in a window.

Don't put those in your wort. Put them in the sink of water that you can use to cool down your pot. It's not likely sanitary.

Give your beer at least 3 weeks to ferment and 3 weeks to condition, as well as 3 days in the fridge before you open it, and all should be good. More time doesn't hurt for the most part.

 

[brewkinger]

All the advice and comments sound good so far.

Your NYC water is going to be chlorinated, so unless you want the beer to have an off taste, you are gong to want to use a Campden tablet per 5 gallons of water to remove the chlorine / chloramine.

If you think NYC water is good, you should come to northern Vermont and sample some delicious water from DEEP in the earth.

Search for a brew store near you, Target will not have most chemicals and things you need.
I also assume that you have sanitizer.

Best advice:
Relax, Don't Worry; Have A Homebrew. (Henceforth RDWHAHB)


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[Jphillips13]

Op questioned temp readings through plastic vs glass. I've seen this mentioned a couple of times but don't remember a clear answer. I've wondered about this myself but haven't tested it either way. Anybody noticed beer temps being being significantly higher with plastic when using the water bath temp control method?


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[rodwha]

For mine I found the beer was 5* warmer than what the floating thermometer showed.