Did I go overboard with equipment??

[leoingle]

I've been into craft beer for a year or two heavily and decided to go ahead and start making my own. I been reading alot and watching alot of videos over the past month. I was about to order the morebeer $350 kit, but i decided to piece it out and get exactly what I want. 470 bucks later, I had it. While picking stuff, I kept in mind I dont want to have to upgrade or buy anything else later (i.e. kettle with thermometer, ball valve, good hydrometer, glass carboys). i already have a CO2 tank and regulator for when i do a keezer later, i just will need to get the corny kegs. I know I will like doing this, so its not like i'm gonna start and realize its not for me, because I am def going to enjoy this. Am I crazy to get all that right off the bat??

 

[aludwig]

"won't have to buy anything else later" is what you tell your significant other. Welcome to the hobby (and forum). I don't think you will regret getting the equipment you wanted up front, but don't kid yourself. You will end up spending a lot more most likely.

Keep in mind you don't need better equipment to make better beer, however there are a lot of things (like kettle valve that you mentioned) that make life significantly easier. I say if you have the money, go for it - and in this hobby there really doesn't seem to be any such thing as "overboard".

 

[tyzippers]

Overboard is relative around here! I've seen guys that want the most simple setup as possible for the least amount of money. Then there are guys (like me) that love to tinker and have a love for designing and building things. So we go "overboard". But I don't think it is. I find a balance between my love for the hobby and making life easier. Example: do you NEED a SS conical fermenter to make good beer? No. But I believe it certainly makes life a lot easier on your back because you're not lifting heave carboys anymore! But others can argue that point as well. So, I say go and do whatever makes you happy! I don't really put a lot of credence into what the minimalists say on here. If I did, I'd feel like a horrible person!

 

[shoreman]

People spend thousands of dollars on golf drivers, cameras,etc - it's a hobby so it's gonna cost some money - I think you did fine - if you don't enjoy it you can always sell it and get 50% back and put it towards another hobby

 

[TedLarsen]

Welcome! I always remember what one of the members here has as their signature: "It's a fine line between hobby and mental illness!"

 

[lespaul23]

welcome! I always remember what one of the members here has as their signature: "it's a fine line between hobby and mental illness!"

+1

 

[eric19312]

Welcome to the hobby. There are ways to make home brewing fit any budget, no matter how large.

Each item you buy will impact some or all of:
Quality of your beer
Ease of your brew day
Ego and bragging rights
Cost of beer batches you produce
Equipment budget now and over time

I put the last two separate as I really think it is best t think about the equipment as the hobby expense, while the ingredients you use are beer money (you would spend that and more buying the beer...)

Of the list above, you alone know the relative importance of each quality.

Buying equipment that gets the job done now but will need to be replaced in a year or two may be more expensive in the long run than buying that upgrade item now...but is not necessarily the best decision.

For example, I really wanted a $350 shiny kettle. But finally decided to go with a Bayou Classic with DIY valve, sight glass and thermometer from brewhardware.com. Brought the cost down to $200 and the difference went into my mash/lauter tun. I guess I could have bought the shiny and kept doing partial mash, but really wanted to get into all grain faster.

but if i was really all about beer quality I could have foregone the valve, glass and thermometer and bought an oxygenation system or a yeast starter system...

All these decisions are part of what makes the hobby interesting.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I started extract in a 7.5 gallon SS pot on the stovetop. Part boil. Then I decided to upgrade to a boilermaker so I could do AG full boil. Looked at the 10 gallon and it didn't look much bigger than my 7.5, so I went with the 15. The LHBS clerk said " you could also use this to do 10 gallon batches" my initial thought was "why the h*** would I want 10 gallons of a particular batch? I like variety!! Guess what? my first 2 batches were 10 gallon. The boilermaker came with a screw in temp gage which I have never installed because it would snag the bag. The sight glass is nice but not necessary, since my gage stick works just fine in my 7.5 gallon pot and I could easily make up one for the Boilermaker. Bottom line, if I were doing it again, i would probably just get a brew pot with a ball valve in the bottom if I wanted to save $$$. Live and learn.

 

[Varmintman]

My first kit including the grains for my first batch was under a 100 bucks fir 5 gallon batch and it was wonderful. Since then I have added better things meaning things that make the brew day go faster and easier but I suppose I am still under 200 bucks.

It all depends on what you want to do and it sounds like you got a good deal on what you got so far so I would not worry about it so much.

I will often look at some of the brew rigs on this site and made the mistake of showing my wife some of them. She really wanted to get me a rig like those but for me it is a hobby and one that I enjoy. I think I would not enjoy it as much if I had all the bells and whistles that many people have.

Ultimately remember it is a hobby and should be fun. If bling is your thing then great go for it.

 

[homebrew57]

you are definitely not crazy. I actually bought that $350 kit from morebeer when I started. Haven't regretted it since. Sometimes I wish I had pieced together mine only because a couple of the items aren't the best, but you really can't beat the price. It can cost a whole lot more to start another hobby (i.e. hotrods/muscle cars), so $500 isn't all that bad. Going straight into full boils and wort chilling is a great idea. You will bypass a lot of beginner problems with that setup, but, like everyone else said, $500 is only the beginning......

 

[william_shakes_beer]

On second thought, yes you went way overboard. You need to downsize immediately. I'll send you my shipping address

 

[SagamoreAle]

I spent about $4k on my equipment over 2 years. This includes building a brewing room in a corner of my garage, primary AG brewing equipment, plus all the toys such as strainers, pH meter, refractometer, etc. etc. etc.

Prior to that, I brewed with extract kits for years in my kitchen on about $150 in equipment.

This hobby can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.

 

[unionrdr]

Getting what youwant & what you need aren't always the same thing. I am a minimalist,but I very readilly recognize what helps make better beer,what makes the job easier &/or faster. Those are the irems I try to concentrate on. Like a bottling wand & tube. The spray wand my wife got me for Christmas to clean fermenter gunj with. Gotta mod that one to suite me. The large printer stand that is now my fermenter stand/storage unit. The 1000mL flask for starters. The vinator & bottle tree.
The rubber mallet & lid openning tool for getting tight bucket lids on & off.
The SS collander for draining my biab grains over the pot. The dual layer fine mesh strainer. And on & on,they all serve the aformentioned purpose of making things easier & faster.That's my view on the subject of wants & needs.

 

[leoingle]

Thanks for the replies. Everything I got was for functionality reason, i can care less how pretty something looks. I def know i will still be getting more stuff later. But the way I look at it, is now i dont have to upgrade my base parts. I priced everything out on all the other big sites and morebeer prices were equal or better. esp on the kettle.