Dont know what to brew.

[Biobrewer]

There are thousands of brewers on here using aluminum keggles to make great beer. You are incorrect sir.

Pretty sure all kegs are stainless. Not sure where you would find an aluminum keg.

Also, wort does react with aluminum (via low pH), and I would neither mash nor boil in it. People might do it, but that doesn't mean its the best way to do it.

 

[DirtyOldDuck]

Dirty duck said it is ok to use aluminum pots I would not recommend it. Aluminum reacts with boiling wort and will give you off flavors. Use stainless steel.

Not true.

 

[billyf111]

Another option is maybe try to find a friend that wants to brew also and split potential start up costs. My brother and I live a block away and decided we wanted to start brewing. We went straight for the top of the line stuff and had three batches brewing for $150.00 each.

If we split the costs of a groupon deal and some kits we could have EASILY brewed our first couple batches plus startup equipment for $65 each.

Plus it makes it a little easier to pass the time during a 60 minute boil with someone else there!

 

[BrewerBear]

Dirty duck said it is ok to use aluminum pots I would not recommend it. Aluminum reacts with boiling wort and will give you off flavors. Use stainless steel.

I've used aluminum turkey pot for every batch so far(gettting ready to order bigger so may go stainless,don't know yet) with no issues or off flavors. You need to boil water in it for about 30 minutes to build up a layer of oxidation.

Also if money is very tight you could buy a fermenter and a beer kit, then next pay day pick up the stuff to bottle it.May cost more in the long run that way,but you would get started and after it's in the fermenter you have incentive to buy the rest of the stuff to finish it.

 

[RiffMagnum]

Another option is maybe try to find a friend that wants to brew also and split potential start up costs. My brother and I live a block away and decided we wanted to start brewing. We went straight for the top of the line stuff and had three batches brewing for $150.00 each.

If we split the costs of a groupon deal and some kits we could have EASILY brewed our first couple batches plus startup equipment for $65 each.

Plus it makes it a little easier to pass the time during a 60 minute boil with someone else there!

This is a great idea if it's an option for you. A friend of mine wants to get into it and i told him since i have most of the stuff already, he could just buy a couple fermenters on his own and we can split the cost of propane and ingredients. Although, most people are just blowing smoke when it comes to this sort of thing and end up flaking out.

 

[Draken]

Dirty duck said it is ok to use aluminum pots I would not recommend it. Aluminum reacts with boiling wort and will give you off flavors. Use stainless steel.

Pretty sure all kegs are stainless. Not sure where you would find an aluminum keg.

Also, wort does react with aluminum (via low pH), and I would neither mash nor boil in it. People might do it, but that doesn't mean its the best way to do it.

This is wrong. If you oxidize the pot prior to use, by either boiling water in it for an hour or sticking it in a 300f oven for an hour (time and temp are a guess do a search cause I don't recall offhand) you will not have an issue with off flavor. Additionally extract brews do not have a low enough ph to extract flavor from the metal. You only run into an issue with partial mash and all grain brews. I have used an oxidized pot for mashing and brewing with no issue at all. The inert layer caused by oxidizing the pot keeps liquids from even touching the aluminum.

Also look at BIAB if you want to go all grain on the cheap. I hit 75% efficiency plus with every brew.

 

[Iwannabrew]

Will you spend more on gear in the future? Most likely, but there is no reason to spend a ton right off the bat for gear that you don't absolutely need. Just get what you need in order to make beer. The main thing you need is attention to details and an interest in drinking beer that YOU made.

I will definitely get more equipment and slowly build my way to all grain. All grain is what I want to work towards because of more control and more to expirment with

 

[Draken]

I will definitely get more equipment and slowly build my way to all grain. All grain is what I want to work towards because of more control and more to expire meant with

BIAB.... Requires a big bag... No more additional equipment. Good cheap way to try out all grain.

 

[Iwannabrew]

I was gonna ask about what kind of pot to use and everybody seems to disagree on things about that

 

[Draken]

I was gonna ask about what kind of pot to use and everybody seems to disagree on things about that

I use an aluminum pot I got off amazon. It was half the price of a stainless steel job. There is a sticky somewhere with the cons/pros of aluminum vs stainless just do a search.

 

[Iwannabrew]

Biab does sound fun too, it's amazing how many different ways to brew there is

 

[signpost]

Here you go: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/free-basic-beer-starter-kit.html

Yup. That's a link to a FREE basic starter kit from Northern brewer. All you pay for is an ingredient kit and a kettle.

Do it. Now.

It says this deal only lasts for 48 hours.

 

[Iwannabrew]

Awesome!

 

[grimzella]

that is 1 GrEaT deal. would be foolish for someone with no gear to pass this by. NB rocks.. o yea, so does Brewing TV. guys are funny as hell.

 

[Iwannabrew]

I'm not going to be able to get it, sucks because that deal is awesome.

 

[BrewerBear]

You may look into one gallon batches then. Or maybe something like Apfelwein then, that way you still get started,but would not need a large pot to boil in.

 

[boscobeans]

For about $100 you can start with a Cooper's complete setup. Includes EVERYTHING you need including bottles. The one thing I like most about the Cooper's is the fermenter. No airlocks, you can see what's happening inside (important to give you an understanding of fermentation) and the general brewing techniques like sanitizing, hydrometer readings, handling 5-6 gallons of beer and bottling will be better understood. The hydrometer stinks but works for a beginner.

If you ignore the directions (let it ferment for 10 to 14 days at least and carb and condition for a few weeks) that they give you about fermentation and conditioning time you will get a decent beer your first time.

From there you can add equipment as your skills and interests grow.

I use the fermenter now for each brew and I do all grain 6 gallon batches each time I brew. When fermentation action is at full speed it's more fun than watching an aquarium.

OMO

Edit... BTW there is nothing wrong with aluminum pots. Just oxidize it with a full rolling boil for a while and leave the finish alone. If you have to scrub it for any reason just do another quick boil.. I use a 10 gallon Winware pot and it looks like it will outlast me..LOL

bosco

 

[Iwannabrew]

I might just wait to get my set up till a later date, I really want to get out of Florida. I need more cold weather

 

[RiffMagnum]

I might just wait to get my set up till a later date, I really want to get out of Florida. I need more cold weather

I mean that NB deal could've got you started for well under $100 if you're doing partial batches. That's a 5 gallon stainless boil kettle, beer ingredient kit, fermenter, bottling bucket, auton siphon with hose, bottle capper, caps, PBW, star san, video, hydrometer. Pretty much everything except a thermometer, stir spoon, and empty bottles.
If you can't scrape together a bill then why even start the thread? What's really going on?

 

[Iwannabrew]

Pretty much just broke at the moment

And really want to get out of Florida

 

[Iwannabrew]

Reason I wanted to start brewing so bad again was back at home some family got some homebrew from one of their friends that I tried a couple years ago and it reminded me of how interested I was in brewing back then and that I had totally forgotten. They just recently brewed up some more of it and I couldn't have any due to living so far away so I decided to buy a kit and brew my own like I wanted to so bad for years. But as it turns out I don't need to be spending money on those kind of things right now just because I got excited. It does bum me out a little but I'm sure that I will get to some other time. That was a crazy awesome deal but I just couldn't do it because I know that I have more important things to worry about right now. Bing responsible sucks lol.