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mikelbeck

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So I'm a newbie... I've been brewing with Mr. Beer but am going to step up to doing some "real" brewing sometime soon.

I got a Brewer's Best kit for Xmas, I haven't opened it up yet but am curious to see what opinions of it are and if I need to add anything else. It's this one: http://www.homebrewing.org/Brewers-Best-BeAst-Equipment-Kit-with-Plastic-Carboy_p_3155.html it says it contains everything needed except a boiling pot, bottles and caps. Is that accurate?
 
Looks like you'll need bottles, caps, some cleaner like PBW & I prefer Starsan no-rinse sanitizer for ease of use. It says "bottling set up"? Did that include a bottling wand?
 
Looks like you'll need bottles, caps, some cleaner like PBW & I prefer Starsan no-rinse sanitizer for ease of use. It says "bottling set up"? Did that include a bottling wand?

It says it comes with both "Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser" and "IO Star Sanitizer". It doesn't say anything about a bottling wand but does say "Bottle Filler". Is that the same thing?

Here's the label on the box with the contents:
label.png
 
The bottle filler could be the bottling wand. You'll have to look. And in my opinion, there's no such thing as a no-rinse cleaner! Cleaners have to be rinsed well.
 
+1 on Bottling wand, PBW, and StarSan.

You don't necessarily need a bottling wand but it does help out quite a bit when bottling.
 
Bottling wands help prevent oxidizing the beer by filling the bottles from the bottom up. Fill the bottle to the top & pull up an inch or two on the wand. This will close the little pin valve on the end of the wand & stop the flow of beer. Removing the wand will then leave the correct head space for that bottle size by way of volume displacement.
 
hey unionrdr... good to see you... been a while.

also... i think that "officially" starsan is a no-rinse cleaner
 
So I'm a newbie... I've been brewing with Mr. Beer but am going to step up to doing some "real" brewing sometime soon.

I got a Brewer's Best kit for Xmas, I haven't opened it up yet but am curious to see what opinions of it are and if I need to add anything else. It's this one: http://www.homebrewing.org/Brewers-Best-BeAst-Equipment-Kit-with-Plastic-Carboy_p_3155.html it says it contains everything needed except a boiling pot, bottles and caps. Is that accurate?

based on your link, the biggest thing you are missing is ingredients.
from the link, at the bottom of that page it says :
"Be sure to add a beer recipe kit to your order, otherwise you will only receive the equipment kit.".
you will need to get an extract or partial mash kit from your local home brew store (LHBS) or order one on-line.
 
Yup. Starsan is a no-rinse sanitizer. A little bottle has lasted me some 4 years & counting. I love PBW for cleaning. It'll clean just about anything in the right concentration. But must be rinsed of course. And yeah dadshomebrewing, it has been awhile. Wasup?!:mug:
 
Get a BIAB bag for about $7 and your ready for all grain. Your pot is 20 quart or 5 gallon, you can scale back and do 3-4 gallon batches or do partial boil and add water to bring it to 5 gallons. Get a walmart cooler and with your BIAB bag you can do mashes with very little additional money.
 
based on your link, the biggest thing you are missing is ingredients.
from the link, at the bottom of that page it says :
"Be sure to add a beer recipe kit to your order, otherwise you will only receive the equipment kit.".
you will need to get an extract or partial mash kit from your local home brew store (LHBS) or order one on-line.

Well, yeah, I didn't expect the kit to come with any ingredients, or if did it would be something basic.

unionrdr said:
The bottle filler could be the bottling wand. You'll have to look.

This would be a tube that has a valve on the bottom that opens when pressed down? I have one of those from my Mr Beer pieces, it attaches to the spigot on the LBK and I use it to fill the bottles. http://www.mrbeer.com/spigot-and-wand-assembly

I'll open it up today or tomorrow and see what's in the box. We still haven't cleaned up from Xmas so there's stuff everywhere....

madscientist451 said:
Get a BIAB bag for about $7 and your ready for all grain. Your pot is 20 quart or 5 gallon, you can scale back and do 3-4 gallon batches or do partial boil and add water to bring it to 5 gallons.

BIAB = "Beer In A Bag"? Or "Brew In A Bag"?

Get a walmart cooler and with your BIAB bag you can do mashes with very little additional money.

What kind of cooler?


Thanks for the info guys, I'm really looking forward to getting started... :mug:
 
One more question... What kind of bottles do I need? Can I re-use bottles from a couple of 12 packs (after cleaning, of course) or do I need some other type? I have 16 - 1 liter PET bottles that I got from Mr. Beer, are those OK to use?
 
You can use the PET bottles too. Save up some pop-top 12oz bottles to use with crown caps & a capper. 5 gallons of beer will yield 48-54/12oz bottles.
 
This would be a tube that has a valve on the bottom that opens when pressed down? I have one of those from my Mr Beer pieces, it attaches to the spigot on the LBK and I use it to fill the bottles.

BIAB = "Beer In A Bag"? Or "Brew In A Bag"?
just wanted to make sure you weren't going to open the box and plan on making beer when there were no ingredients. Mr. Beer kits were ingredients and equipment all in one.

yes the tube and valve at the bottom is the bottle wand /bottle filler.

BIAB = brew in a bag. see here for method. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/biab-brewing-pics-233289/

it is all grain method with less equipment than 'traditional' 3 vessel.

going from Mr. beer to all grain - 3 vessel might seem difficult. BIAB is a good middle ground. as are extract and partial mash brews. really depends on how much you want to try.

you can make great beer with any of the 3 methods (extract, partial mash, all grain (including BIAB)). the keys are paying attention to detail, sanitizing everything and controlling your temperatures.
 
You can reuse bottles, most people who bottle do. However, you cannot reuse the twist-off cap types. They will leak. Also, make sure to clean any bottles well before you use them. An Oxyclean (unscented) soak, followed by thorough rinsing works well. Hold the cleaned bottles up to a light, and discard any that appear to have any residue at all. Not worth spending a lot of time scrubbing used bottles. When emptying your own brew, rinse the bottle well immediately so that nothing dries inside. Then store them upside down, and all you need to do is sanitize immediately prior to bottling (don't try to store sanitized bottles.)

Brew on :mug:
 
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