first timer - buying kit soon...

[TSR6]

I want to brew this beer:

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/store/5-gallon-beer-mixes/apple-crisp-ale-5-gallon-mix

(instructions are here: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/directions/Brooklyn Brew Shop - Apple Crisp Ale Instructions 5 Gal.pdf )


Looking to brew it with this kit:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E62GRU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

and:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BSJ2HW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Is there anything YOU would add for first timer? I can get work to pay for the Amazon stuff - so thats why I'm shopping Amazon.com for a kit...

Do I NEED anything else?

 

[LizardBrew83]

As far as I can tell from what you posted, this looks like an all grain beer. For your first time this may be difficult especially with a basic brewing kit. The pot is big enough for a full boil, but you need to think about how you are going to mash, lauter, and sparge all that grain- probably about 9- 10 pounds of it. I suppose you could use a bunch of grain bags in the pot for mashing and if the plastic fermentor has a spigot (not sure from the pic on amzon) you could use it as a lauter tun, but your efficiency (the amount of sugars collected from the grains) may suffer. I would also think about how you are going to cool all the wort after it is done boiling. You could soak it overnight sealed in ice water or leave it outside if it is cold enough, but this may still produce off flavors in the end (the quicker you cool it the better). In my opinion you should see if you can get this kit in an exract or partial mash version, then you will most likely have enough equipment and is a lot simpler for a beginner, but you still may consider getting some sort of wort chiller as well.

 

[TSR6]

Damn, Really?

Their 5-gallon kit doesnt seem much different than the one I'm looking at on amazon..

"5 Gallon Glass Carboy, 6.5 Gallon Bucket w/ Spigot, Sparging Bag, Carboy Bung, Airlock, Auto-Siphon, 5/16” Tubing & 1” Blowoff Tube, Tube Clamp, Thermometer, Hydrometer, Starsan Sanitizer, Capper, Caps and Ingredient Mix for 5 Gallon Apple Crisp Ale"

....but it seems like thats not enough capacity then? Maybe im in over my head already... lol

 

[duffmann808]

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/store/5-gallon-beer-kits/apple-crisp-ale-5-gallon-kit

This link looks like it has all of the included necessary equipment as well. Dont know if this helps.

Never had apple crisp ale, but it sounds delicious...

 

[TSR6]

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/store/5-gallon-beer-kits/apple-crisp-ale-5-gallon-kit

This link looks like it has all of the included necessary equipment as well. Dont know if this helps.

Never had apple crisp ale, but it sounds delicious...

Yeah, But I tried to match that kit with Amazon (because work gives me amazon gift cards all the time) - so that they can "pay" for it and not have it come out of my back pocket.

However, Lizard makes it sound like the kit I'm looking at wont work? (whats different between the amazon kit and their own kit that includes the ingrediants?) or will it? I'm a newbie..and im still trying to learn here...

 

[LaurieGator]

Wow, that seems REALLY ambitious for your first brew... I did an extract with steeping grains as my first brew and it seemed to be a good place to start while I was learning

Chuck the glass thermometer and get a digital or probe thermometer. You will be VERY glad you did. It is WAY TOO EASY for a glass thermometer to break in your wort and ruin a beer... Ask me how I know...

 

[TSR6]

Is there a website that you would reccomend with brew/flavor lists if this one is too rough for a newb?

 

[duffmann808]

+1 on the breaking Thermometer.

shows someone brewing one of those Brooklyn kits.

Have you emailed Midwest Supplies to ask them if they can help in any way? Never done an apple crisp, so I dont know what exactly it involves..

 

[LizardBrew83]

According to that video. It looks like it is only a 1 gallon batch which is very do-able with the equipment you got. I thought it was a 5 gallon batch, that would be a lot more grain and much more in depth. Also, would take a longer time to cool.

 

[TSR6]

According to that video. It looks like it is only a 1 gallon batch which is very do-able with the equipment you got. I thought it was a 5 gallon batch, that would be a lot more grain and much more in depth. Also, would take a longer time to cool.

I was looking & linking to the 5gal ingredient kit. They have 1gal & 5gal complete equipment & ingredient kits - and also ingredient kits for those who have equip.

Basically, I want to get my own equipment, not the glass carboys that come in the complete kit..

 

[TSR6]

As to the thermometer - I have a meat thermometer that should work...

 

[sportscrazed2]

I don't know if you would be better buying everything separately. I bought my kit for $80 from northern brewer and got a $25 brew kettle on amazon. but i just found out i can buy fermenting buckets at my lhbs for around $12 a piece.

 

[TSR6]

I am... Anything I can buy off Amazon, I don't pay for. Work does.

That's why I would rather buy off Amazon for as much as I can... I only pay a couple dollars in regards to taxable income/rewards.

 

[LizardBrew83]

Consider that you are going to be using 5 times more grain for a 5 gallon batch, so you would need to use 5 of those grain bags, and you will need something other than a kitchen strainer to lauter and sparge all that grain. It is good to have a seperate mash vessel that doubles as a lauter tun. Plus, cooling 5 gallons of wort to yeast pitchable temperatures will take a long time even in an ice bath. Much longer than I would feel comfortable with. Consider this, When I switched to all-grain, I spent at least 3 times what I spent on my original kit, but at that point I had quite a few extract brews under my belt and knew that I ejoyed it and I was ready to move on. Not saying that it can't be done for less, but you may run into problems or a beer that you are not happy with. I hate to see you get discourage this early.

 

[TSR6]

I hadn't seen that video till now ( was posting via moble device ) - I was going off the instructions link i posted earlier. Spare me, I'm new.. lol

I'm only discouraged I cant make the specific beer I wanted - that one sounds delish, and similar to one I tried at a beer fest over the weekend...

 

[munche]

the Amazon kit looks like a solid starter package, I'd recommend adding the How To Brew book that's on there as a recommend item though

As to the recipe, it looks like those instructions walk you through All Grain/Brew in a Bag method, which isn't a bad method but does add some complexity compared to an extract beer, which most people start with. There's a great post on here from DeathBrewer I think detailing how that method works.

It's a bit more daunting, but you could try it for your first brew. Just makes a much longer brewday.

 

[LizardBrew83]

Well you can get an immersion wort chiller on amazon, not through amazon, but through a seller on amazon
<http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Coil-Immersion-Chiller-Length/dp/B002NZNJG2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287629875&sr=8-1>.
And the other thing you can do is make a cheap lauter tun by getting an extra bottling bucket and drilling a bunch of small holes in one and put it into the other bottling bucket with a spigot and tube on the bottom to drain back into boil pot. I hate to discourage you from doing this recipe you like (I am suprised the website doesn't have an extract version). Here is what you would do, simplest and least equipment.
Mash in the boil pot. When the mash is almost done and you are sure you won't need to add more heat, transfer carefully with minimun splashing into the lauter tun. Clean the boil pot and start heating up your sparge water in it. Then when the mash is done, drain the first runnings from the grains (make sure to recirculate at least 1/2 to 1 gallon before you start collecting). After it drains completely add your sparge water, stir gently but evenly. Recirculate as before and collect your second runnings until you have about 6.5 gallons total in your boil pot. Boil and add hops as the instuctions say. Add the immersion chiller during the last 15 minutes of the boil to sanitize it. Then cool with the chiller. Then siphon to the carboy. Your siphon may get clogged from the hops and stuff so allow it to settle and siphon from the side, from the top down. Pitch yeast and ferment.
You will probably not get perfect effiency and your alcohol content may be lower that what the recipe says, but you will get beer as long as your mash temperatures aren't way off.