Fixin' to get ready to prepare for brewing ...

[bhethcote]

Hi,

OK, this is a totally new thing for me. I do have the pre-requisite love of good beer, but that's about it. I've been looking at equipment in the form of a single-stage system from Alternative Beverage in Charlotte, NC. It contains:

7.8 gallon Primary Fermenter w/spigot
grommeted lid
Airlock
Elastic Straining Bag
36" Bungy Cord
Floating Thermometer
Hydrometer
Bottle Filler
Bottling Tubing - 3'
Double Lever Capper
Bottle Caps (1 pound)
One-Step Sanitizer
Brewers' Handbook

No pot, bottles, or recipe/materils (understandable, I guess) - they are asking $66.28. My question is: Is this a good beginner system?

Thanks - BH

 

[fat x nub]

I would say it is pretty fair...but wtf is the bungy cord for?

 

[bhethcote]

LOL - Not sure on the bungy <??>. I'm surprised they didn't add a roll of duct tape (all purpose tool) to the kit - Thanks BH

 

[Qdog]

make it happen man..........if MacGyver can make bombs out of pine cones you can make beer with that ****....:rockin:

 

[TeleTwanger]

Bungy cord must be a joke. I like this one better for about the same(you get a bottling bucket):
Browsing Store - ADVANCED ONE STAGE KIT

 

[c1377]

$52.95 + shipping @ harringtonpress

The above link is to a store in my home town.
$59.95 + Shipping @ midwestsupplies
$69.95 +FREE SHIPPING @ morebeer

The above two links are often used by those of this forum.

All three options above have TWO buckets.

I would recomend purchasing from MoreBeer.com, as it is the most complete kit (auto-siphon and graduated cylinder included) but it looks to be on backorder at the moment.

check out this sticky: HomeBrew Supply Websites for a more complete listing of good places to purchase a starter kit.

........
I forewent the kit and just purchased everything I needed from my local HomeBrew Shop, Target, and Walmart (including a 4 gallon brew pot) for $65.

Glass carboy
Brew pot w/lid
bottle capper
hydrometer
cooking thermometer
starsan
3 liquid crystal thermometers
uncented "green/all natural" dish soap
Bung & 3 piece air-lock
auto-siphon
bottle filler
48" siphon tube
bottle/carboy brush
3 plastic spoons
scale (grams and ounces)

So you might think about doing that.
The brewer's best extract kits come with a reusable grainbag and bottle caps, so you needn't purchase those if you are going to start brewing with an ingredient kit.


PS. I also spent $60 on 2 cases of bottles (with beer inside of course: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, Schmalt's Alt, Messiah Bold, Caramel Bock, Scottish Extra Stout, Pumpkin Ale--mmm, I digress.........

 

[Malticulous]

Sounds like a good price and if they can add useful advice it would be hard to beet.

 

[Pyrenus]

Maybe the bungy is to hold the lid on the bucket??

 

[kaptk2]

Maybe the bungy is to hold the lid on the bucket??

I think the bungy is to hold the elastic straining bag around the bucket.

 

[bhethcote]

Sounds like a good price and if they can add useful advice it would be hard to beet.

WOW! - Did I get useful advice! The brew shop (Alternative Beverage - Charlotte, NC) sponsored a "teach a friend to brew day" on Nov.1 - We did a full boil preparation (from start to fermenter) and the brewer explained all the steps along the way as well as all the "whys". I have to say I was pretty impressed and the whole thing pretty much removed the mystery from the process and has me looking forward even more to getting my own stuff and getting started.

The brewer even gave us his cell phone unmber in case questions came up while we were getting up and running (He did make us promise not to call him in the middle of the night)

BH

 

[Amiaji]

AltBev is my LHBS. Jess the owner is a really nice guy and is very knowledgeable about both beer and wine making. You wont regret buying from him.

Edit:
The bungy cord is to hold the elastic strainer bag on the bucket. Without it the bag wont stay on when you dump your wort into the bucket.

 

[JesseRC]

I got this kit from Costco.com for $99. At the time it included an American Wheat partial mash kit, but I think they've changed it now to include a different recipe. I was fairly happy with it since every thing it came with has been put to good use:

Costco - Brewcraft USA Home Brewing Starter Equipment Kit

Includes

1 Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Lid (20 Qts.)
1 S-Shape Airlock
3 ft. Clear Vinyl Tubing (5/16" I. D.)
1 Easy Auto Siphon Cane/Plunger unit
2 Six Gallon Plastic Pails (1 Lid included)
1 Beer Bottle Filler (Easy Flow)
1 Self-Adhesive Fermometer (38-78° F)
1 Triple Scale Wax & Shot Hydrometer
2 Brewcraft No Rinse Sterilizers
1 Grommet for Brewcraft Fermenter Lid
1 Nylon Bottle Brush
1 Red Plastic Emily Wing Capper (Caps not included)
1 Nut Brown Ale Recipe Pack
Instructions
Nut Brown Ale Ingredient Kit



Nut Brown Ale is a British classic. It's the perfect pub beer, built for the rainy evenings of London. It's malty, with caramel and toffee flavors balanced by floral hop aromas and mild bitterness. This beer ingredient kit contains a yeast strain from a well known British brewery. It should be fermented around 68° F for a perfectly clear, clean beer with hints of fruitiness from the yeast