Guide me, oh knowledgeable ones.

[July]

Long story short, I'm a brewing newbie! I've been interested for quite some time now, but have just recently acquired the spare time, and a few spare bucks to invest in some equipment.

Which is where I need your guys' help. As of now I have no equipment. (Well. Besides those bottles I've been collecting...) What is the cheapest set-up I can build/buy/magically acquire without sacrificing basic functionality?

I've spotted the "Mr. Beer" set up at various stores, but it seems rather cheap and limited, and I think I'd prefer producing 5-gallon batches. Have also researched various kits and whatnot online. They seem a bit spendy for what's there, but I don't know enough to know whether or not they're worth it.

So enlighten me, knowledgeable brewmasters.

Thank you, in advanced, I appreciate your help!!

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

This is the pretty much the same kit I started with and I made great beer with it. I still use some of the equipment. You'll eventually want more fermentors and maybe a few glass carboys, but this kit gives you everything you absolutely need. The rest is all optional.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html

As far as Mr. Beer goes...I won't knock it since it's a great way to introduce people to the hobby without investing alot. BUT, the beer is subpar compaired to what can be made with the above equipment kit and an ingredient kit. I'd suggest buying kits from Northern Brewer or Austin Homebrew. Brewer's Best also make good kits and I actually started with their English Pale. Got me hooked....

 

[July]

Yeah, I can already see that consulting you guys was a great idea. That looks like a far better set up than I've seen thus far. (And the Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout I see you have bottled has me SALIVATING right now...)

Although I should include--It doesn't necessarily have to be a kit. If it's honestly that much cheaper, and you can get the same end results, to go hunt the various items down at hardware stores, that's fine too!

I just need some guidance, man.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yeah. Source the buckets elsewhere to save some cash. Anything food grade and of proper volume will do. The rest of the gear you just pick up as you go. And you WILL pick up lots of gear as you go.

 

[marubozo]

Yep, I pretty much started out with a kit similar to the one linked to above at Midwest. I actually bought my kit at Midwest and they are great! You can can probably piece together a brewing setup a bit cheaper piecemeal if you can find substitutes laying around the house or get some real cheap food grade buckets, but in the end a basic entry level kit that includes a fermenter bucket, bottling bucket, capping supplies and a few of the extras will be the quickest and easiest way to get started without breaking the bank.

 

[thedude00]

I started with a kit form midwest too not bad fo the price. You can found cheap buckets at a paint store i got my for 4 bucks a 5gallon with a lid. Plus they are white and hpde2 food grade they are great for 2.5 gallon batches

 

[July]

Alright, thank you! You're all dears.

What about a kettle, where would you recommend checking for one of them buggers?

 

[wyzazz]

If you've got the space I'd recommend a turkey fryer setup to use outside. I use that and a keggle (keg cut to be a boil kettle), but the aluminum or stainless steel pot that comes with will be just fine. I'd go with as large as you can get to help control boil overs, and so you can make larger batches because if/when you get hooked.

If you can't do the turkey fryer then just get as large of a pot as you can to do partial boils on your stove. Wal-Mart, Target, etc... ...should all have large stockpots available.

Oh, and if you are boiling close to the rim of your pot invest in some FermcapS. That stuff is the BOMB!

 

[frankr]

Don't bother with a kettle from a homebrew store. It will be overpriced and flimsy. Go to a TJ Maxx Homegoods, Marshalls, or someplace like this that has closeout cookware. You are looking for a pot that is about 20 liters (or quarts). This will allow you to boil 3.5 gallons with room to spare.

The standard "Ale Pail" kit is a good start. I started with it and, of coarse, added additional tools. I probably don't use all of the things that I have. I would say the tools that I use are:

Extract Brewing:
22 L pot
long stirring paddle
candie thermometer
measuring cup
grain bag
strainer
hydrometer

Fermenting:
Ale Pail/lid/air lock
Glass Carboy/air lock (nice to have if you are going to have multiple batches)

Bottling:
Auto Siphon (My best purchase!)
Bottling Bucket
Bottle filler wand
Capper

Star San

 

[wyzazz]

Oh, and I'd pick up some 5 gallon paint strainer bags from Home Depot or Lowes. They are plenty big and work great for steeping/mashing grain and dropping hop additions in to your kettle!

 

[Zamial]

I do not know how well you can do DIY projects but there is a great DIY section here on HBT. One of the big things is the pasta maker to grain mill conversion. Going all grain or partial is going to save you money on ingredients.(extract is expensive in comparison.) Also on this note, in this section of the forum stickies, Death Brewer has EXCELLENT stove top directions for doing all grain/partial batches.

Some places I tell people to keep an eye on are ebay, craigs list and rummage/garage sales. These are excellent places to find kegs, kits, kettles, turkey fryers and more.

I have also been asking my deli/bakery for any food grade buckets they may be willing to part with that have lids. They give them to me for free. I have never gotten one that is larger than 5 gallons, yet. but the smaller ones make super nice blow off buckets and the 3 gallon ones can be used to do "split batches" (splitting a 5 gallon batch into 2 buckets for fermentation, this is my "back -up".) or for grain storage.

GL!

 

[iron_city_ap]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it yet, but also check out Craigslist and Ebay. Especially Craigslist. You might be able to pick up a pretty kick ass setup for a good price.

 

[fatmoose]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it yet, but also check out Craigslist and Ebay. Especially Craigslist. You might be able to pick up a pretty kick ass setup for a good price.

+1 on Craigslist. I bought a kit at Midwest and am happy with it, got a decent value and had a nice chat with some knowledgeable folks there. Now that I'm getting into it more and looking for some additional stuff I am seeing loads of kit on Craigslist. If I started dragging home all the stuff I wanted off of Craigslist SWMBO would have me sleeping in the basement next to my fermenters

 

[mightynintendo]

Think about what you need.

1.) Fermentation vessel. It needs to be > 5 gallons if you want 5 gallons of finished beer. When it ferments, it develops a krausen and if your vessel is too small it will blow through the lid.

2.) Pressure relief for your fermentation vessel. A hole in the lid of a plastic bucket stuffed with an airlock is the most common choice.

3.) Boil kettle. You're doing extract? You will probably need to boil about 3.5 gallons with extra space to prevent boil-overs.

4.) Bottles and bottle caps (cheaper than starting out kegging).

5.) Bottle capper.

6.) Siphon tube and bottling wand.

7.) Racking cane or autosiphon.

8.) A second bucket/carboy. You'll probably want to rack your beer off the yeast cake before bottling and for that you'll need another vessel large enough to hold your 5 gallons of beer.

9.) Cleaning supplies. You will need sanitizing solution, cleaning solution, and a bottle brush. A spray bottle filled with sanitizer is also very handy.

 

[July]

Oh, you guys are excellent for not making me feel like an idiot. (or worse, a girl! haha.)

Let's see if I can address everything:

I have checked craigslist out pretty thoroughly. There's literally nothing that relevant to home-brewing. (I live in Portland, OR, pretty big area for Microbrews, so I would have thought there would be more brewing enthusiasts around--but who knows, maybe it all just gets snatched up real fast.) I'll poke around Ebay.

And yeah, I don't think turkey fryer is an option. (I live in an apartment--for some reason I don't think anyone would be happy about me busting a turkey fryer out in the living room. Or. Then again, they might be pretty happy when they realized what it's for...but...you get the point.)

I'll probably start out with extract, yeah. But I'd like to move towards all-grain if possible. Seems like there's more room for experimentation, and a greater level of control over the final product. Thanks for the heads up about the DIY on the pasta maker/mill, I'm going to check that out.

Thank you guys for all the help, I really appreciate it. I think I'll be buying from Midwest now, unless I see anything decent on Ebay.

 

[Brewham]

I found a reasonably priced electric turkey fryer (new) on eBay. It holds about 3 gallons of liquid comfortably. I cook my wort out on the porch so I don't stink up the house. It works great. I really like the fact I can dial in the temperature and hold it - something you can not really do on a stove top or propane burner.

 

[wyzazz]

I'd also recommend searching out a LHBS (Local Home Brew Store). I buy my extract & base grains in bulk, but my specialty grains I get by the pound from the homebrew store, they crush it all free for me. You can make GREAT beer with extracts, and you can make cost effective beer with extract & all grain methods but you will have to buy in bulk to really see that happen.

 

[impur]

I am a new HBer too! I've got 1 batch fermenting, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, and a batch of Apfelwein going in my carboy.

I picked up the starter kit from midwestsupply also, the one with the ale pale, carboy, bottling bucket etc. Its a great price. I picked up a turkey fryer off Amazon for real cheap. This combo worked really well for my first try. I'll be bottling on Monday/Tuesday and starting another batch!! Can't wait.

 

[July]

Whoah. Did I just hear Rogue Dead Guy?

Yes, please. That is awesome.

 

[Zamial]

Oh, you guys are excellent for not making me feel like an idiot. (or worse, a girl! haha.)

I am just gonna add this as a friendly FYI. There are many EXCELLENT female brewers. Some of the best advice given out here on HBT is given out by some. There is a thread around called "Female brewers" I suggest you check it out. In this world of Home Brew there are Brewers and beer, gender has little to nothing to do with it!

You did not offend me, I just wanted to educate and make sure you do not agitate some of the expert brewers here, before you even get a fair shake!

:rockin:

 

[JJL]

frank's list is a pretty good starter list. If you really want to go bare bones, you can scratch the hydrometer, strainer, autosiphon and glass carboy. You can also move down to a enamel coated canning pot for boiling. You would also need to add about 5-10 feet of vinyl tubing (3/8" or 1/2" in size) from your local home center. Of course this is truly the bare minimun to get in the game.

 

[impur]

Whoah. Did I just hear Rogue Dead Guy?

Yes, please. That is awesome.

Indeed you did

 

[billvon]

Don't bother with a kettle from a homebrew store. It will be overpriced and flimsy.

Wal-Mart has some 32 quart aluminum tamale-steamer pots for $19.95; they even come with a false bottom.

Which makes them underpriced and flimsy. But if you don't plan on lifting the pot when it's full they work OK.

 

[July]

I am just gonna add this as a friendly FYI. There are many EXCELLENT female brewers. Some of the best advice given out here on HBT is given out by some. There is a thread around called "Female brewers" I suggest you check it out. In this world of Home Brew there are Brewers and beer, gender has little to nothing to do with it!

You did not offend me, I just wanted to educate and make sure you do not agitate some of the expert brewers here, before you even get a fair shake!

:rockin:

Yeah, I was just teasing. But that's actually really cool to know! Maybe I'll have to hunt that thread down, and we'll talk about awesome girly stuff.

No boys allowed.

 

[July]

Whoah. What? Rogue Brewery has Dead Guy kits?

Holy Hell. This has made my morning.

 

[Zamial]

No boys allowed.

Then that will exclude me...

 

[Yooper]

When you signed up for the forum, you read the warning stating that you agree that you are of legal age in the country/state in which you reside. You couldn't have missed it.

Please come back in three years when you turn 21. Thank you.