help me with Pros & cons...

[OBDA1stLady]

Hello, Im new to the group. My name is Ashley. Im the Cofounder of the Ohio Beer Drinkers Association. My husband and I want to start getting into making beer. However i cant decide if I should start with something like MR Beer just to get a feel for it or if i should hop right into one of the 5 gallon kits being sold on ebay?

Anyone have any pros or cons you could help me with making my decision?

Thank you

 

[hypergolic]

I would go with a starter kit, northern brewer sells them and I believe they come with a free introductory DVD. I would skip the Mr. Beer, but that's just my two cents. Prepare for this to become an obsession.

 

[BendBrewer]

I skipped the Mr Beer gadget and went with Extract brews. I don't feel like I missed out on a thing.

 

[unionrdr]

I have two different fermenters. But I like the Brewer's Best Ale Pale that I bought for my wife. It has the bigger "hose style" spigot that flows better,& the spigot handle is easier to turn. It looks like my bottling wand will fit inside the spout too. Just gotta see if the cooper's bottling wand I have fits. But Midwest has the BB ale pales in a complete kit too. They use Fed-Ex,& they're fast delivering. Good quality too.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

I would also go with a starter kit, taking the dive for me would be going straight into all grain. An extract kit with a beginner 5 gallon kit will make good beer. It will inspire you and let you realize how easy it is to make very drinkable beer. The price difference is not that different either.

 

[JonM]

Same here - I skipped Mr. Beer and went right to the beginner kit from northern brewer. Take a look online - if there's a local homebrew shop near you, go look around in the shop where you can see the stuff in person and chat with the employees about the equipment.

 

[KeydetBrewer]

Agreed. I would go with the 5 gal kit. If you like the hobby, you can use most of the kit as you expand your equipment. If you don't like it, there is always someone willing to buy a used 5 gal kit.

With the Mr. Beer kit, there is not much room to expand. If you like the hobby, you will end up buying a 5 gal kit anyways. If you don't like the hobby, you are stuck with a kit that not many people are looking to buy.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I bought a mr beer kit about 3 years ago and used it and the beer that came out was barely drinkable(99% sure it was my fault because I didn't know enough about it) so I got turned off and about 6 months ago bought a starter kit for 5 gallon batches and have fallen in love, plus all that time and you get 5 gallons vs 5 liters

 

[mrbubbly]

go all grain! i started with extract kits and such and eventually went to all grain, on the other hand my buddy started all grain from the get-go and the speed at which he caught on and all the info he learned in such a short time was astounding!!

 

[ellisonsj]

I'm with everyone else - skip the Mr. Beer and go for the 5 gallon starter kit. I got started brewing when I got a Mr. Beer for Christmas a few years back. When I moved on to 5 gallon batches the Mr. Beer was handed down to my brother. I thought the Mr. Beer was making pretty good beer, but I recently tried some of my brother's and now that I've gotten used to the real stuff I can tell a significant difference in the quality.

 

[jsweet]

My understanding is that in some ways Mr. Beer is actually harder, since it can be difficult to get it fully sanitized.

In any case, a kit or a simple extract recipe is not at all difficult or complicated by any means. Definitely nothing to be intimidated by.

 

[Homercidal]

I would choose the kit over Mr. Beer. Mr. Beer is great if you get it as a gift, but honestly, there is not much room to expand on it (and you will), and recipes and measurements are commonly listed for 5 gallons.

There are a few different levels for the kits, and personally I would forego a glass carboy and use bucket for primary fermenter, Better Bottle for secondary (or second primary, more likely) and a "Bottling Bucket" with a spigot for bottling your beer. The rest of the kit is fairly generic I think.

I pieced mine together over the years and it would have saved me time and money to have a good kit to start with.

 

[gregger]

Mr. Beer was what I started with. Its good for around $50 dollars, but you'll hardly be exposed to ALL that is home brewing. If home brewing were baseball, Mr. Beer would be a soft bat and nerf ball you give to a 2-year old for Christmas...

For example: The Mr. Beer setup is basically a fermenter, bottles, extract, and directions. The directions mention nothing about certain equipment that makes your beer be all it can be. It doesn't mention wort chilling, aeration, steeping grains, gravity readings, etc. In a nutshell it is basically the lowest denominator of home brewing - thats the con of it... you really can't brew a wide range of nice beers. I started with it and it definitely served as a gateway, but I brewed with it for 2 years thinking I was awesome. Then I was ready to step up to better equipment and felt like I was back at the beginning because I had no idea what certain equipment was. I read books, came to this forum, and basically started all over again trying to gain knowledge so I could start with 5 gallon batches. Don't start with Mr. Beer unless you live in a TINY TINY apartment and don't have a goal of sharing with your friends. You'll drink it up way to fast.

Get a 5 gallon starter kit like hypergolic recommends. You'll get a fermenting bucket and/or plastic carboy, extract, bottles, capper, directions, etc. Starting this way will enable you to start brewing a wider range of beers, and even making clones of your favorite commercial beers, while adding a good twist of your own to them. Also, get this book, and learn the ways and terminology of everything. I really wish I new of this book when I first started out.

So anyway, definitely start out with a good 5 gallon kit, tons of threads here recommend which company or website to go through, and you may even get lucky and find a coupon code from a vendor here. With your first batch, start simple and easy with a nice session/summer beer. An American Pale or simple wheat beer may get your gears turning, then move up from there. Or you can even start out with a recipe based on your favorite commercial beers. Tons of sites out there are dedicated to recipes, and you can buy the ingredients online or at your nearest homebrew store if you have one.

Expect the addiction to kick in at the first chilled taste of your first brew. At this point, get a second or third fermenter, and start brewing beers at the same time... I promise you'll thank me!

 

[OBDA1stLady]

Thanks EVERYONE!! IM guessing something like this should be fine to start right?
Midwest Supplies is proud to sponsor this listing:

Basic Home Brewing Equipment Kit (5-Gallon)

Comes complete with directions and a 90 minute Instructional Homebrewing DVD.

Brewing Basics Equipment List:

Instructional Homebrewing DVD and 76 page catalog.
71 page instructional book
6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid
6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter)
Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content)
Bottle Brush
Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper
Bottle Caps
Liquid Crystal Thermometer
Bottle Filler
Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
Siphon Tubing
Other items required to make your first batch of beer.

A beer recipe kit. (Ingredients for 5 gallons of beer)
4, or 5 gallon stock pot (To boil the ingredients)
54 to 56 twelve oz. beer bottles. (Can't be twist off tops)



SO IS THIS THE NORM??? and it it easy to find the 2 things I need(i have a stock pot)? I found "some" bottles on ebay but shew the cost to ship is a little high... but i didnt see many recipe kits that were not for mr beer. i could have been looking the wrong way.

 

[Wakadaka]

Depending on how cheap you can get Mr. Beer, its not a bad thing to have around. I started with a kit, and to be honest would recommend that as well. But I have heard of people buying Mr. Beer kits for about 10 bucks. For 10 bucks it would be a decent fermenter. I found one being thrown out, and its great for 2.5 gallon batches.

But if your spending more than 10 or 15 dollars, just save that money and put it towards a full starter kit. Especially since you seem to already be interested in craft beer. Mr. Beer would only leave you either disappointed and wanting more, or just completely turned off to the awesome hobby.

 

[unionrdr]

That's the reason I bought my wife her very own fermenter. She loves the ales I brew,so I ordered it for her just in time to brew her 1st on National Home Brewer's day! It was a darn good Saturday...

 

[Krrazy]

I would recommend skipping the Mr. Beer kit. I know that it has sparked the interest of many and I will say that I've never personally tried it but I think you and your husband will get a better feel for the hobby and resulting product by reading up on here and putting together a simple recipe and a few pieces of equipment that will provide a better insight into the possibilities to come.

I started off with a one gallon all grain batch that was sold as a kit for people living in city apartments without a lot of space and equipment. I think you could put the same thing together yourself at your local store if you wanted. I thought that was a great entry point as all I really had to buy were a funnel and a large strainer (I already had two 2gal stock pots on hand). With 1gal batches you can mash in a pot, boil on your stove top and ferment in a glass wine/apple juice jug. If you don't buy a kit, you'll need some siphon hose and will probably want to get a few more things to help with the process (e.g.hydrometer, autosiphon, thermometer, sanitizer). You'll hear people say that 1 gallon batches take just as much time as larger ones so you may as well just go larger, but I liked using them to get familiar with everything on a smaller scale before upgrading. When you make a batch that you really like and only have 8-10 bottles it's strong motivation to get brewing the next batch!

You could also start with a 1gal extract batch with steeped grains and that would be even easier. I don't know what the statistics are for people who try it and then decide it's not for them but, based on this board, I'd say that most people get hooked pretty quickly and start the evolution and upgrade cycle almost immediately and leave that Mr. Beer kit behind.

So my opinion would be, go for the kit -- whether it's a large one you've seen or a smaller one that you buy or make yourself. The pros are that you'll be able to make exactly what you'd like to drink and learn a lot more about the real process of making great beer AND it will all be reusable in the future as you progress in your brewing journey, the cons are that you will soon become as in love with the hobby as the rest of us and be buying 15 gallon kettles and kegs in no time!



I hope that helps -- Welcome and good luck!

 

[Wakadaka]

Thanks EVERYONE!! IM guessing something like this should be fine to start right?
Midwest Supplies is proud to sponsor this listing:

Basic Home Brewing Equipment Kit (5-Gallon)

Comes complete with directions and a 90 minute Instructional Homebrewing DVD.

Brewing Basics Equipment List:

Instructional Homebrewing DVD and 76 page catalog.
71 page instructional book
6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid
6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter)
Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content)
Bottle Brush
Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper
Bottle Caps
Liquid Crystal Thermometer
Bottle Filler
Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
Siphon Tubing
Other items required to make your first batch of beer.

A beer recipe kit. (Ingredients for 5 gallons of beer)
4, or 5 gallon stock pot (To boil the ingredients)
54 to 56 twelve oz. beer bottles. (Can't be twist off tops)



SO IS THIS THE NORM??? and it it easy to find the 2 things I need(i have a stock pot)? I found "some" bottles on ebay but shew the cost to ship is a little high... but i didnt see many recipe kits that were not for mr beer. i could have been looking the wrong way.

That looks pretty much right. I would stick with this website, and youtube for most brewing instruction though. The book that came with my kit has a lot of old, and just bad information.

I found my first pot at dollar general. It was a 5 gallon stainless steel pot for 12 bucks. I upgraded to a 7.5 gallon pot from amazon, and to be honest I should have just went with that one first.

I haven't bought any bottles that haven't been filled with beer. You have at the very least a couple weeks before you will need to bottle, so just start collecting pry top bottles until then.

And there are a lot of great websites for beer kits. personally I have the most experience with austinhomebrew.com kits, and I have enjoyed everyone that they have given me. Once again though, I put my trust in the members of this website for instruction, instead of the included instructions. they aren't terrible, but the information on here seems to be more current

 

[jsweet]

Depending on how cheap you can get Mr. Beer, its not a bad thing to have around. I started with a kit, and to be honest would recommend that as well. But I have heard of people buying Mr. Beer kits for about 10 bucks. For 10 bucks it would be a decent fermenter. I found one being thrown out, and its great for 2.5 gallon batches.

But if your spending more than 10 or 15 dollars, just save that money and put it towards a full starter kit. Especially since you seem to already be interested in craft beer. Mr. Beer would only leave you either disappointed and wanting more, or just completely turned off to the awesome hobby.

You can get a 3-gal carboy for like $20. I have two of 'em, and may get more, as I like being able to do small batches like that. I would think that would be easier to clean and sanitize than a Mr. Beer. But I've never used a Mr. Beer, so I dunno for sure.

 

[hypergolic]

Yes that is a normal kit. I picked up a 21qt canning pot from Kmart that works just fine. Also the best way if you ask me to get beer bottles is to go buy beer and drink it. Also most if not all of the home brew sites will sell 5 gallon recipe kits.

 

[VaBrewer]

+1 on the 5 gallon starter kit and extra fermenters. I like to use the ale pales w/ spigot and the better bottles w/ spigot. So much easier than dealing with a racking cane etc, but that's just me...

Go all-grain now, because that's where you will end up anyways! Unless you don't have the room (apartment, etc). I am not knocking the extract kits at all, that's how I started. I am just trying to save you a little time and money- and space. Because I gradually and continually upgraded I have a lot of stuff. Like all the others warning that this will be an obsession, it is true.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[jsweet]

Go all-grain now, because that's where you will end up anyways! Unless you don't have the room (apartment, etc).

Or if you don't have the time. AG takes a little extra time, and I have trouble finding 3 consecutive hours to do setup, sanitize, brew, and cleanup even on an extract batch. I'd love to do it, too, since it doesn't sound intimidatingly complex... but until my sons are a little older and don't require constant attention, looks like it's extract for me!

Re: Getting more bottles... I am going to try having a "brews 'n' bottles" party for my friends, have them save up their empties and then trade them for homebrews. This has been somewhat sabotaged as my 2nd batch appears to be ruined (#*&%ing chlorophenols!) but I may press ahead with it anyway and just hope for the best.

 

[OBDA1stLady]

Awesome that kit is $60. which the mr brew kits ar about $35-$80 depending on what you want.. So seems right in line...

One prolly dumb question, if you buy bottle tops that pop on how do you get them on? is that a special machine. cause they dont pop off all that easy sometimes so i figure they are not just pushed on???

So I buy this kit today Ill have it here in maybe a week. Roughly.. Hubbys birthday is June 4th so should be in time hopefully. Do I just do a search on Home brew sites to find the 5 gallon recipe kit. Cause I will just start saving bottles (we do drink lots of beer)... and use those... Does anyone have a good suggestion? I havent looked all around the site. I am sure the answer to that is everhwere! I would like to start out CHEAP We like most beers. Eh i have issues witht he smells of IPAs.. but other then that I <3 beer.

ok one more dumb question... the kit includes EVERYTHING that i need to make the beer or it would tell me if i needed something else. I would like to have it all RIGHT there for Scott to start making as soon as he gets it. Almost like not getting the batteriest for some cool toy for a kid at Christmas!

Thanks again! You guys are awesome!

 

[jsweet]

One prolly dumb question, if you buy bottle tops that pop on how do you get them on? is that a special machine. cause they dont pop off all that easy sometimes so i figure they are not just pushed on???

Yeah you buy a little gadget for it. There is one listed in the kit you posted: "Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper". Really simple to use, no worries there.

The kit looks like it has just about everything you need. I would probably recommend switching to StarSan for your sanitizer, but the one it comes with should work too. (Just do not not use bleach, C-Brite, or another chlorine-based sanitizer, unless you are really determined to do so and rinse the hell out of everything. I just ruined a batch by not sufficiently rinsing after sanitizing the bottles in C-Brite... There is absolutely no good reason not to use Starsan, unless it is unavailable in your area. It's ridiculously cheap, ridiculously easy to use, and you can't really screw up your beer with it)

There's a few other little gadgets that might be worthy of consideration.. a bottle washer, a wine thief, a wort chiller (not really necessary with extract brewing, but if you think you ever might go to all-grain then it is not a waste of money, and I really like using it on my extract batches as it saves time), auto-siphon... but none of those things are really necessary, they are just various "nice-to-haves". Start with the kit, then depending on what you found to be a pain in the ass or not, consider those various gadgets if you want.

 

[kyle6286]

Awesome that kit is $60. which the mr brew kits ar about $35-$80 depending on what you want.. So seems right in line...

One prolly dumb question, if you buy bottle tops that pop on how do you get them on? is that a special machine. cause they dont pop off all that easy sometimes so i figure they are not just pushed on???

So I buy this kit today Ill have it here in maybe a week. Roughly.. Hubbys birthday is June 4th so should be in time hopefully. Do I just do a search on Home brew sites to find the 5 gallon recipe kit. Cause I will just start saving bottles (we do drink lots of beer)... and use those... Does anyone have a good suggestion? I havent looked all around the site. I am sure the answer to that is everhwere! I would like to start out CHEAP We like most beers. Eh i have issues witht he smells of IPAs.. but other then that I <3 beer.

ok one more dumb question... the kit includes EVERYTHING that i need to make the beer or it would tell me if i needed something else. I would like to have it all RIGHT there for Scott to start making as soon as he gets it. Almost like not getting the batteriest for some cool toy for a kid at Christmas!

Thanks again! You guys are awesome!

I started with the 5 gallon kit from Midwest Supplies. For my interests, I love it. It comes with practically everything you need to start brewing except for some sanitizer, bottles, a wine thief which is great for taking hydrometer readings, and a brew pot which you said you already have. As of now, I'm using a 5 gallon stainless steel pot I got on Amazon for $48. Other than that, I think that's all I needed to brew my first batch.

 

[Chrisl77]

You use the capper to crimp the caps onto the bottles. As for kits there are plenty of sites to get them from. austinhomebrew.com has been said already some others are northernbrewer.com and midwestsupplies.com. you can do a search on google and find alot more. You can also do a search on google for local home brew shops in your area, this might help get all your questions that pop up as your buying. One thing i would consider getting though is a good digital thermometer.

 

[JonM]

+1 to what jsweet said about Starsan - when you order that kit from Midwest, add a bottle if Starsan to your cart.

 

[unionrdr]

Many of the kits now can be had with what is called a "wing capper" that is used to crimp the caps on the bottles. Along with a bag of caps. Some even allow you to pick a beer kit to go with your "brewing kit". Most places will show a pic of everything,along with a list of included items. They have kits at every level,depending on how much you want to spend. Or already have. Sounds like you want a deluxe kit.
So look for a kit that gives you the fermenting bucket "ale pale",bottling bucket better bottle for secondary,all the long spoons hydrometer,etc. Plus the beer kit itself,wing capper,caps.
Just make sure the bottles you save are not twist offs. It's hard to get those to seal,& the glass is a little weak for our needs. So save only brown pop top bottles.

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't go printing out any recipe. Where you buy the starter equipment kit will also have recipe kits that include ingredients and instructions. Go for something that comes with malt extracts, hops, and yeast (some will have a small quantity of grains for steeping).

You'll need a pot that can hold at least 2 gallons. If you don't have one and have to buy one, go for a 36-40qt one because that's where he'll end up eventually.

 

[jsweet]

So save only brown pop top bottles.

I saw in another thread somebody mention they always use one clear (Newcastle) bottle in each batch, so they can monitor what's going on in the bottle during bottle conditioning. Not strictly necessary, especially if you are just patient, and you run the risk of skunking that bottle if you don't keep it out of the light... but I think it's a cool idea and have been meaning to pick up some Newcastle for exactly this purpose.

Other than that, yeah: Brown non-twisties only please. Clear and green can be skunked, and twist-offs are no good.