Looking For Equipment

[Grey6Bard]

Im looking for equipment to start my first brew. I’m looking for something under 600$, I’m limited in space...so small, I’m wanting to skip extract and go for all grain, I don’t mind waiting on natural carbonation, I’ll probably just bottle, I’d like to make 15 gallons at a time. I think that covers the basics of what I’m looking for. I’m having a really hard time finding equipment that isn’t too basic and at the same time isn’t the next brewmaster X 3000.78.

Does anyone have a kit they recommend or should I just try shopping around and piecing together one thing at a time?

PS. Sorry if this isn’t the right place for this thread. It could be moved to equipment maybe but I put it here for my skill level as a new brewer.

 

[mongoose33]

If you're looking for a good starter kit, I've long thought MoreBeer's premium kit is the best you can get for the money. It includes an extract kit but, unless you have someone showing you how to do all-grain from the get-go, if I were you I'd brew an extract kit or two while you learned the process.

The only thing this kit doesn't have that you need is a heat source and bottles. https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-home-brewing-kit.html

The only downside is that if you want to do 5-gallon batches and Brew-In-A-Bag--which is an all-grain method--you really need a 10-gallon kettle. I might if I were you call Morebeer and see if you could get them to swap out the 8.5-gallon kettle for a 10-gallon kettle. It'll cost a bit more, but you'd be happier.

That leaves you some cash for other items you'll probably want. A grain mill for one (the Cereal Killer is a good choice, $99), a refractometer ($25), a setup to oxygenate the wort using oxygen bottles ($65 including the O2 bottle), a pH meter to check the mash pH when you do all-grain ($80, plus $25 for calibration fluids), and the salts and lactic acid you'll need to adust the water ($20-25).

That's pretty close to your budget, and gets you some better stuff. Maybe include a propane burner depending on what you already have.

One more thing you'll want is a fermentation chamber. Some use a small dorm-style tall refrigerator, plus an inkbird controller, plus a heat mat. The Inkbird 308 is $35 from Amazon, the heat mat is about $12 from Amazon, and the refrigerator maybe you can score used. Mine was $60 used.

 

[madscientist451]

If you are just getting started in Brewing, go for smaller batches. Everything will be easier to handle, easier to clean, take up less space, be cheaper and bottling 15 gallons of brew will be too much work at once.
Brewing more often will give you more experience and you can try a bunch of different styles.
The cheapest way to go would be to do 3 gallon BIAB batches on your kitchen stove. All you need is a 6 gallon pot and a BIAB bag. Chill the beer in an ice bath in the sink. Use a standard 5 gallon carboy.
The pot, bag, carboy and misc stuff will be cheap enough that you can add an immersion chiller and a small chest freezer for temperature controlled fermentation, and still be under $600. Controlling your fermentation temperature is a big step towards better beer and brewing small batches of good beer is better than 15 gallons of mediocre beer.

 

[Grey6Bard]

If you're looking for a good starter kit, I've long thought MoreBeer's premium kit is the best you can get for the money. It includes an extract kit but, unless you have someone showing you how to do all-grain from the get-go, if I were you I'd brew an extract kit or two while you learned the process.

The only thing this kit doesn't have that you need is a heat source and bottles. https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-home-brewing-kit.html

The only downside is that if you want to do 5-gallon batches and Brew-In-A-Bag--which is an all-grain method--you really need a 10-gallon kettle. I might if I were you call Morebeer and see if you could get them to swap out the 8.5-gallon kettle for a 10-gallon kettle. It'll cost a bit more, but you'd be happier.

That leaves you some cash for other items you'll probably want. A grain mill for one (the Cereal Killer is a good choice, $99), a refractometer ($25), a setup to oxygenate the wort using oxygen bottles ($65 including the O2 bottle), a pH meter to check the mash pH when you do all-grain ($80, plus $25 for calibration fluids), and the salts and lactic acid you'll need to adust the water ($20-25).

That's pretty close to your budget, and gets you some better stuff. Maybe include a propane burner depending on what you already have.

One more thing you'll want is a fermentation chamber. Some use a small dorm-style tall refrigerator, plus an inkbird controller, plus a heat mat. The Inkbird 308 is $35 from Amazon, the heat mat is about $12 from Amazon, and the refrigerator maybe you can score used. Mine was $60 used.

Thanks man! This is exactly the advice and reference I needed. Can’t wait till my next payday! I’ve actually started an apprenticeship at a locally brewery so I’ve begun the process of learning already. I have quite a few books to speed up the process. I’m excited about the prospects.

 

[Calder]

15 gallon, all-grain, batches right out of the gate. While not impossible, is impracticable. Chances are you will dump the first several batches ----- how much will that cost?

Get a beginners 5 gallon kit, a 5 gallon brew pot, and an extract kit and see what happens.

After trying and understanding some of the issues you will be better placed to decide what you want. Many of the beginners kit will not go to waste as you move to all-grain, and/or bigger batches, so it will not be a waste of money.

 

[Grey6Bard]

The guy I’m apprenticing under said to not even bother with extract and he said buy bigger because I can always just make less in a bigger set up but never more in a smaller set up.

I’m already working in a brewery a couple days a week. So I get to see the process and give a helping hand.

My gfs parents have a cheap 5 gallon extract beginners setup, I’ve got it fermenting a batch now. It’s kind of boring as it didn’t give me any options for creativity. No hops, I considered throwing some spices in it but didn’t want to waste the spices in a lackluster brew, lol.

 

[ong]

I would definitely not start out with 15 gallon batches — your first, say, 10-15 batches are not likely to be so fantastic you’ll wish you had more of them. And bottling 15 gallons at a time (that’s cleaning, sanitizing, filling, and capping over 150 bottles) will make you very sad.

My recommendation would be to get a 10-15 gallon kettle and a BIAB bag from Wilser. Your investment will be minimal if you do want to upgrade down the road, and you can even fit in a 10 gallon batch if you are so inclined.

Also, if you’re doing extract, don’t used hopped extract! You can be plenty creative with extract, steeping grains, and hops, even with no adjuncts (fruit, spices, etc.). It’s worth getting several brews under your belt to know what you like before you blow your whole budget on equipment.

 

[seatazzz]

Craigslist is your friend here. Every time I look, there's a LOT of beginner's setups for sale.

 

[Moose_MI]

Where are you located? I have some stuff you might be interested in but nothing you would want to ship

 

[Grey6Bard]

Western NC but I come to Mississippi a few times a year if you’re in that area.

 

[Moose_MI]

Sorry dude...SW Michigan .

OK...here’s my 2 cents..

1. Your budget ain’t bad but “short on space” and “15G Batches” will require some finesse.
2. I applaud your intentions of going right to 15G but there are VERY few 15g brewers bottling their beer. Maybe backing off to 10G and skip bottling? Spend some of that budget on a kegerator. Dialing back to 10G would also help you work that “short on space thing”.

Craigslist is your friend...and mine...and everyone’s!

 

[Grey6Bard]

That sounds like good advice, I’m going to take it. Very soon boys! I’ll be brewing at home. I actually started a batch out of a cheap brew kit my gfs family had laying around, I can’t remember if I mentioned it here but it’s going strong now as we speak. It’s a pale ale. Maybe it’ll be okay, lol.

 

[Blazinlow86]

ill echo what the others here say. i have a very nice rig that can do 15g batches with ease and i can make good beer. i keg instead of bottling but i can tell you drinking 150+ bottles of the same beer will get boring quickly. i think a 5-10 gallon setup is more than enough and would also recommend doing some 3g stovetop batches. thats were i do all my experimenting and stick to the proven (boring) lol stuff on the big setup. cheers

 

[seatazzz]

And I will +1 to the above, start out with kegging and you'll be happier. Bottling even a 5g batch takes a LOT of time and preparation; then you've got 2 weeks to wait until you can try them. Whereas with kegging, once it's in the keg all you have to do is carb it up (can take less than 24 hours if you do it right) and you're enjoying the fruits of your labors that much faster. Corny kegs (pinlock or ball lock) can be found for cheap if you're willing to look around for them, and if you take care of them they'll last a long time. Your initial $$ outlay will be a bit higher than bottles, but it's worth it.

You can still bottle if you want, from kegs; search here for Biermunchers Bottle filler. I have one and it works a treat.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I think getting a 5 gallon starter kit is a good bet. If you want to go all-grain very quickly you can do smaller BIAB batches(2.5 gal) with the same equipment. That's what I did after a couple extract batches and it works great. I can still brew in my kitchen, late at night if necessary, but can still do all-grain.

Even once you scale up you might still want to do small batches sometimes to test recipes. Some people may suggest that if you are POSITIVE you want to go big all-grain batches, buy that equipment right off the bat instead of accumulating stuff you may stop using eventually. It will be a lot more expensive but that is not bad advice either. Only you really know what will work best.