Need Some Help Picking Equipment?

[AngelMr2]

Hi,

First off, I don't know anything about alcohol or brewing - I don't even drink.

But my fiance enjoys beer and has been discussing starting to make his own for some time now, especially among his friends. I would like to buy him the equipment that he needs to get started.

I did some reading, and I know that you make lager if you can cool it. So initially I will not be able to do this as I do not have a secondary refrigerator yet.

He likes dark beers, so I would like something that he could use to make that, until we can make lagers (which he also likes)

Any help would be really appreciated, I know the basic materials required, and I have looked at some equipment kits online but its hard to choose one because I'm not sure what types of things are better than others, and the prices of these kits seem low. I see them at $100-$150. But I think that $200-$250 would yield better products, my mom always said you cant play real music on a crappy instrument and I assume since brewing is such a science that it would follow the same suit.

I'd like to spend around $200-%250 on starter equipment. Does anyone have any ideas? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Edit: Also wanted to know the plastic vs glass bottles? I think glass would be better but is it?

 

[BigUgly]

This is the kit I started out with HERE years ago. I am very happy with the quality of the gear and to this day use most of it every time I brew.
AHB & Midwest also have some starter kits with different options too.

Do you have a medium/large pot for him to brew? That is something you need to consider. As far as glass vs plastic there are die-hard advocates for both. There is no wrong choice with that; plastic is safer, glass is easier to clean & sanitize.

Good luck, and good job! I wish my wife bought me brew gear!

 

[bottlebomber]

Those are good starter kits that were linked, but I have to ask do you have a garage? If so, a turkey fryer that has a propane burner is INCREDIBLY useful for brewing compared to trying to heat all that water on the stove. I would opt for a more simple kit and budget for this.. some of the things in those starter kits you can get by without, but the boiling system is the very basis of brewing. Your man will love you for this!

 

[pyth]

I've been using a starter kit I got for about 100$ and it all works great. It's a very low cost hobby to enter into. A glass carboy, plastic bucket, airlock, some tube, a wine thief, racking cane, hydrometer and bottling wand are really all you need to get rolling.

And I'd say more then one item on that list is actually convinience rather then required. Your local home brew store should likely have a ready to go starter kit, most do.

 

[bottlebomber]

Oh and don't be tempted to buy bottles for the beer! Just buy beer in bottles with pry off lids, and use those for your homebrew when the beer is finished. The labels soak off really easily with Oxiclean. And when you order don't forget to buy a product called Starsan. It is absolutely essential!

 

[BOBrob]

This is the kit I started out with HERE years ago. I am very happy with the quality of the gear and to this day use most of it every time I brew.
AHB & Midwest also have some starter kits with different options too.

Do you have a medium/large pot for him to brew? That is something you need to consider. As far as glass vs plastic there are die-hard advocates for both. There is no wrong choice with that; plastic is safer, glass is easier to clean & sanitize.

Good luck, and good job! I wish my wife bought me brew gear!

+1 on the starter kit. You will need bottles though, and add a few extract recipe kits that you think he would like to try. The brew pot can be a 20-30 qt. stockpot to do partial boils if that is what you have on hand,and you would just add water to make up the rest of the five gallon batch of beer in the fermenter. Merry X-Mas& cheers

 

[AngelMr2]

Thank you so much for all of the replies and suggestions!

I do have pots we could use, but I think I want to buy a new one and only use it for this designated purpose.. I know I have some pots that things get burned into, and you never really know whats stuck in the metal - I read that contamination is a big issue in how the taste comes out.

Unfortunately I do not have a garage currently, but I do have a patio I could do this on with a burner that was for something else. I will let him decide the logistics of it. I am having my parents buy him a book about it, and maybe some luxuries that might not be in the kit that I choose.

I think I will probably go with glass because someone here mentioned it is easier to clean, which should be better for us I think.

So it would be okay to get a lower cost starter kit then? I did read what someone said here about the boiling to be the most important part of the process, so I read about this pot on one of the suppliers sites , it seemed like a really good pot. So maybe I should get a more basic kit, plus this really nice pot, and then let him choose whatever extra things he wants too. His birthday will happen before the beer is done fermenting so I have that too if I wanted to get something for after that part of the process.

Heres the links to the pots I found.
Pot 1
Pot2

Pot 1 has a tripple bottom, would that make the difference of the ~50$ more it costs? I was looking at the ones with thermometers because it seems the temperature is really important. Would a built in one like these prove better than the ones that you put on the pot?

Thanks for the suggestion too about the bottles! I was thinking of having to buy them but I was neglecting to think of the time it takes to ferment, we can save bottles during that time.

Some of his favorite beers are Guiness black, and octoberfest from sam adams, and he likes to try dark things so Ill have to see what I can find with that!

 

[billtzk]

I started with the same Northern Brewer Deluxe kit that hwcopela mentioned in post #2. That was in 2006. It is a great kit, and I still use much of it. In fact, I just brewed an English Brown ale that is currently fermenting in the 6.5 gallon carboy that came with that kit.

However, there are still a few items that any brewer will need that is not included in that kit. A really complete kit that has everything needed including bottles and a beer recipe kit is the Midwest Supplies EVERYTHING + A CARBOY - Complete Brewing Equipment Kit #2.

If your fiance likes dark beers, pick the Irish Stout kit. Maybe browse through the other extract kits in the "Dark Ales" or "Amber Ales" category and buy another.

That kit above comes with a 20 quart brew kettle, excellent for extract recipe kits, but it doesn't have a wort chiller. A wort chiller is usually the first accessory that most brewers buy. So if you want to make the kit really complete, add the Equipment Upgrade Kit Two. It has a wort chiller that connects to your kitchen faucet, and it has the very important "How to Brew" book by John Palmer. Plus a carboy drain stand and a carboy jet washer.

In my opinion, that kit plus the upgrade kit makes a really complete brewing setup for extract brews. Your fiance won't have to buy anything else but more recipe kits. And of course, he'll need a supply of bottles beyond the two dozen included in the kit, but any beer drinker should be able to come by those easily enough.

 

[BigUgly]

I would have been ecstatic to start off my brewing career with a pot like those.
Be sure and tell him about this forum too. It's a great place to learn.

 

[skidaddytn]

turkey fryer rocks... i use one myself, but... it kind of dictates that you will need an immersion chiller as it takes a long while to cool down 5 gallons... that starts adding up $$$ to your cost... i started in the kitchen with a 5 gallon pot and adding top off water... but that does not produce the same result... you should boil *as much as you can* or *all of it* if you can afford the equipment... boiling the whole thing makes mmmmm good beer even with an extract kit...

i would advise getting a kit that encourages primary fermentation in a 6 gallon better bottle (clear plastic carboy)... because.... its fun to open the closet and watch it in action! you could also use glass, but be careful not to drop and break it...
you can buy these anywhere... but the only place i've seen better bottles in "kits" lately is morebeer.com... that is, if you want to buy an all inclusive kit... however you can buy the parts easily from almost anywhere... i order lots of stuff from austin home brew too...

 

[billtzk]

I do have pots we could use, but I think I want to buy a new one and only use it for this designated purpose.. I know I have some pots that things get burned into, and you never really know whats stuck in the metal - I read that contamination is a big issue in how the taste comes out.

New pot dedicated to brewing is nice, but not essential. For extract kits, a 20 quart pot is fine. You don't need a dial thermometer or a ball valve for a 20 quart pot. It is very helpful to have both for a full-boil pot (7 or 8 gallon capacity). It's the post-boil cool down where the thermometer comes in handy. It's irrelevant for the boil.

Unfortunately I do not have a garage currently, but I do have a patio I could do this on with a burner that was for something else. I will let him decide the logistics of it. I am having my parents buy him a book about it, and maybe some luxuries that might not be in the kit that I choose.

Most people start out brewing in the kitchen on the stove. However, a propane turkey frier burner plus a 8 quart pot is nice. In my opinion, you don't really need that unless you are going to do partial mashes or all-grain.

I think I will probably go with glass because someone here mentioned it is easier to clean, which should be better for us I think.

I prefer glass. It may be easier to clean (although some people will debate that), but it also requires more care to avoid breakage. Plastic is lighter and unbreakable. I bought one plastic Better Bottle, but I rarely use it. I have eleven glass carboys. It's really a matter of taste and style though. There are pros and cons to each.

So it would be okay to get a lower cost starter kit then? I did read what someone said here about the boiling to be the most important part of the process, so I read about this pot on one of the suppliers sites , it seemed like a really good pot. So maybe I should get a more basic kit, plus this really nice pot, and then let him choose whatever extra things he wants too. His birthday will happen before the beer is done fermenting so I have that too if I wanted to get something for after that part of the process.

The advantage of a lower cost kit is that it will be less complete, which means that your fiance will be able to pick and choose what other items to buy to augment it. This is also its disadvantage. It's hard to say which way is better. It's a personal decision.

Heres the links to the pots I found.
Pot 1
Pot2

Pot 1 has a tripple bottom, would that make the difference of the ~50$ more it costs? I was looking at the ones with thermometers because it seems the temperature is really important. Would a built in one like these prove better than the ones that you put on the pot?

Of the two, I would pick the first one. It seems better constructed. There are many other possible choices out there, so don't be too quick to choose. But do you really want to buy a pot suitable for 5 gallon batch full boils right off the bat? That can't be done inside on the stove. It definitely moves the process to the outdoors, and a powerful propane burner (e.g., a turkey fryer) will be needed too. Extract kits that can be brewed in a simple 20 quart pot on the stove are a low cost point of entry into the hobby. A brewer can use such a system to craft excellent beer.

 

[BOBrob]

Books... "John Palmer How to Brew" is free on line and a must read. Sam adams bottles work fine with the standard caps. What a lucky guy! Cheers

 

[bottlebomber]

That kettle you linked is perfect. He may start out doing extract kits, but he may quickly decide he is interested in all grain brewing and that pot is big enough to handle full boils. I would have loved something like that for my first kettle.

 

[AngelMr2]

Well I think I am going to go with This Kit from Austin. I was all ready to get the Northern one until I needed to get a pot and shipping. Shopping alone was $82. Austin will ship for free since the other is over $100, which I think is a good deal. It also has that chiller. If he doesn't like the bottles I know I can pick those up inexpensively with relatively low shipping after he decides! Does this sound good?

I am going to stay away from the turkey fryer until I see how into it he gets, plus I can get one at work for cheaper than they sell them online : )

 

[AngelMr2]

The pot in this Austin deal has the 3 ply thing which seems like a good thing.

Kit Its an add on to the kit, but the pot looks good.

 

[RM-MN]

I'll advocate starting with the most basic equipment kit, one without the carboys. With what I have learned on HomeBrewTalk and by reading "How to Brew" by John Palmer I can make excellent beer. Once started in the hobby, one can then decide where to go. I added a plastic carboy but found its usefulness to be quite limited (I've used mine twice in 3 years for its intended purpose) and a pain to store when I'm not using it. My schedule means that I may want to have 3 beers fermenting at once but then I may have to wait 6 months without brewing. 3 glass carboys take up a lot of space but 3 plastic buckets will stack in the space of one and if you are careful they will last for many years and the chance of shattering if they are dropped or tip over is zero.

You might be better to spend less on equipment and add an ingredient kit to get him started. It's how I started and how many others started. Some people like them so well that they always work with a kit. If you want to add more dollars, include a certificate for another kit of his choosing.

I'd advocate for buying bottles to start with too. My local store has them for about $12 per case of 24 and they can be reused indefinitely. Make sure there are plenty of caps for them. The caps I purchase come in a bag of 144. A 5 gallon batch of ale will usually fill about 2 cases of bottles. It wouldn't hurt to start collecting pry off bottles but throw the twist off ones away. If his first batch turns out to be enough to fill 51 bottles and he only has 48 he will feel cheated as he dumps out those 3 bottles worth of beer that he brewed.

 

[FastEddie212]

I still a noob as we're called. I began a little over a year ago and have brewed about ten very good batches of beer using a basic $68 kit with a bucket for fermenting and one for bottling plus all the usual utensils for fermenting, measuring, siphoning and bottling. It didn't include bottles, caps or ingredients. I Bought the later two and saved my own bottles. I decided to put the $3.50-$4.00/six into beer purchases to try all those different kinds I learned about when reading up on home brewing. I bought a 5 & 6-1/2 gallon glass carboys ($65) to be able to brew more than one batch at a time. I went to a local restaurant supply and bought a heavy duty six gallon stainless steel pot for $60 and added in a couple good instant read thermometers. The only other must have for me was a wort chiller. Fortunately I'm a DIY guy so I built my own using almost a whole 50' roll of copper tubing for under $60. I was pretty well set for about $275. I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest the Starsan....And as you'll read a lot on here, don't fear the bubbles!

 

[husker]

I am new to brewing and have done about 5 batches. I have this kit and love it!

https://bellsbeer.com/store/products/Deluxe-Brewer's-Best%C2%AE-Beer-Brewing-Equipment-Kit-w%7B47%7D-Better-Bottle%C2%AE.html

I also just got this turkey fryer, it is a great price and comes with a pot that is just big enough if he wants to do full boils.

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops%C2%AE-30Quart-Propane-Turkey-Fryer/product/11101205012016/283164


I would get a deluxe kit because he will get all that stuff anyway

 

[enkamania]

My list of things not usually included in a starter kit, but help me out the most are

1. Wort chiller
2. Auto siphon
3. Vinator
4. Bench bottle capper

 

[NorthRiverS]

Angel,

I would seriously consider getting him a siphonless kit like the one below. Siphons can leak, break, and can be a hassle. I've used this kit for over two years with no problems. It really makes brewing easy. Check it out.....

BREWERY WITH BROWN ALE @ Williams Brewing

Good luck.

NRS

 

[muthafuggle]

I've been brewing for a while now, and if I were to pick out a starter kit for a friend it would include

Two buckets, one for fermenting, one for bottling. should go under $50 for the pair with a lid and an airlock
a $50 aluminum pot from the restaurant supply store (8 or 9 gallons with a lid)
an immersion chiller (usually $70-80)
a long spoon ($5)
an autosiphon ($12)
a hydrometer and a hydrometer test jar ($12)
a bottling wand and hose (under $10)
a small container of Star San ($9)
A cheap bottlecapper (10)

That should put you around the $250 mark with tax. He can start off on the stove and move on up to a turkey fryer burner if he gets the bug.

All of these parts will be useful no matter what he wants to brew, and if he chooses to go all-grain, nothing will have to be replaced... unless/until he uplevels to 10+ gallon brews. Lagers will require you to buy a glass carboy and a fridge or freezer with a controller, but that's all.

There are ALWAYS more toys to buy, but those are the essential, "won't need to be replaced, but I can add to them" ingredients.

 

[badbrew]

Bought this as suggested by another member:

30 qt. Turkey Fryer-815-4001-S at The Home Depot

It's 8 gallons and has a hole in the top for the thermometer to fit through for when chilling.

 

[AngelMr2]

Thanks for all of the help deciding guys! You have all been very helpful. I will definitely tell him about this website because I am sure he will end up having questions beyond the book my mom got him. I decided to get a kit plus the chiller because it seems essential for quality. I know he will want to do lagers eventually so I decided on glass. I was thinking of plastic because of the space saving that someone mentioned, but he has a grandparent with a large basement who wouldn't mind them there if he needed it if we moved to a smaller place. I decided against the fryer for now, because I can get them at work and I'm sure the first few he'd try on the stove anyway, so if he wanted we can pick that part up later. I did pick up the star san cleaner that everyone recommended and my mom got him an ingredient kit to go with the book that she purchased. I will probably get him another one for his birthday!

I am very pleased with how nice and helpful everyone was, this was a really good experience!