New brewer looking for first kit

[roesn]

That was very helpful and informative post. Thank you! So you're saying that I should find a different kit with a three piece airlock? Or is it ok?

I also searched for floating brew thermometers and most of them were rated very poorly. Could you recommend one that is reliable?

 

[rodwha]

The beer you mentioned states it's a farmhouse ale. What style of beer is that?

What styles of beer do you prefer?

For very simple all extract beer I'd say to brew a wheat or blonde ale. But if you are open to trying steeping then you can make most styles of ale. It's just a matter of keeping your temp between 150-165* for 20-30 mins. Very simple.

 

[rodwha]

I'm not familiar with the S style, and they may not be so hard to clean. But if you want that kit I'd use them and see what you think. The 3 piece ones are very cheap ($2-5 ea). Just give yourself a good 2-3" from the top and you ought to be good.

I've bought most everything from MoreBeer in the last couple of years as they give free shipping and have good customer service. This is the one I use:

http://morebeer.com/products/thermometer-floating.html?site_id=5

I'm not really sure how you can get bad experiences with a thermometer… Except that they break easily.

 

[rodwha]

If you don't have the $$$ to drop on a refrigerator with a temp controller you'll need a large storage bin (think big enough for 2 buckets and a couple of frozen 2 liter bottles that you fill about 2/3 full (when buckets are in them) so that you can keep the beer temp around 62-68* or so depending on the yeast and what you want it to do.

It'll take a bunch of frozen water bottles too. I have 5 two liter bottles, 2 two qt juice bottles, maybe 6-8 1 liter bottles, and a few 20 oz bottles to keep 2 storage bins (3 buckets) cool enough. But I'm in the south where it's harder to keep it cool. With cold snaps it's much easier.

 

[rodwha]

Make sure you buy a sanitizer too.

I really like Star San. It lasts a long time. And I use non abrasive sponges.

 

[rodwha]

I just read the reviews on the thermometers I use and it gets only 2 stars with them both saying they broke too easily. I have not experienced that. Mine have only broken because I was a little careless.

 

[roesn]

Found better info on the beer. It says it's a cream ale.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/1963

 

[rodwha]

You'll also want a little notepad to keep track of your recipes and what you did while brewing/fermenting, etc. It makes it easier to figure out what may have gone wrong, what you'd like to change, or how to do it again!

To reduce your brew costs you can also store yeast by making a larger than needed yeast starter and saving some in the fridge, which lasts about 2-3 months. I began by using 2 qt juice bottles, but now have two 2000 ml flasks. It's far easier and less messy to make a larger starter than to "wash" yeast.

 

[rodwha]

Hmmm… You ought to be able to make a simple cream ale. I made a jalapeño cream ale that's ready to be bottled.

I did use a little crystal malts, but I don't know that it's necessary. It's mostly pilsner extract and typical ale extract with some sugar (I also added honey).

 

[roesn]

Maybe I should start with 1 gallon batches until I find something I like? Then buy 5 gallon batches. I found a cream ale micro brew

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/micro-bru-liberty-cream-ale-all-grain-kit.html

 

[rodwha]

Do you have a LHBS (LocalHomeBrewStore) or will you purchase brewing ingredients online all the time?

If you will go to a LHBS you could possibly buy small quantities of extracts and kinda doctor up a simple extract recipe by adding something like amber extract to get a bit of crystal into your beer. But if you are up to it I'd just go with steeping.

 

[rodwha]

The amount of work for a 1 gal batch is about the same as for a 5 gal, and the beer won't last long (only ~10 bottles that took nearly 2 months to make). What I do is make 1.8-2.5 gal test batches, but they often get worked into a 4-5 gal batch before I'm ready to brew. It's how my jalapeño cream ale morphed.

Maybe make 2 of them for 2 gals so it's a little more worth the effort.

 

[roesn]

I don't have a LHBS :/ I guess I could get the 5 gallon batch. I will have to read up on steeping.

 

[roesn]

I just looked it up. It's not difficult at all. I don't need any extra equipment or materials, it's just an extra optional step to improve the taste of your beer. Right?

 

[rodwha]

Read this:

http://howtobrew.com

 

[roesn]

By the way, is it possible to buy a 5 gallon ingredient kit but only use, let's say a third of it? I would like to experiment and at least get one decent batch out of this ingredient purchase

 

[rodwha]

Yes. Very simple. Like making tea.

Pot of water that begins around 165*. Drop a grain bag with grains in it, which will cool it down to about 150-155*. Swirl the bag or dunk it a bit, which will help drop the temp if it's getting a bit high, and in 20-30 mins you are done. It's mostly about temp control as you want to stay between 150-165* for best results.

Then what I do is have 2 pint glasses with filtered tap water waiting in the microwave that I warm up for 5 mins and place the grain bag in a metal colander and press with my spoon. Then pour one glass and smash with the base of the cup followed by the other cup.

Set the timer and watch the temp, and stir/dunk/swirl it every once in a while.

 

[rodwha]

All of the kits I'm aware of use LME (liquid extract) which is very messy and hard to work with if you aren't wanting to use it all at once. DME (dry extract) is simple to work with (a little powdery mess though). So I doubt it can be done without making a big mess.

Do you have a scale that'll weigh out as low as 0.1 oz and as high as 7-10 lbs?

 

[rodwha]

My LHBS has an online source and they will package up small volumes of LME and grains. Maybe that's an option for you at the moment. I can help you work on a recipe or we could look at a recipe sheet for a known commercial brew kit and break it into portions.

 

[roesn]

Ok I'm adding the final things to the shopping cart. But it's asking me what kind of yeast I want.

Muton and fison ale yeast for a $1.40 or the name brand of the ingredient is American ale yeast activator for 6.30$. I would probably just pick one unless someone has a suggestion

Or
Headwaters ale yeast
White labs California ale yeast

 

[roesn]

That sounds interesting. I thought the liberty cream ale would be a good idea, but if you have a suggestion let me know.

 

[rodwha]

For simplicity I'd get a dry yeast. The others ought to have a yeast starter made for them.

Do they have SafAle US-05?

 

[roesn]

Oh, yes they do. I forgot to mention that one. Its 11.5 grams, for $3.29

 

[rodwha]

What I often do if I'm wanting to do something I'm not familiar with is to look at the kits MoreBeer offers and check out their recipe sheet. The I also browse through the recipes here and consider my options and get an idea of what it takes. I then create a recipe on Brewtoad and post it here asking for opinions.

If you are wanting to make small batches you'd either have to buy 1 or 2 of the 1 gal batches as you mentioned earlier or create your own and order it from Home Brew Party (I'm not sure of any other place that'll sell small volumes of stuff).

What styles of beer do you prefer? And what kind of alcohol content?

 

[rodwha]

US-05 is the only dry yeast I've used so far. It's a good strain that's the same thing as WLP-001 and I think another.

 

[roesn]

The type of cream ale Im going for has 4.8% ABV

This is what the cream ale pack comes with.

6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract
8 oz. Carapils® specialty grains
2 oz. of Cascade pellet hops
Yeast
Priming sugar
Grain bag

 

[rodwha]

Just keep it simple and get that kit and make it all.

 

[rodwha]

That kit doesn't have pilsen extract??? I'm not positive, but I think a portion is supposed to be pilsner based.

 

[rodwha]

Can you give me a link?

Do you know if only a portion of grains can be bought or does it come by the pound as most do?

Make sure you mention you want the grains crushed!!!

 

[roesn]

Well here is my current list.

Brew kit: 90$
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/plastic-brewing-starter-kit.html

The Brewing Starter Kit includes:
5 Gallon Plastic Carboy
Universal Carboy Bung
6.5 Gallon Fermentor with Grommeted Lid
Liquid Crystal Thermometer x2
Airlock x2
Hydrometer and Test Jar
2 oz Midwest Oxygen Wash
Instructional Step-By-Step DVD
5/16” Auto-Siphon
5/16” ID Siphon Tubing (5 Feet)
Small Tubing Clamp
Bottling Bucket with Spigot
Bottle Filler
Bottle Capper
60 Gold Bottle Caps
Bottle Brush


32 oz Star San: 16$
http://morebeer.com/products/star-san-32-oz.html

Floating Thermometer: 6.49$
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/floating-thermometer.html

Current ingredient kit:
www.midwestsupplies.com/liberty-cream-ale.html

This is my current cart list. That should be everything I need, but you had suggestions for the ingredient kit?