New brewer!

[roesn]

Hello. I have never brewed a beer in my life, but after researching about the brewing process, I am ready to purchase my first beer kit. My budget is 100-200$ for the kit.



This was the one I was looking at.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AC55H24/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20





What would you recommend I get?

 

[trboyden]

Honestly? It depends on how deep you want to get in right away, how much beer you drink, and what you consider disposable income if it turns out you don't like the hobby? I would suggest a 1 gallon kit to start, with which you can use pretty much any pot you have hanging around the house for a boil kettle (which is not included in most kits):

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...er-kits/1-gallon-small-batch-starter-kit.html

If you want to go 5 gallon right away, consider the following kit plus the upgrade kit that includes a boil pot and bottles:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...arter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/fresh-start-upgrade-kit.html

Before you buy anything, read the introduction and first two sections of the following website. Then you'll definitively know what you are in for:

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

I started with the one gallon kit and a bunch of different recipe kits to get an idea of what type of beers I liked. The type of beers you like can influence what equipment you should get in the future. So rather than invest in a bunch of stuff right now. Start with something you can try a whole bunch of recipes with now, on a small scale, and then decide where you want to take the hobby based on your budget, time, and personal preferences.

 

[brewguyver]

Doesn't hurt to aim for a 5 gallon kit. Make sure you get a good sized pot as well - 16-20 qt is a good target to start. Use the rest of your budget on a few kits.

Once you decide if you like it the first two upgrades recommended are brewing software (e.g beer smith) and fermentation control (spare fridge and an external controller).

If you have a local home brew store (LHBS), I'd recommend walking in and seeing if you want to buy from them. If they are knowledgable and helpful it may be worth buying from them. If they're jerks or way over priced, then you can buy online.

Read the stickies at the top of the beginner beer forum too - very helpful.

 

[roesn]

I would like to start out with something bigger than 1 gallon. I appreciate all of the responses!

The new set up I found. Now with a better bottle instead of glass, and more addons.

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





[URL="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/indispensable-implements-brewing-equipment-upgrade-2.html"]http://www.midwestsupplies.com/indispensable-implements-brewing-equipment-upgrade-2.html

 

[Cyclman]

I would recommend you buy from a good local brew shop, if you have one. Then, when you have questions or need help, you have someone who can show you the path. Mine even stayed open late one night so I could buy a $4 part I needed, an online retailer can't do that. I also like upgrading the brew kits, bench capper, glass carboy, good thermometer- a local shop may be happy to do this for you.

 

[roesn]

Unfortunately that doesn't exist near my city :/ that sounds amazing

 

[roesn]

I'm thinking about ordering this kid tonight

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

After getting that all I need then would be the ingredients, a dial thermometer, a 7 gallon pot and....... Is that it?

I already have bottles

 

[brewguyver]

I'm thinking about ordering this kid tonight

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

After getting that all I need then would be the ingredients, a dial thermometer, a 7 gallon pot and....... Is that it?

I already have bottles

Add a bottle of star San to your order as well. It's a good sanitizer (cleaning and sanitizing are different) unless that's in the kit. I didn't see it listed.

 

[trboyden]

I'm thinking about ordering this kid tonight

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

After getting that all I need then would be the ingredients, a dial thermometer, a 7 gallon pot and....... Is that it?

I already have bottles

Get a 10 gallon pot so you have enough headroom to protect against boil overs and to allow you to do full batch boils.

+1 on the Star San recommendation. You may want another bucket and a spray bottle to go along with that. It makes it easier to mix up a batch of sanitizer and it is good to have a good supply around.

Also pick up some Oxiclean for cleaning your equipment.

As long as you are starting off with extract Ales, this will be good. You really won't be able to do lagers because you really need a temperature controlled fridge/freezer for that. All grain also requires a bit more equipment. So just keep that in mind when you are looking at recipes.

 

[Newsman]

Not sure where you are located, but you might want to consider driving to your local hardware store and buying a big tub to use as a "swamp cooler" as you want to keep your brew cool while it's fermenting. Most yeast likes to ferment in the low 60* range and since it produces heat while fermenting, it will be several degrees warmer than ambient temps. So, sitting your fermenter in a tub of cold water will help keep it cool, and if you have a couple large towels you can drape over it into the water, that would be even better as the wet towels would help keep it cooler.

 

[brewguyver]

Get a 10 gallon pot so you have enough headroom to protect against boil overs and to allow you to do full batch boils.

+1 on the Star San recommendation. You may want another bucket and a spray bottle to go along with that. It makes it easier to mix up a batch of sanitizer and it is good to have a good supply around.

Also pick up some Oxiclean for cleaning your equipment.

As long as you are starting off with extract Ales, this will be good. You really won't be able to do lagers because you really need a temperature controlled fridge/freezer for that. All grain also requires a bit more equipment. So just keep that in mind when you are looking at recipes.

10 gallon is awesome (I love mine), but it might blow the OP's budget. At that point it gets heavy to lift with the wort, may want a ball valve, full boil batches are harder to chill, etc. vs. an initial get into homebrew setup.

+1 on oxyclean - it's cheap and makes cleaning the carboy easier.

 

[trboyden]

That's why I suggested 1 gallon to start, or even 3 gallons. Most people have what they need laying around the house to do small batches. That's even how John Palmer demonstrates brewing in his book. If you start off small and like it, you're hooked. If you don't like it, you haven't sunk a whole lot of money in equipment you'll never use again.

Once you go to 5 gallons, it's really easy to blow a $200 budget with all the stuff you need. On the conservative side, what do you really need to get started with 5 gallons?

• 10 Gallon Boil Pot: $40
• Propane burner: $50
• Propane tank and first fill: $50
• 6.5 Gallon Fermenter Bucket: $15
• 6.5 Gallon Secondary Fermenter/Bottling Bucket: $15
• Mixing paddle: $10
• Large 1/2" auto-siphon: $10
• Hydrometer and test jar: $20
• Brewing Thermometer: $15
• Copper immersion chiller: $50
• Bottle Capper: $15
• 2 cases of beer bottles: $30
• Bottle caps: $10
• Star San: $8
• Oxiclean/Oxyclean: $10
• Extract ingredient kit: Avg. $40 each

I am at $388.00 right there with just one ingredient kit. Granted you can save a little bit on that with equipment bundles, but often you get smaller cheaper versions of the stuff you really need to do the job. For example, you'll get an auto-siphon in the kit, but it really is too short for a 6.5 gallon bucket. So you'll replace that with a bigger one. The included cleaning supplies are good for one batch, but you'll need to buy more. Etc... You could skimp on that list, but if you really want to make good beer, would you? I think that is a pretty essential list based on what I know now. Any homebrewer knows once you really get into making beer, there is no such thing as a budget.

 

[roesn]

This is what I ordered last night. Hopefully it looks better once posted... I'm on mobile and it's a bit jumbled together..

ItemSkuQtySubtotal
Gold Bottle Caps
Quantity
144
67721$3.49
Brewing Starter Kit with Plastic CarboyEK100281$89.99
Hydrometer (Triplescale)63851$6.99
Economy Digital Scale - 11 Lb. CapacityS66101$14.99
Free Midwest Instructional DVDDVDPromo1$0.00
Spring 2013 Midwest Catalogcatalog1$0.00
Nylon Boiling bag 8 x 9 in.63001$4.29
Liberty Cream Ale Micro Bru All Grain KitBK100911$14.99
Triple-A Amber Ale Micro Bru All Grain Beer Recipe KitBK100311$14.99
21" Stainless Steel Spoon63401$6.99
24" Stirring Spoon- plastic

 

[roesn]

Hopefully I'm not missing anything important. The only thing I can think of would be the Star San that I was going to order from more beer

 

[Gotthabrews]

I started out with the brewers best kit you an go to www.brewersbestkits.com to check it out the kit is real good and within your budget but what want included in my kit was the brew pot and paddle but ultimately it was a great investment and I still use it

 

[brewguyver]

This is what I ordered last night. Hopefully it looks better once posted... I'm on mobile and it's a bit jumbled together..

ItemSkuQtySubtotal
Gold Bottle Caps
Quantity
144
67721$3.49
Brewing Starter Kit with Plastic CarboyEK100281$89.99
Hydrometer (Triplescale)63851$6.99
Economy Digital Scale - 11 Lb. CapacityS66101$14.99
Free Midwest Instructional DVDDVDPromo1$0.00
Spring 2013 Midwest Catalogcatalog1$0.00
Nylon Boiling bag 8 x 9 in.63001$4.29
Liberty Cream Ale Micro Bru All Grain KitBK100911$14.99
Triple-A Amber Ale Micro Bru All Grain Beer Recipe KitBK100311$14.99
21" Stainless Steel Spoon63401$6.99
24" Stirring Spoon- plastic

Looks good! The only thing I see missing is the brew pot - if you have a big stock pot you should be ok.

Welcome to the hobby and good luck!

 

[roesn]

That was one of my concerns. Because all I have right now is a glass top stove that I would like to stick with for the time being, instead of buying some kind of gas burner. I know 7 gallons would be a large pot, but I would only be boiling 5 gallons of water at any point. What kind of pot is the best to use? Stainless steel? Aluminum?

 

[Gotthabrews]

I'm pretty sure mine is stainless and I've never had a problem on my electric stove I'm still new to brewing I've only been doing it for about a year but in that years time I normally make 10-15 gal a month

 

[brewguyver]

That was one of my concerns. Because all I have right now is a glass top stove that I would like to stick with for the time being, instead of buying some kind of gas burner. I know 7 gallons would be a large pot, but I would only be boiling 5 gallons of water at any point. What kind of pot is the best to use? Stainless steel? Aluminum?

If its an indoor stove I'd recommend a 3.5 - 4 gallon stainless or aluminum pot and partial boils. Unless you have gods gift to stoves, 5 gallons of liquid will be painful (long time to hit boil, tough to get rolling boil). I know friends who have high power burners on their gas stoves and do bigger boils, but that's rare.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

That was one of my concerns. Because all I have right now is a glass top stove that I would like to stick with for the time being, instead of buying some kind of gas burner. I know 7 gallons would be a large pot, but I would only be boiling 5 gallons of water at any point. What kind of pot is the best to use? Stainless steel? Aluminum?

Keep in mind that you will boil off/evaporate water during that hour boil. Usually 1-1.5gallons. So if you want to end up with 5 gallons you will need to be boiling 6-6.5 gallons of water.

That said I have an electric glass top and do full batch boils. Usually takes anywhere from 45minutes to an hour to get up to a rolling boil. I also use a 30qt aluminum turkey fryer pot that I got with a burner for like 35$. I think it was from target or walmart. Definitely need to use fermcap S if boiling 6.5gallons in a 7.5gallon pot. But it can be done. If not using foam control agents I would highly recommend a spray bottle and continual vigilance watching that pot until you hit your hot break.