New to the hobby!!

[BrewinBuckeye]

Hello All,

I have been following for a little time now and I have decided to join. I would really like to make my own beer someday, but for now I am just trying to soak up the information on How To. I guess my first question is what kit would you recommend that I get? I have looked at various starter kits online but I just dont know which one to get...

Any input would be great...and any input on good sources for me to learn how to brew would be appreciated too even though this site is full of knowledge!!

Thanks in advance and im glad to be here.

-John

 

[hypergolic]

I enjoyed the book "How to Brew".

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381888/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[malkore]

www.howtobrew.com is a good starter although the full printed book is best in the long run.

most of the "two bucket" starter kits work well. One for primary and the other has a spigot for bottling.

 

[Brasco20]

Id say about any starter will do the trick, put a link here for one you are looking at and we can tell you if it has everything that you need. The book i have is " The Joy of HomeBrewing" full of good info. As your reading the book, if you come across something that needs further explanation just ask here.

 

[BrewinBuckeye]

sounds good everyone! Thanks for the replies. I am looking at getting this kit http://www.homebrewers.com/product/STARTERPLUSKIT/Beer-Making-Starter-Plus-Kit-with-Ingredients.html .

 

[eibbor]

That is a good kit. The price seems a little high to me though. If you get this kit or another one with a bottling bucket, make sure you read Revvy's bottling post. He has a great setup for bottling. I dont have the bottling bucket so I have never tried his method, but if i get one, I will probably use his setup.

 

[Hannable1975]

I Just posted this thread - maybe it would be some help.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/new-brewers-collection-217520/

 

[dabaki]

I can say as someone with not much knowledge but with a love for beer, that whatever kit you get you should go ahead and add another fermenter. Grab another bucket or carboy (whichever you choose) and a few extra of the cheap stuff, bungs, airlocks and such. As soon as you brew your first batch, you'll be wanting to do another. Then, you'll start trying to convince yourself that it's absolutely fine to bottle after a week. In fact, you'll be trying to convince your wife and all your friends that its just fine to bottle it after three days and sell it at the local bar. Patience, unfortunately, is something they don't sell at northern brewer.

I'm now trying to figure out who said this was a hobby. It's not. It's an ADDICTION.

 

[Hermit]

Some people have posted kit directions that turned out to be flat out wrong. I can't think that you would be too far from a home brew club anywhere you live in Ohio. Brewing with someone is a good first step and will save you a lot of grief and aggravation in the long run. Oh yeah. Money too.

 

[RM-MN]

I think that there are 2 kits you need to start. A basic 2 bucket with the racking cane, hydrometer, and bottle capper and a recipe kit to get you a start with the kitchen chemistry part. The kits I have used come with a set of instructions that are pretty good at explaining what to do and when to do it with the exception that the ones I used said to leave it in the fermenter for a week. That should be changed to 2 to 3 weeks in the fermenter. Once you have a few brewing sessions behind you, you can add more equipment to customize for what you want to end up with. For instance, I wanted to add fruit to my brew so I bought a secondary. I've used it 3 times and may use it again next fall but it certainly isn't an essential piece of equipment for the majority of my brews.

 

[Delorean1981]

I've seen this kit in action and it is super simple.

http://makebeer.net/item.asp?idProduct=1&idCategory=1&idSubCategory=0

I would agree that if you do get addicted (most likely) I would invest in a second bucket or carboy.