new too his

[uptonparkfan]

after I done couple cooper's brews I am going too want too step up next level.
what sort stuff do I need and how much would it cost me.

 

[meatcleaver]

very tough to answer this question...
it's like any other hobby, you can spend as much as you like.
I do stove top biab 1.5-3 gal all grain & 5.5 gal partial mash in a 40 qt enameled iron canning pot & a grain bag. I bought the deluxe starter kit from Northern Brewer to get my fermenters, hydrometer, capper, etc. if you're on a tight budget Craigslist can be a great source for cheap gear.

 

[HopHeavy]

The next step might be experimenting with steeping grains on your next extract kit to make it unique... Or you might want to build a cooler mash tun to start mashing your own wort... Or you might want to drop 4-5 K on a scaled down commercial brew sculpture. Depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

 

[Sourz4life]

+1 on the steeping step. Its good to move slowly if you don't want to invest alot of cash right away. A common path is extract, then extract plus steeping specialty grains, BIAB, then all grain. Depending on what method you want to use or progress to will depend on your costs. You could drop pretty much infinite money on brewing supplies as you'll find out as you grow in batch sizes and techniques. You should at least expect to spend a few hundred when first starting.

 

[uptonparkfan]

well only done first brew not even tryed it yet.
prob do someone Cooper but different ones.try find home brew shop

 

[uptonparkfan]

just know that next step big because just doing basic poor in jacket mix leave.

 

[daggers_nz]

Cooper's kits are ass. The first thing you may want to do is fork out the extra $5 for decent dried yeast

 

[figgnewton]

I would just start experimenting with different recipes. Recipe kits are good to get started but the fun part is making up your own creations

 

[uptonparkfan]

all so new take time as only been doing it coiple weeks.i think get a couple basic brews done first.

 

[figgnewton]

most recipes are pretty much structured the same as far as the steps. Once you get the idea of that then you can start trying out different kinds of creativity.

 

[MaryB]

Most brew stores have their own kit line that is far better than the mass produced ick! Northern Brewer extract kits often have steeping grains which is a very basic step anyone can do and it really adds to the finished beer flavor. Basically you tie grains inside a bag and soak them while your brew water heats! You can step up a bit and depending on the grains soak at mash temps and gain a little extra sugar for your brew.

 

[Sadu]

As others have said, there are a lot of different ways you could go. If you are unsure then you should start with a method that doesn't require any special equipment.

One thing you will find is that the type of brewing you can do depends a lot on how good your heating source is. If you have a good gas stove, then you can probably do a 6 gallon batch full boil. If your stove sucks then a partial boil might be better. If you have the budget to buy an awesome outdoor gas burner or electric brew kit, great, otherwise you just learn to adapt your brew process to suit the stove element that you do have.

Here are some things you can buy that will be useful no matter which way you decide to brew...

10 gallon stock pot or 6 gallon if on a budget
Starsan
Hydrometer
good digital thermometer
digital scales
bottling bucket or second fermenter with tap
racking tube or autosiphon for transferring beer between vessels

All of those things are reasonably cheap, and will be useful for any brewing type.

If you want to go all grain, you should also start with...
grain bag to fit your kettle
Copper immersion chiller - these are a bit expensive but make brew day easier and faster.

Most types of extract brewing don't need the copper immersion chiller so this is one reason why extract is good to start with before moving to all-grain.