Noob dying to start brewing...

[illin8]

...but I've never done it before. I do LOVE beer, especially microbrews and home brews (non-domestic type stuff), as all of you do I'm sure. I helped (when I was 10 LOL) my grandfather make wine and still have access to that equipment...problem is, he has four (at least) 15 gallon (I think, they stand about 30" off the floor and are about 20" wide at the bottom) glass carboys with 'catch' baskets. I have a feeling that those would be too large for me right now though, so...

What should I do as far as getting myself set up? Do I buy one of those deluxe kits or would I be better off piecing it all together? Any ideas would be great...my house has a 24' x 24' crawl space (full concrete foundation & floor) with about 4' of headroom...being below grade and dark, it stays consistent temps 60-70 and would be the ideal 'brew cave'...I'd like to get some beer ready for summer enjoyment and maybe even use those large carboys if I succeed and am feeling adventurous!

Also, I have a Weber grill with a side burner, I'm thinking that it won't be sufficient to boil and should look at getting something beefier. Am I correct?

Thanks.

Parker

 

[Got Trub?]

Parker - welcome to the site and hopefully to the hobby. I'd recommend getting a starter kit from your local homebrew supply store or from an online store. A large canning pot can get you going on your stove with extract recipes. I'd recommend starting with extract kits from your LHBS or from places like Northern Brewer, More Beer or Williams Brewing. This would get you started with a minimal $ investment until you see if you want to invest further $ and time into the hobby. Like many hobbies the $ can quickly add up once you are addicted.

GT

 

[Rick_R]

Hey, Parker - welcome aboard!

To get started, you can look at these sites (among others) for a beginner's kit of equipment:

MoreBeer
Austin Homebrew Supply
HopTech
Midwest Homebrew

Normally the equipment kits do not come with a brew pot. For partial boil extract with grains, five gallons is nice but you can easily do it in as small as a three gallon (12 quart) pot as well. Just boil water and extract to equal about 2.5 gallons of water and top off. You don't need a secondary fermenter but they are nice to have; personally I prefer the plastic Better Bottle carboys over the glass and I think most of the suppliers will substitute (may affect price, I don't know). But others will (correctly) tell you that with care you can use glass for years without any problems . . . I just worry about the high consequences that might occur should there be a slip with a full glass carboy. You will also need a grain bag for steeping the specialty grains, though you can "brew your own" (pun intended) with a large piece of cheesecloth.


As to what to brew first, I would start with an "extract with grains" ale kit from a homebrew supply house that puts together tried and true recipe ingredients for you. The links below are to the index of recipe kits from some online suppliers:

MoreBeer
Austin Homebrew Supply
HopTech
Midwest Homebrew

Pick an ale that sounds like what you would want to drink and order the recipe kit. You will need a yeast to go with it -- for starting out, order a dry yeast and get a couple of spare packages.

I would also take a look at the site where John Palmer has the first edition of his book How to Brew available online. The first of the links below is for brewing a very simple extract, a Cincinnati Pale Ale. The second link talks about adding specialty grains. You can use whatever ingredients kit you buy and follow the process Palmer outlines.

Extract Recipe
Specialty Grains

The above sections will get you started, but the more of the book you read the more you will understand what you are doing. I would suggest ordering the book as well. It gets you the latest edition and it is handy to have around. The one thing I would ignore in the Palmer specialty grain section is the line on removing the steeped grains: " Remove the grain bag from the pot, giving it a squeeze to drain the excess wort and avoid dripping on the stove." Don't squeeze it; I think doing so can cause harsh tannins to be released into the wort. What I (now) do is to put the grain bag in a strainer that I sit over the brew kettle and let drain for about a minute.

There is also a Homebrewing Wiki here at homebrewtalk.com: Wiki

Lots of information there. And, of course, these forums are great for asking questions.

Last, as well as the above links to online retailers, if you are fortunate enough to have a local home brew supply store you should definitely check it out.

Good luck!

Rick

 

[Nurmey]

I see that the guys gave you the scoop on equipment so I guess all that's left to say is...
Welcome and get brewing!

 

[drsocc]

yeah - brew like crazy. i try and brew every two weeks to keep a continuous flow of homebrew in my house.

 

[illin8]

Thanks guys, I have already checked out most of those websites, including reading John Palmer's how-to web page (about 1/2 of it) and a TON of posts from HBT.

What would you recommend for a brew pot and burner? I don't want to do this in my kitchen on the new SS appliances (my wife thinks I have enough hobbies already) and would like to do it outside. As I said before, I have a weber grill with a side burner, but I don't think it'll produce enough heat for a good boil, maybe it could for 3 gallons but I'm not sure. I'ver heard there are turkey fryer combo's that can be used. Any ideas/suggestions? Can anyone recommend a reputable kit? I assume I should go with glass carboys?

Thanks for the help, I can't friggin wait!!

Parker

 

[s3n8]

Go check out Lowes of HD for a turkey fryer. I tried the side burner on my grill after a lazy boil on the stove. Needless to say, I went and got a turkey cooker. I found one for 26 on closeout in January of February I think.

I like glass carboys for fermenting. Plenty of people use buckets, so YMMV. I like to be able to peek in and see how things are progressing. Its harder to do in a bucket, and I don't feel like buckets seal up very well. At least mine doesn't. I use my plastic ale pail to keep sanitizer (starsan) solution in. It comes in handy during brew-day just keep the spoon, siphon, hoses, etc. and drop them back in when you are done. Makes cleanup easy.

Couple other things to keep in mind from a recently addicted noob...

Practice Patience (Its damn hard, but necessary for enjoyment of the final product).
Starsan and Oxyclean-free are great (I have never used a carboy brush).
A bottling bucket and bottle-tree & vinator make a tedious task much more bearable.
As soon as you think you have everything you need, you will need something else.

 

[z987k]

where are you located, we might be able to give recommendations on where to shop based on location at well.

 

[illin8]

I'm located in Rhode Island. From a quick search that I did, I couldn't come up with any local shops near me. If anyone has any input or ideas, I'm all ears.

Thanks again.

Parker

 

[mr. wiggles]

I live in Rhode Island as well and i shop at the basement brew-ha in Providence near the mall. It is a small shop that will have everything you need.