noob question about starter kits..

[EyePeeAy]

im sure this has been asked a million times, but im new to brewing and sort of new to the forum. what type of kit should i get? are there any pieces in particular that i will get with the kit that i should upgrade? are there certain things i should get extra of? are there any types of beer that would be easier to work with for a first time brewer?(i.e. maybe a certain type of ale will be easier to brew so to speak than maybe a hef or something?) i dont want to get the cheapest kit that my local supplier has that may not yield as good of a beer as another type of kit, but i dont have a ton of money to spend on this either. any advice would be greatly appreciated. ive been more than happy with the welcome ive received here on hbt and look forward to getting some great advice.

 

[scrambledegg81]

If you're talking about actual beer kits, Mr. Beer is probably the most popular "introduction" kit from what I've read. All ingredients included with detailed instructions.

If you meant homebrew kits (i.e. equipment), check with your local homebrew shop if you have one--otherwise there's a huge number of reputable online vendors. Any respectable homebrew store has their own deals on equipment or they make their own kits out of stuff they have in stock. Online vendors like Austin Homebrew Supply or Midwest also have their own starter equipment kits.

Have phun!

 

[unionrdr]

You pee whaaat? lolz. Welcome home home,maggot brain,come on in,cop a squat...(from the late,great Eddie Hazel). You need to get a fermenter/ a spigot,bottling bucket,dito on the spigot, A long stirring spoon,A double mesh fine strainer,Wing capper/bottle caps,PBW (cleaner),star-san (rinse free sanitizer),Bottle tree & vinator,Hydrometer & floating thermometer. Airlock,At least a 5G ssbrew kettle,A digital scale for measuring hops,DME's,etc,Bottle cleanin brush,a dobie.
I guess that's the essentials. Some things,like the bottle tree/vinator will make your life easier/faster. And a pale ale kit would be a good place to start. Simple & good. I think that's all...?

 

[mrk305]

Some of the kits come with carboys and some just come with buckets. The buckets are cheaper and lots of people don't secondary anyway, so the bucket style are fine. One thing you would want to upgrade to is an autosiphon. Most of the kits come with regular siphons, which work okay, but the autosiphon is a must have.

A digital thermometer that beeps when temps are reached would be an add on. Some kits come with floating themometers. Instead of watching the thermometer, I can do something else and wait for the beep.

I don't think my kit came with a hydrometer and a stand up tube to float it in. You need one.

You will need more sanitizer than comes in the kit.

 

[EyePeeAy]

thanks for all the responses guys. i think im picking up my kit tonight. im opting for one with the auto siphon. another quick question, has anybody stored their beer in growlers as opposed to 12 oz. bottles? i have a bunch kicking around with the caps and thought it might be easier than screwing around with 50 or so bottles.. anybody have any experience with this? thanks.

 

[Kaz]

Do a search on bottling with growlers. A lot of folks have found that the glass can't take the pressure that can build up while the beer carbonates.

 

[Chia]

you will not get the growler to seal. let me tell you, if have an extra frige and tapper (i had one from commercial beers) it is much easier to get a keg than to bottle. if not then you have to have non-twist tops and cap them

 

[EyePeeAy]

ok cool. i figured the seal on a growler might be better than that of a twist off bottle but i can see where it probably wont be as good as a pop off cap style bottle. im just going to have to deal with all the bottles, thats all lol. thanks again guys.

 

[Germelli1]

I have always bottled some in growlers, but I use the swing top ones from breweries and homebrew stores. For your first kit, this is how I started:

Got a 4 gallon pot from the local thrift store
Bought a kit from LHBS that came with fermenter, hydrometer, bottling bucket, bottling brush, "Sanatizer" (that I later found out was actually only a cleaner), capper and stick on thermometer
Then two brewers best kits that included all ingredients, priming sugar and caps.
A couple mouslin bags for $.40 from the homebrew store

If I could have done it again I would have gotten and auto siphon, actual sanatizer (although I never had a problem with using the cleanser "B-Brite") and 4 fermenters from the start

PS. if you are on city water and arne't sure if they use chloromites or not to treat the water, pick up a bottle of Camden tablets to treat water a day before to avoid medicinal rubbery tasting beer!

 

[EyePeeAy]

I have always bottled some in growlers, but I use the swing top ones from breweries and homebrew stores. For your first kit, this is how I started:

Got a 4 gallon pot from the local thrift store
Bought a kit from LHBS that came with fermenter, hydrometer, bottling bucket, bottling brush, "Sanatizer" (that I later found out was actually only a cleaner), capper and stick on thermometer
Then two brewers best kits that included all ingredients, priming sugar and caps.
A couple mouslin bags for $.40 from the homebrew store

If I could have done it again I would have gotten and auto siphon, actual sanatizer (although I never had a problem with using the cleanser "B-Brite") and 4 fermenters from the start

PS. if you are on city water and arne't sure if they use chloromites or not to treat the water, pick up a bottle of Camden tablets to treat water a day before to avoid medicinal rubbery tasting beer!

im planning on picking up the sanitizer seperately, that way there is no confusion. i believe my city water does have flouride in it, not sure on chlorine, i could just pick up one of those big jugs of spring water to use right? thats what i was planning on.

 

[Germelli1]

im planning on picking up the sanitizer seperately, that way there is no confusion. i believe my city water does have flouride in it, not sure on chlorine, i could just pick up one of those big jugs of spring water to use right? thats what i was planning on.

That is what I did as well...make sure to pick up 6 gallons since you will probably boil off almost a gallon. Chlorine is fine, you just have to let it evaporate off, but chloromites are in there for the long run so it takes come chemical additions to get it out!

 

[EyePeeAy]

another question, what do you guys use for carbonating? do you use the little pills in the bottles or do you use a larger amount after you transfer from primary container to bottling container?? i figure it would be easier to add it into the whole batch upon transfering rather than each individual bottle.. but im sure ill get some good advice. thanks.

 

[Germelli1]

Bulk priming is easier plus I can buy dextrose in bulk from the HBS for $.79/pound! Make sure you measure it out by weight and not volume for consistant results!

 

[EyePeeAy]

got my kit last night! gonna start making my american wheat tonight! super excited. i have another quick question, maybe not for this time but for future reference. say i wanted to add a bit of flavor to my beer kit. would i add like orange peels(for example) to the boil, or would i add them to secondary? how would i get the best results for flavoring?

 

[Germelli1]

got my kit last night! gonna start making my american wheat tonight! super excited. i have another quick question, maybe not for this time but for future reference. say i wanted to add a bit of flavor to my beer kit. would i add like orange peels(for example) to the boil, or would i add them to secondary? how would i get the best results for flavoring?

There are differnet ways to go about doing this. Orange zest and ground corriander are common additions to wits. Since I have never done this personally, the best advice I can give it to check out some of the recipes posted on here and see how they do it! Here is one way to do it:

Soaked zest of two organic sweet oranges in 1 cup vodka for 2 weeks. strained and added at bottling.

 

[unionrdr]

You could add the zest of 2 oranges to the last 10-15 minutes of the boil.

 

[EyePeeAy]

You could add the zest of 2 oranges to the last 10-15 minutes of the boil.

thats what i was thinking, but i wasnt sure if i would get the best results. oh well, maybe ill try it, but then again i think ill let my first batch turn out the way its supposed to.

 

[unionrdr]

You can also add it in a hop sack in primary after FG is reached. Same amount,maybe 2 weeks?...

 

[EyePeeAy]

You can also add it in a hop sack in primary after FG is reached. Same amount,maybe 2 weeks?...

now would i leave the whole sack in there until i bottle?

 

[PIGMAN]

got my kit last night! gonna start making my american wheat tonight! super excited. i have another quick question, maybe not for this time but for future reference. say i wanted to add a bit of flavor to my beer kit. would i add like orange peels(for example) to the boil, or would i add them to secondary? how would i get the best results for flavoring?

Just my $.02, brew a couple of kits without additions, etc. and get your system down. This way if something goes wrong, (which it probably won"t), you won't be wondering if it was the additions that caused it. You need to watch your fermentation temps with this weather. I believe wheat beers handle higher temps, but I don't know about these extemes. I assume Ma. is not much cooler than NY. Do a search for swamp coolers, they're cheap and effective. Good luck. By the way, you can always add crushed fresh fruit to your glass prior to pouring a wheat beer, and that adds a nice flavor.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,you'd leave the sack in there till time to bottle.