Picking a Kit

[DouglassBrewer]

Hey everyone, just going through the final steps of finalizing what I want to buy to get started brewing and was looking for some advice:

As of now I was planning on getting the middle kit from this store: Culver City Home Brewing Supply. However I have seen quite a few websites that I could just build my own kit with items they sell.

I know I will have to get a few extra items like the boil pot and ingredients and bottles. Does anyone have a review of this kit or a suggestion for building this one on my own instead of the pre-packaged? One huge advantage is that this store is within driving distance from me so I don't have to deal with shipping.

Let me know what you think.

 

[mojotele]

Now that I'm more experienced, I think the equipment kits are kind of weak. You get so much stuff you don't need and don't get things that you really do. I put together a kit of my own for my friend and it actually came out cheaper when only considering stuff typically put in a kit. Here's what I recommend, though, for a complete equipment set:

5 gallon aluminum pot
Floating thermometer or other type of thermometer to measure steeping temps
Digital scale
Long plastic spoon
Auto siphon
Plastic tubing (for auto siphon/bottling wand)
6.5 gallon fermenting bucket with lid
Fermometer for fermenting bucket
3 piece airlock
Hydrometer
Bottling bucket with spout
Bottling wand with spring loaded tip (connect to spout on bottling bucket with a small section of your plastic tubing)
Capper (my wing capper works just fine, but some people don't like those)
Oxiclean Free or generic sodium percarbonate cleaner (I use "Sun Cleaner" sold at Dollar General)
StarSan
5 gallon bucket for StarSan (mix 0.75 oz of StarSan with 3.75 gallons of distilled water, store in bucket. I use the orange buckets from Home Depot)
Spray bottle for StarSan (fill the bottle from the 5 gallon bucket above)
Large plastic bin for soaking stuff in Oxiclean/controlling fermentation temps

If you're planning on working with liquid yeasts, make sure you get:

2000 mL Erlenmeyer flask
Yeast nutrient

I think that's all stuff you'll find truly useful for partial boil extract brews other than ingredients, caps, priming sugar, so on.

 

[jerryalan]

Now that I'm more experienced, I think the equipment kits are kind of weak. You get so much stuff you don't need and don't get things that you really do. I put together a kit of my own for my friend and it actually came out cheaper. Here's what I recommend:

5 gallon aluminum pot
Floating thermometer or other type of thermometer to measure steeping temps
Digital scale
Long plastic spoon
Auto siphon
Plastic tubing
6.5 gallon fermenting bucket with lid
Fermometer for fermenting bucket
3 piece airlock
Hydrometer
Bottling bucket with spout
Bottling wand with spring loaded tip
Capper (my wing capper works just fine, but some people don't like those)
Oxiclean Free or generic sodium percarbonate cleaner
StarSan
5 gallon bucket for StarSan (mix 0.75 oz of StarSan with 3.75 gallons of distilled water, store in bucket)
Spray bottle for StarSan (fill the bottle from the 5 gallon bucket above)
Large plastic bin for soaking stuff in Oxiclean/controlling fermentation temps

If you're planning on working with liquid yeasts, make sure you get:

2000 mL Erlenmeyer flask
Yeast nutrient

I think that's all stuff you'll find truly useful for partial boil extract brews.

Good suggestions!

My two cents: I would suggest getting just one bucket to use for bottling and get a 6.5 gallon carboy and a blow-off tube instead. If you have space in the fridge to do a cold crash you can skip this bucket as well and bottle right out of the carboy. It'll last much longer than the bucket if you take care of it and avoid thermal shock. Also, I haven't used a bucket for StarSan in a long time. I just use a spray bottle and soak everything and never have problems. If I remember off the top of my head I mix 1/4 tsp StarSan for every 25oz of water.

 

[ongreystreet]

I am getting ready to buy my first kit. I've noticed that the save money with a kit thing seems like BS.

Try putting one together piece by piece and then compare the price and what you get, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Kits say stuff like tubing, airlock, funnel, spoon, hydrometer, thermometer. What size tubing and how much? What type of airlock? What size funnel and does it come with a strainer? What type of spoon, metal, plastic, size? And so on.

I put together mock pricing for individual items vs. kit at my homebrew store. I can get a much better selection of equipment for about $10-15 more, this includes starting with 6+ gal. carboys and buckets.

 

[mojotele]

If you get a carboy or better bottle, just make sure you either get a Brew Hauler or a milk crate. The carboy handles are crap, and you don't want to carry a full carboy or better bottle bare handed.

 

[mojotele]

Also, I haven't used a bucket for StarSan in a long time. I just use a spray bottle and soak everything and never have problems. If I remember off the top of my head I mix 1/4 tsp StarSan for every 25oz of water.

Good cleaning will go a long way, but with the length of time StarSan lasts using distilled water there's no reason not to have it around. Especially for people just starting.

 

[jerryalan]

If you get a carboy or better bottle, just make sure you either get a Brew Hauler or a milk crate. The carboy handles are crap, and you don't want to carry a full carboy or better bottle bare handed.

+1

Your spouse and your back will thank you for this!

 

[DouglassBrewer]

Awesome points guys. I live near USC in downtown LA. Does anyone know of a good location to buy equipment from (either online or a place I could drive to) that has a good online site that I could do pricing on? I would like to do as you guys suggest and write out a list of exactly what I need to start, then build it in a shopping cart to see if I can beat the price the kit offers and the quality of equipment.

 

[NewBrewB]

I have been REALLY happy with my 8 gal brew-kettle (with an added thermometer) from MoreBeer.com. I would also think that joining a local brew club could help you meet people that already have things for sale, have extra supplies they don't need and would give you for free, or are looking to 'upgrade' to bigger brews and want to off-load their older equipment for cheap if it is going to someone who will carry on the tradition.

I don't think you really mentioned your budget in your message but that is the biggest factor in what equipment you choose. For instance, if you buy a turkey-friar for the burner, you find yourself with a 5 gal aluminum pot...some people don't like the idea of brewing with aluminum but this is a corner you can cut. Then again, if money is no object, maybe you skip the 5 gal pot step and go straight to a high-quality kettle that can do 10 gal batches (15 gal pot for boilover space) which will last you a lot longer in your brewing lifetime. *shrug* I need coffee.

 

[DouglassBrewer]

@NewBrewB: Well I am a college student, so it isn't that I have tons of money to throw around. The convenience of the kit is that I can just put it on the Christmas list and be fairly certain that I will get it. Giving the fam a laundry list of stuff is a bit different and I don't really like just asking for cash. I don't want to cut too many corners, but I plan on starting with partial extract boils at first but am very interested in getting into partial grain brews pretty quickly. I think i would be able to get away with a 5gal pot to begin with.

 

[jerryalan]

Good cleaning will go a long way, but with the length of time StarSan lasts using distilled water there's no reason not to have it around. Especially for people just starting.

Ah, sorry. I didn't realize you used the bucket to store the StarSan mixture. That makes a lot of sense.

 

[Flomaster]

ok I'll bite....

I just got my "KIT" yesterday

its a BrewMasters Warehouse SILVER kit. http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0101895/silver-starter-kit

every thing it came with I NEEDED to have, buying it piece by piece anywhere would have been more money.

I priced out the same items on MidWestSupplies and my total is 119.80 so $10 more.

I priced out on brewmasters warehouse each item and my total was $113 not much more than the "kit"

I guess the convenience of "kits" is you can just buy a kit and get most every thing you need.

you aren't saving tons of money like Gieko, but its a one stop shop for a beginner
-=Jason=-

 

[DouglassBrewer]

What really bothers me is that every kit is without a pot! Why on earth would they do that? Since it is for Christmas, I think I will just ask for the local "2nd Tier" kit. Grandpa is most likely to get it for me and I don't want to have him dealing with all the crap in a separate list. Then I can just add in the small things I need on my own. The thought of opening a aluminum pot on Christmas morning makes me smile tho.

 

[DouglassBrewer]

Ok so I'm asking for the kit I linked earlier. If I'm correct, then the only thing I have to add is a brew-pot. I'm just going to ask for a 5gal aluminum pot to start with.

 

[NewBrewB]

What really bothers me is that every kit is without a pot! Why on earth would they do that?

That's not entirely true. I got Kit #5 from MoreBeer.com and they knocked off a significant discount so basically the shipping was free. Two of my friends got Kits #4 and the kettle is a SERIOUS quality product. The only thing I had to buy separately was a 3" thermometer to screw into the pre-drilled hole. I LOVE that company.

 

[Patirck]

I live sort of close to you in Glendale. I have been to the culver city place a few times. There is another in Woodland Hills off the 101 and Shoup call the Homebrew wine beer and cheesmaking shop. It is also the home of the Maltose Falcons homebrew club. I would at least check that one out as well. I think they have a bigger selection than the culver city place. Beyond that, I have to agree with the others so far that say that you get a lot better stuff for the same $$ or a few (very few) more by buying the stuff individually rather than a kit. I started out with a kit and in the first few months spent about $50 buying stuff that was much better than the kit for a few dollars more (like an auto siphon instead of the cheapy racking cane. If you want a good xmas gift and want to keep it simple - ask for a propane turkey fryer with an 7.5 or 8 gallon pot (costco is where I got mine). You can get most of the bits and bobs like airlocks, bungs, hoses and the like for a few dollars. For a fermenter, I wish I would have just gotten a few ale pails instead of the heavy glass carboy. This is mentioned in many other posts here but most agree that fermenting in a plastic bucket for a few weeks to a few months is all that is ever necesary for 95% of most home brew. If you really want to do this on the cheap ask for some food buckets from a local restaurant - they usually throw a bunch away on a weekly basis. I wish I would have waited and just bought corney kegs for everything.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

Awesome points guys. I live near USC in downtown LA. Does anyone know of a good location to buy equipment from (either online or a place I could drive to) that has a good online site that I could do pricing on? I would like to do as you guys suggest and write out a list of exactly what I need to start, then build it in a shopping cart to see if I can beat the price the kit offers and the quality of equipment.

L.A. is not really a homebrew city. I buy most of my stuff (well all of it) online. Even with shipping it works out way cheaper than Culver Brew Supply.

Try....
www.austinhomebrew.com
www.northernbrewer.com
www.brewmasterswarehouse.com

All out of state, so you save the 9.75% sales tax.

 

[DouglassBrewer]

@Patirck: I'm not saying I disagree with you. I know I could put together a package that is exactly what I need for the lowest price. But the kit gets me pretty darn close (so I only need 1 extra thing). And if it is going to be a Christmas present, I would rather make it easier on everyone. Plus then I know what I will probably get and be more prepared to fill in the holes. It would suck to just get a siphon, bottles and a stirring spoon and have to fill in the rest because the fam decided I needed shirts more or something.

 

[Patirck]

@Patirck: I'm not saying I disagree with you. I know I could put together a package that is exactly what I need for the lowest price. But the kit gets me pretty darn close (so I only need 1 extra thing). And if it is going to be a Christmas present, I would rather make it easier on everyone. Plus then I know what I will probably get and be more prepared to fill in the holes. It would suck to just get a siphon, bottles and a stirring spoon and have to fill in the rest because the fam decided I needed shirts more or something.

I completly understand but if your going to cook on a propane burner I still think a turkey fryer would make a better gift than the kit.

As for ordering online instead of the local shops - there is a lot of merit to that. Everything is cheaper online.

 

[DouglassBrewer]

Well Christmas has come and gone and here is the result:

I got the kit I mentioned in my previous posts! But my family had to return one of my other gifts (something they found out I already had) so they went back and threw in a bunch of add-ons that really filled out the kit nicely. Stirring spoon, strainer, hydrometer, and my first brewing kit (extract, hops, etc.). Also, found out that a few years ago, my mom bought a 4 piece set of aluminum cook pots and has only been using the smallest 2. The 2 biggest ones have been in storage and are being gifted to me. That includes a 5 and 4 gal. size I believe!

Very excited to start brewing. Unfortunately I have the flu so I can't brew right now. A thorough disappointment.

 

[jerryalan]

Congratulations! If you have a strong enough heat source to use the 5-gallon pot you could to 3.5 to 4 gallon boils and get better hop utilization!

If you wanted to flirt with all-grain you could do 2.5 gallon batches with what you have. Use the 5 gallon pot as the boil kettle, and the 4 gallon pot as the MLT. You could heat your strike water in the boil kettle and the sparge water in another pot (or increase the grain bill and skip the sparge).

Happy brewing!

 

[lstewartff]

you need to look around some more that kit is kinda pricey for what you get. i like the ones at midwest supply, they have one for about the same price but more in it, including 12oz bottles and an extract kit. just my 2 cents

 

[DouglassBrewer]

We have a basic gas range in our apartment. However one of them is on gas-steriods or something and goes up to about 200% of what the other ranges do. I plan on using that one for heating my water.

The first kit I was given is extract but also has some grains to use (guessing partial grain brew then right?). Didn't get a grain bag but did get two nice strainers. I want to try the extract brews a few times before I dabble in all grain. Need some experience first.

 

[jerryalan]

You probably got some grains for steeping.

 

[flabyboy]

If you get a carboy or better bottle, just make sure you either get a Brew Hauler or a milk crate. The carboy handles are crap, and you don't want to carry a full carboy or better bottle bare handed.

I've been carrying them barehanded for 10 years or so. Never thought there was another option until I started reading thru these forums. Up and down stairs even. Opps

 

[mojotele]

Unfortunately I have the flu so I can't brew right now. A thorough disappointment.

Sounds more like you have a lack of commitment to me. A real brewer would be making beer even if he had ebola and call it Hemmorhagic Ale.

 

[DouglassBrewer]

Haha that sounds like a challenge to me! Well I may end up doing the brew in the next few days, rain/shine or sickness. Just looking at all the gear gets me stoked!