Purchasing All the Required Home Brew Components, Need Help/Judgement

[aTeam]

I am a complete novice to beer brewing, but I have done some reading and I'm ready to jump in with both feet. I've helped my brother in the past but he's been out of it for a long time (10+ years). I feel like I've read more now than he did back when he brewed lol. For me, I'm looking for a lifestyle change. My friends and I have always said we'd love to own a business and when a coworker at my deadend job brought up the idea of owning a brewery my brains gears started moving. I understand the whole "oh I can cook, I should start a restaurant" mentality and how you need business sense and all the associated abilities, so if I'm up for it some day I'll try to swing some financing. Someday I'd love to own a brewery, but I figure the first step is to see if I can brew a good beers for a few years and make my own recipes. Best case I someday own my own business, worst case I have fun brewing beer. I'll take those odds

Amazon Shopping List - I'd like to purchase this all within 24 hours. I'm eager to get going but I figured I'd run it by veterans and try to get some advice. I plan on brewing 5 gallon batches.
Brew Pot
Wort Chiller
Colander

Strainer
Scrub Brush
Stir Spoon
Grain Bag

Thermometer
Hydrometer

Carboy - 6 Gallon
Stoppers
Air Lock
Carboy Brush
Carboy Handle

Syphon
Tubing

Bottles
Caps
Capper

Star San
Sprayers
Fermcap-s

Total = $450

I figure decent starter kits are around $200. Plus I need the pot and accessories, I'll pay extra for the wort chiller. Figure the extra $250 is well spent. I've always been of the mantra "buy nice, don't buy twice" and I figure this will cover all the bases. My ingredients will be sourced from a nearby market in Hoboken NJ

 

[Dixon9717]

Didn't see a bottling bucket on your list and whatever size boil kettle you choose will determine how big of batches you want to brew. And check out YouTube for brewing videos.

 

[jrcrilly]

There are a few $5 items in that list priced at $15. You could save $100 buying a morebeer super delux kit at about $350 (free shipping). You'd need to add a bag for BIAB but you'd have the bottling bucket. What heat source are you planning to use? Are you sure that kettle is large enough for 5 gallon BIAB?

 

[PADave]

Get at least a 10 gallon kettle for 5 gallon batches. Also do yourself a favor and get a wilserbrewer BIAB from the start, they are top notch.

 

[madscientist451]

I've bought many used brewing items on craigslist, mostly glass carboys and kegs but you sometimes see entire brewing setups on there, you need to know prices, not everything on craigslist is a good deal.
To make the jump from "OK" beer to good beer you need to control your fermentation temperature with a freezer/temp controller or even something simple like a box with frozen water bottles. Check out the low cost DIY temp control set ups on you tube.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YG4v4exhxQ[/ame]

Put a few "Free" items on your list:
The Book "how to brew" by John Palmer
Get involved with local homebrew clubs (might be annual dues)
Go to small startup nano breweries in your area, ask lots of questions.
Listen to all the brewing podcasts on the brewing network, basic beer radio,
beersmith, experimental homebrewing.....Good Luck!!

 

[Redlantern]

For what it is worth, if you are using the mesh bag, the strainer and colander are not needed.
Use a Speidel Plastic Fermenter , big mouth bubbler, or Better Bottle instead of the carboy (a broken carboy is both dangerous and tragic) For me, a larger opening at the top makes it easier to clean. Also, when transferring cool wort into the fermenter, I have a mesh bag clipped to the opening as my strainer - making one person brewing simpler.

You may want a digital thermometer rather than glass as they do not break and leave glass shards everywhere.

Find a hydrometer. Did not see that on the list

How do you plan on boiling wort? If you are running a 5-gal batch, a normal stove top will work, but boy is it slow. Turkey fryers are inexpensive

How to you plan on brewing? I do not see a mash tun or hot liquor tank. If you are doing brew in a bag, you will probably want a bigger pot than 8 gal. What size batches do you plan on running?

I imagine you are as anxious as the rest of were to brew, but slow down a bit. Relax. Watch a few You-Tube videos on brewing a pick off their ideas. If you are serious about the buy nice or buy twice philosophy, do this last bit first. Keep coming in here and ask a few more questions over the next few days then go for it.

 

[govner1]

I am a complete novice to beer brewing, but I have done some reading and I'm ready to jump in with both feet. I've helped my brother in the past but he's been out of it for a long time (10+ years). I feel like I've read more now than he did back when he brewed lol. For me, I'm looking for a lifestyle change. My friends and I have always said we'd love to own a business and when a coworker at my deadend job brought up the idea of owning a brewery my brains gears started moving. I understand the whole "oh I can cook, I should start a restaurant" mentality and how you need business sense and all the associated abilities, so if I'm up for it some day I'll try to swing some financing. Someday I'd love to own a brewery, but I figure the first step is to see if I can brew a good beers for a few years and make my own recipes. Best case I someday own my own business, worst case I have fun brewing beer. I'll take those odds

Amazon Shopping List - I'd like to purchase this all within 24 hours. I'm eager to get going but I figured I'd run it by veterans and try to get some advice. I plan on brewing 5 gallon batches.
Brew Pot
Wort Chiller
Colander

Strainer
Scrub Brush
Stir Spoon
Grain Bag

Thermometer
Hydrometer

Carboy - 6 Gallon
Stoppers
Air Lock
Carboy Brush
Carboy Handle

Syphon
Tubing

Bottles
Caps
Capper

Star San
Sprayers
Fermcap-s

Total = $450

I figure decent starter kits are around $200. Plus I need the pot and accessories, I'll pay extra for the wort chiller. Figure the extra $250 is well spent. I've always been of the mantra "buy nice, don't buy twice" and I figure this will cover all the bases. My ingredients will be sourced from a nearby market in Hoboken NJ

I'd advise a ten gallon BK especially if you're planning on AG in future. I'd recommend a better quality pot, too. Take a look at Update International (SS 40). Also, I notice you have sanitizer (StarSan) listed but no cleanser. You'll need some B-Brite or PBW & don't forget some BKF for scrubbing your BK.

 

[Bobby_M]

10 gallon pot
If glass carboy, get a 6.5 gallon and put it in a plastic milk crate the moment you get it and leave it in there evermore.
Fast Rack Bottle drying and storage rack.
Vinator bottle rinser (for squirt sanitizing bottles quickly)

 

[Newsman]

What everyone else has said about glass carboys -- DON'T DO IT!!! Sure they're nice and sanitary, but if they break there's a good chance you'll end up in the ER because of it. Go with a Plastic BMB or such. And yes, turkey fryers are very inexpensive. Just make sure you have a spare propane tank, because Murphy was an optimist and you WILL run out of propane in the middle of a boil sometime if you don't have a spare tank.

 

[agrazela]

OP, where are you located? Some members (myself included) may be looking to get rid of some of the stuff on your list. Used and local could be a good way to go, especially with your 24hr deadline!

NM, I see you said Hoboken. I'm sorry. Truly, truly sorry.

 

[mongoose33]

I started brewing at the end of November, so consider this "newbie" experience by someone who just went through what you're doing.

I think you'd be miles ahead to get a kit from someplace like Northern Brewer and then fill out any additional pieces as you need them. Buying one at a time from Amazon is not the most cost-effective way to go. You can use the dollars saved for either a better boil kettle or a better propane burner or both.

I just finished my fifth batch Saturday. I'm using the Big Mouth Bubbler and I'm sold on plastic for fermenters, in no small part because of the danger of using glass carboys. Further you can reach inside them to clean (I can clean mine in about 2 minutes, lay them on the side next to the sink, spray out the stuff, add some PBW, and with a rag get it spotless).

In fact, I bought a second BMB so I can have two fermenters going at the same time--which I do right now.

My burner is 54,000 BTUs. I wish I had one of the banjo burners to speed things up a bit--in my limited experience, it's just barely enough for boiling six gallons.

****************

If you can wait just a bit, Northern Brewer has 20-percent off sales here and there. Use it to buy a kit or a boil kettle. I bought my Megapot at 20 percent off. I used the money saved for the "Mad Brewer" upgrade which included a hydrometer and cylinder, some brewer chemicals additions and a copy of Palmer's "How to Brew."

I added a long stainless steel spoon, a double-mesh strainer, a Megapot 1.2 w/ thermometer and ball valve, and I was good to go.

One added bonus to the kit is that it includes an extract recipe, so I was able to get started right away and I didn't have to worry about ingredients while I learned the process.

****************

Finally and this often goes without saying, when I start a new hobby I often try to cheap it out--and regret it later. Get the bigger pot as some have suggested, and don't cheap out.

My 2 cents.

 

[RM-MN]

Here's a kit with pretty much everything you need to get started and it is on sale now. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/platinum-pro-beer-brewing-starter-kit.html

This will be all you need to make a batch (ingredients included) of beer from extract except for the bottles. After you have made a batch you will have a better idea of where you want to go from there.

Note that this is quite a bit under your projected $450. That will give you some leftover money for those incidentals and more kits or grains. This is where I would (did) start.

Things to upgrade in the future would be a larger kettle, a wort chiller, a few more bucket fermenters, and lots of bottles. If you choose to keg, that's your business.

 

[aTeam]

Thanks for the help guys. I put my orders in and if I'm lucky I'll be brewing next weekend

 

[Citizen86]

No need to buy empty bottles. But some craft brew especially for when you're brewing the first time or two. Then you can clean and reuse those. Heck stop recycling them now, I'm sure you have some sitting around at home

 

[RM-MN]

I've been told that you want the pop off type of bottles for your beer and no doubt they are better but I accidentally got a couple of the screw off bottles in my collection and haven't sorted them out but they have always sealed the same as the pop off for me. YMMV

I think that buying bottles is a good investment as you will pay a premium for the craft beer and unless you drink quite a bit of it you won't get enough bottles to keep up with your production. Since the bottles can be reused indefinitely, their cost per batch of beer is incredibly low. I limit the amount of beer that I drink so it would take me nearly 2 months to drink enough craft beer for a 5 gallon batch but if I get excited about brewing, I can produce a batch per week.

 

[PADave]

I've been told that you want the pop off type of bottles for your beer and no doubt they are better but I accidentally got a couple of the screw off bottles in my collection and haven't sorted them out but they have always sealed the same as the pop off for me. YMMV

I think that buying bottles is a good investment as you will pay a premium for the craft beer and unless you drink quite a bit of it you won't get enough bottles to keep up with your production. Since the bottles can be reused indefinitely, their cost per batch of beer is incredibly low. I limit the amount of beer that I drink so it would take me nearly 2 months to drink enough craft beer for a 5 gallon batch but if I get excited about brewing, I can produce a batch per week.

Let everyone you know that drinks beer know that you need bottles. Even if you don't drink that much, no need to buy. Plus, if you don't drink 5 gallon in 2 months, why make so much? If it's to give away, then at least get empty bottles in return.

 

[B29]

Go visit your local home brew store. Buy something there. If the store is any good you will get valuable free advice.