questions about getting started

[smithnick0]

So ive watched some demonstartions and now i'm ready to make the plunge and try my 1st batch. After buying the kit from brewers best, what else would you guys recommend getting to help make the brewing process easier/ better? I would rather buy some extra peices in the beginning than have to buy more later? Thanks!

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

do you have a nice big brewpot? A plastic carboy so you can get another batch going? (trust me, you'll be glad you did) A journal to keep track of your formulations and methods as well as tasting notes, A better sanitizer than comes with the kit (starsan or idophor) Plenty of bottles
Good luck with your first batch!

Edit==> You'll be fine with the LD Carlson sanitizer your BB kit came with to get started
==============================================
Primaries: Air
Secondaries: Pinot Noir, "Black Idea" cascadian IPA
Bottle Conditioning: Cinnamon Spiced Aphelwien, Magic Hat #9 Clone, Russian Imperial Stout, Mind Bending Barleywine
Drinking: Sam Summer Clone, McQuaker's Oatmeal Stout, Caffery's Clone, Aphelwien, Black Idea

 

[trevorc13]

Something that is usually overlooked is a sanitation bucket. A five gallon pail will work fine. Just keep everything in there that you will use to touch the wort after the boil. Makes things a lot easier.

 

[Ravenshead]

If you don't have a wort cooler, you can make a small, cheap one out of small gage copper tubing and a few fitting from the HW store. I think mine cost around $15 total. When you move up to larger boils you can still use it for a pre-chiller.

Also, make sure you have a long enough spoon for your pot. There's nothing worse than realizing after your grains are steeping that your kitchen spoon won't reach the bottom of the pot.

 

[KingKegII]

1. Wort chiller
2. Good digital thermometer (I use this one: http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/proaccurate-digital-thermometer.html)
3. Some way to control your fermentation temperatures, you probably have a basement and can ferment your beer there to keep it around ~65 F, but if you ever want to do lagers you'll eventually need a fermentation chamber or fridge with a temperature controller.
4. A kegging system, bottling is OK for your first few batches, but it gets old quick.

My $0.02.

 

[NorthRiverS]

1. Vinator:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/images/Vinator-Bottle-Rinser-(Sanitizer_Sulphiter)-th.jpg

2. Bottle Tree:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=910

These two items will cut your bottling time in half.

NRS

 

[TipsyDragon]

auto siphon. WAY better than the plane racking cane they usually give in those starter kits.

 

[NorthRiverS]

No Siphon Buckets just came to mind.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SIPHONLESS-FERMENTOR-P143C66.aspx

NRS

 

[kansasbrew]

My first problem came with the handheld capper. During my first bottling adventure, the metal jaw bent and it made bottling almost impossible(barely finished). I bought a bench capper and it has been flawless. I agree with the digital thermometer suggestion and would add that having a digital scale had been a blessing too.

 

[smithnick0]

so would it be better to buy the kit to start or just peice everything together?

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Just because it can't be said enough....

BUY A FREAKING WORT CHILLER!!!!

Past that.

1. Auto Siphon
2. Extra fermenting buckets
3. Bottling bucket
4. Starsan (it's seriously magical stuff)
5. A large plastic tub.

The last one might sound weird but I use a large plastic tub for everything. I fill it with sanitizer and dump in my bottles at bottling time. On brew day it holds sanitizer and keeps all of my needed small wares sanitized. I also fill it with water, put in my fermenter and rotate out ice bottles so I can keep my fermentation temps nice and cool.

Seriously. Get a large plastic tub.

 

[mux11]

We'll , good to see that others are asking the same questions I have, or had.

I went with piecing together my own kit rather than the pre-assembled for a couple reasons. I know I spent more $ per-sey but its the way I wanted to do it.

1. I got pieces I want. I tend to appreciate quality and rather buy what I can use for years. (botteling wand mentioned eairlier)

2. I hate getting kits only to have pieces that I never touch. Just seems like a waste.

3. I have all that I need to do any recepie, except for laguring as I have not built a keezer yet, but i plan to.

I would be happy to share more of what I decided to do if your interested. I would say jump in and dont look back, hard to go wrong.

 

[Ravenshead]

+1 on the plastic tub. Especially if you live in the south and don't have a controlled freezer.

I use a Cube cooler in exactly the same way. It's a combination bottle washer/ferm chamber/sanitizer tank and I use it to stow misc. brewing equipment between batches.

 

[itsme6582]

Forget all of the expensive stuff. Use the equipment you've got and brew your first batch.

Then start reading. How to Brew is a great resource and has more than enough info to get you confused. Revvy has a bunch of threads that helped me quite a bit when I first got in. He mostly tells you to chill out, you'll have good beer when it's done. I also go back and reference The Complete Joy of Homebrewing a lot.

Once you've got a batch under your belt and you've done a little reading you'll have a good idea what equipment you should add.

BUY A FREAKING WORT CHILLER!!!!

Homebrewtastic, I'm not calling you out. I'm just using this as an example.
There is a lot of advice like this put out that something is an absolute must have. There are also a lot of good brewers on this site who don't use must have equipment. This is a prime example as there are several threads on "no chill" brewing.

Until you brew a batch you won't know what will work best for you. Then, it is a continual learning and adjustment process.

 

[drathbone]

+1 How to brew, Autosiphon and Vinator (aka Bottle ******)

 

[VoodooManX]

Good kettle. Bottling wand. Pass on the wort chiller until you understand the process and are sure you'll be doing it again.
1.
Patience!
2.
Let the beer ferment for at least 2 weeks 3 is better no matter what the instructions tell you.
3.
Time is your friend.
4.
Have fun.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[beergolf]

If you are doing partial boils with extract and steeping grains you do not neew a wort chiller.

Get some starsan for sanitizer.
An auto siphon is great.
Look at the bottling suggestion posted by Revvy about bottling over the dishwasher door.
Learn the art of patience.

Then get another fermenter so you can let your fist brew sit long enough and you cna start your pipeline.

 

[smithnick0]

so here is what i have so far.....

Brewers Best Starter Kit
Funnel with strainer insert piece
Bayou SQ 14 Burner
Prime Pacific 35 quart stainless steel pot
Irish Moss
Campden tablets
Brewers Best Imperial Blond Ale

I know i want to pick up a wort chiller, colander, and a plastic tub.

How does this look so far? what would you get next?

 

[VoodooManX]

next? a couple more buckets and a couple more kits.

 

[40watt]

so here is what i have so far.....

Brewers Best Starter Kit
Funnel with strainer insert piece
Bayou SQ 14 Burner
Prime Pacific 35 quart stainless steel pot
Irish Moss
Campden tablets
Brewers Best Imperial Blond Ale

I know i want to pick up a wort chiller, colander, and a plastic tub.

How does this look so far? what would you get next?

STARSAN. Seriously, I don't know how I would have made it through my first batch w/o it. One ounce to five gallons of water! Fill a spray bottle with some for
A: The inevitable thing that you forget to sanitizer.
B: To sanitizer your hands.
C: Leave bottle near fermenter for handy sanitation while pulling samples for gravity tests.

I submit that once you use StarSan, you will want to find the inventor and kiss him.

 

[teetee523]

Agreed with everyone's comments about the starsan. It makes it sooo much easier for both brewing and bottling. I didn't have it my first batch and I learned the hard way that it makes a huge difference. And for the big bucket, I went to the hardware store and got a wallpaper tray? It's wide and deep, also good for soaking bottles in to get the labels/gunk out. And another thing that might have come with your kit but didn't come with mine was a bucket for bottling, with a spigot at the end. It makes bottling alot easier!

But for the first brew, you probably will have most everything from the kit. And you should definitely read How to Brew and the Joy of Homebrewing. I will say that fermenting in the big bucket is better than the carboy because there will be alot of blow off in the 5 gallon carboy. And +1 to another commenter that said to just keep it in the bucket for 2-3 weeks not matter what the instructions say. The instructions that come with kits usually aren't clear and leave alot to be desired. Just search on the forum, you'll definitely find any answer you need!

 

[itsme6582]

I know i want to pick up a wort chiller, colander, and a plastic tub.

What are you going to use a colander for?

 

[Ravenshead]

Making spaghetti.

Kidding, I would guess for partial mashing or BIAB. I think you can use one for one of those techniques.

 

[Bulls Beers]

I know it will be crazy that day, but try and take some notes. Or write down your steps. It help me on my first batch. I still keep notes...