Supply List Help

[cfox10]

Hello, new here and looking to get my supplies.

I know their are a ton of resources on this exact topic but I wanted to make my own thread since I'll have plenty of other questions that come up along the way.


Here is what I currently have:

• Large stock
• 2 55 gallon food safe barrels (Hoping to brew a large batch, eventually)
• Thermometer

Here is what I've got going on in the shopping cart:

• 32oz of San Star (is this enough to last a while?)
• Auto Siphon 3/8"
• Bottle Filler hose 3/8"
• 3 airlocks
• Triple scale Hydrometer
• Hydrometer test tube
• Oxygen Absorbing Caps
• Bottle Capper
• Bottles (will be re-using bottles we currently have as well)

For the time being I plan on starting small with extract brews only but hope to get into grain brewing in the future. For now I'm looking to only by what's necessary for the first few batches.

 

[RWC]

Don't forget siphon hoses. Would recommend getting both the s-type and 3 piece airlocks. Three piece is good for primary and the s-type helps see what your pressure looks like in secondary.

Need a burner unless you have the power in the stove to heat all that water.

O2 absorbing caps are more expensive and you can generally get away with the regular unless you plan on extended aging.

If you plan on using all that 55 gal space, you will need a pump.

 

[DU99]

Sodium percarbonate for bottle cleaning.some type of brewing software.bottle filler.

 

[RWC]

Oh and the spring tip bottle filler is worth the extra expense in comparison to the flimsy tip one that relies on the gravity of the beer to stay sealed.

Which brings up the point of needing a bottling bucket and spigot

 

[cfox10]

Don't forget siphon hoses. Would recommend getting both the s-type and 3 piece airlocks. Three piece is good for primary and the s-type helps see what your pressure looks like in secondary.
I have the 3 piece in the cart now, I'll add some of the s-type in their as well.

Need a burner unless you have the power in the stove to heat all that water.
Have a propane burner from my turkey fryer, should work well I imagine. For the first few 1gal test batches I'll just use the stove top.

O2 absorbing caps are more expensive and you can generally get away with the regular unless you plan on extended aging.
Only planned on doing the O2 ones since they are around $7 for 144 but I'll look into some regular caps as well, don't plan on aging for long period and hoping to move into kegs soon enough anyhow.

If you plan on using all that 55 gal space, you will need a pump.
Down the road. They are free from work so I figured I'd snag a couple. Bonus they have about 20oz+ of Pure Madagascar Vanilla extract in them still.

Sodium percarbonate for bottle cleaning.some type of brewing software.bottle filler.

Added a spring loaded filler to my cart, and some Sodium Precarbonate for cleaning. What would you recommend for software? Is it necessary for extract brewing?

Oh and the spring tip bottle filler is worth the extra expense in comparison to the flimsy tip one that relies on the gravity of the beer to stay sealed.
I watched a video and liked the spring loaded one so that's the one I'll be using. Looks great.


Which brings up the point of needing a bottling bucket and spigot
This is one of those items I wasn't sure if I'd need or not. I figured it'd be possible to go straight from primary to bottles using the siphon and bottle filler. I figure this could cause issues of getting trub though so a bottle bucket with spigot is going into the car now.

Thanks guys. Will be adding more items into the cart. Starting to wonder if a starter kit would be more ideal than piecing it together?

 

[RWC]

Starter kits generally are a good way to know you are getting what you need and can piece extra stuff together later on. As for bottling from the primary, it definitely is possible but much more difficult. Unless you plan on putting sugar in each individual bottle the bottling bucket will allow you to mix the sugar into solution without upsetting any leftover stuff at the bottom of the primary. And its easier to open a spigot and let gravity work than trying to start a siphon while simultaneously making sure the spring tip is open and the racking cane doesn't sit firmly in the trub. Definitely worth the minor added expense.

 

[RWC]

And if you want to explore software without spending any money, I recommend Brewtarget. That's what I design most of my beers on. Lately though I've been using Wort for Android since my phone is easier to carry than a laptop. I'm sure some of the pay programs are better but I never had a need for any of them.

 

[cfox10]

And if you want to explore software without spending any money, I recommend Brewtarget. That's what I design most of my beers on. Lately though I've been using Wort for Android since my phone is easier to carry than a laptop. I'm sure some of the pay programs are better but I never had a need for any of them.

I went ahead and got this kit here; Brew Kit
I added more airlocks and the s type airlocks to my cart, an auto siphon, a spring loaded bottle filler, and 144 bottle caps. I completely forgot to grab the star san so I'll be going back and placing an order for that.

My sister works at a bar/pizza joint so she's going to save bottles for me, which I figure I can clean and sanitize/reuse.

Hopefully it's enough to get me started with extract brewing and I can add more down the road for other brews.

Already have a propane burner, huge pot from turkey fryer, etc.

Would have ordered form a supporting vendor but I'm impatient and like the 2 day prime shipping. Future orders/brews will be from supporting vendors.

 

[RWC]

Thats a good starter kit. Get either PBW or an L-shaped carboy brush because glass carboys can be a pain to clean. Or just bend the bottle brush that comes with it.

 

[DU99]

i used software for my extract brewing before going ALL GRAIN

 

[kh54s10]

That kit is OK except for the 5 gallon glass carboy. The five gallon is meant for secondary. You don't need to do a secondary for most brews. I have one 5 gallon Better Bottle and rarely use it. And IMO, glass carboys are just dangerous. Look up the broken carboy thread.

32 ounces of Starsan should last a few years. I still have enough for at least 5 more gallons of solution after 5+ years.

Get some unscented Oxyclean or it's generic for cleaning. It works very well and is a lot cheaper than PBW.

I'm not too sure how useful your 55 gallon barrels are going to be. You will need very expensive equipment to brew a batch anywhere big enough to fill them. Plus that is about 1/2 of your legal limit for a year.

 

[RWC]

Yeah I missed that had a 5 gal carboy. A sealed bucket with a hole drilled for an airlock solves that problem easy enough.

 

[PADave]

My advice is to get the minimum equipment, do a few brews and figure out what YOU need and want to make your process better. I got a whole tub of equipment that I thought I would need, had read or was told that you have to have, yet it all never comes out of the tub. Everyone is going to do things differently. The key is to figure out what works for you, makes good beer, and go with that.

 

[mongoose33]

Which brings up the point of needing a bottling bucket and spigot
This is one of those items I wasn't sure if I'd need or not. I figured it'd be possible to go straight from primary to bottles using the siphon and bottle filler. I figure this could cause issues of getting trub though so a bottle bucket with spigot is going into the car now.

You may need to rethink this a bit. Normally people will mix a solution of corn syrup and water, put it in their bottling bucket onto which they siphon the beer. It mixes with the beer, provides the basis for carbonation.

You can siphon directly from the primary if you're using fizz or carb drops (small sugar blobs) in each bottle. Otherwise, you'll need to add the corn sugar to your primary and ensure it's somehow mixed in properly.

 

[chickypad]

Agree about the carboy. I'd swap that kit for one with a bottling bucket.

 

[cfox10]

Sadly I had already ordered that kit as soon as I posted it.

I have access to 6.5gallon and 5 gallon buckets at no cost to me. (I work in food manufacturing) so I can pick some of those up.

Got rid of the 55 gallon barrels. They had Madagascar Vanilla in them so I've kept what was left of it.

I just had a bunch of supplies arrive today, including ingredients for my first brew.

I also picked up a small 1 gallon Carboy at goodwill and figure I could use it for a primary on sample batches.

 

[RWC]

The 1 gal carboy will be wonderful for mixing up starters.