What kit to buy to start off with

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I only spent around $100 at my LHBS to get started and had much better equipment than Mr. Beer.

Where do you live?
 
slimer said:
I only spent around $100 at my LHBS to get started and had much better equipment than Mr. Beer.

Where do you live?
Click to expand...
I noticed we are in the same neck of the woods. I have been trying to find a good LHBS around the area, any recommendations?
 
Chicago Winemakers in Elmhurst (www.cwinemaker.com) has a nice selection and you can upgrade to glass carboys and they'll subtract the difference from their "kit".

Search google for the Milwaukee Area and Chicagoland Brewers to get some local info and be able to talk with local guys about brewing. I don't want to post the website, I Fear Ban!
 
talleymonster said:
If you're willing to spend 200.00 I would skip the Mr. Beer all together.

Try Midwest, or Austin Homebrew.

Here are a few good kits
Click to expand...

Ok, what kit and where to buy (provide links if can) :fro: ? I would like to get something shipped to me and have everything I need to get started with. I know you guys are the experts so any info would be great. :cross:

Thanks...
 
Crash 2006 said:
Can someone help me with what kit I should buy to get started with? There are top of the line MR. Beer sets for around $100.00. Are these any good? I don't have a problem with spending around $200.00 to get started.

Is this any good? Will it last a few years?
http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/4

Thanks... :mug:
Click to expand...

Well, Mr. Beer is a whole different way to get started, and I can't really recommend it. If you really want to start with Mr. Beer, I'd suggest the cheapest one you could find, so you can see if you like it. The problem with the beer is that it is canned premade kits, and the beer is ok (my best friend loves it) but definitely not what I would consider very good. For $100, you can get a "real" beer kit and make awesome beer.
 
YooperBrew said:
Well, Mr. Beer is a whole different way to get started, and I can't really recommend it. If you really want to start with Mr. Beer, I'd suggest the cheapest one you could find, so you can see if you like it. The problem with the beer is that it is canned premade kits, and the beer is ok (my best friend loves it) but definitely not what I would consider very good. For $100, you can get a "real" beer kit and make awesome beer.
Click to expand...

Ok, lets say you are going to order a get started kit for your dad and your wife says you can spend $150.00 ~ $200.00. What would you get him?

This should be interesting. :drunk:

Thanks!!!!
 
As a fairly new brewer myself, I can attest that Mr. Beer is not the way to go.

Regardless of what you use for equipment, getting the right information is far more important. I honestly think you can brew good beer with whatever kind of equipment you use, as long as you learn the correct practices.

That being said, if you are willing to spend 200 dollars, you can get quite a good setup. A few things to consider is if you are going to be brewing inside your home, or outside. If you are going to brew outside, the possibilities open even further.

here is a good kit from austin home brew

That kit starts at 99 dollars, for an extra 29 you can get a 6.5 gallon carboy for your primary fermentation. The advantages of a 6.5 gallon are huge. Also, glass fermenters are far superior to plastic.

I'd also suggest a good book. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=22


Feel free to ask as many questions you want, this can be a great place to learn!!!
 
NoClueBrewMaster said:
Also, glass fermenters are far superior to plastic.
Click to expand...

A very bold statement.

The Glass VS. Better Bottle debate can go on forever. It's really a matter of personal preference. Personally I use glass, but many of the more seasoned brewers here do use Better Bottles. And personally I have nothing against them. I just got started on glass, and I bought a bunch of glass ones on Craigslist for super cheap.
 
I bought this kettle, but it was on sale for at least $20 cheaper.

Here's one for a much better price.

I really like Better Bottles over glass fermenters. They are high quality plastic, and I've never suffered the ill effects of oxidation, even after leaving cider in one for over 2 months. If there is to be further debate on glass vs plastic carboys, we should find another thread with that topic.
 
Crash 2006 said:
Ok so this kit and what 9 gallon kettle?

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6875
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Well, that is a very nice kit. But I wanted to add a few ideas for you. One is- if you want, you can just do a "small" boil. That is, all the extract kits you can make (don't forget to choose one!) call for you to boil about 2.5 gallons of wort. I just used my regular canning kettle for that. If you'd like, you can do a "full boil" and boil 6 gallons down to 5. For that you'll need a big kettle. However, most people can NOT boil 5-6 gallons on their stoves. So, before you invest in a kettle, consider if your stove can handle it. If not, you may just want to do the smaller boil, and later on get an outdoor burner. So, you won't need a big kettle initially. Also, if you do the bigger boil, you'll need a way to quickly cool your hot wort after the boil. So, you'll need a wort chiller, which run $60 or so.

If it were me, I'd get the kit, and plan on using a "regular" kettle for right now. I'd buy an ingredient kit at the same time in a style I wanted to make, and call it good.

By the way, I use plastic often. I use plastic ale pails, and plastic Better Bottles as often as glass. I would suggest to anyone who says that "glass is far superior to plastic" to try one of my beers!
 
With regard to Yooper's comments - if you already have a 4 gallon stock pot, you can skip the kettle (for now). If not, measure the horizontal and vertical clearance on your stovetop and get a 7.5 - 9 gallon kettle that will fit on it. You can always only fill it 1/8th full for your first few brews.
 
YooperBrew said:
By the way, I use plastic often. I use plastic ale pails, and plastic Better Bottles as often as glass. I would suggest to anyone who says that "glass is far superior to plastic" to try one of my beers!
Click to expand...


GLASS IS FAR SUPERIOR TO PLASTIC!


Now, can I try one of your beers?:D
 
Ok... I am going to do this burner stuff outdoors or in my garage.

I got one of them bad ass outdoor burners as shown on amazon (recommended add on) with the kettle below as my dad melts lead with this burner. I will make sure to get the lead off. LOL

this kettle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009JXYUA?smid=ACT47Y587CNSV&tag=msnshop-lawnpatio-mp-20&linkCode=asn

this kit: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/produ...px?ProdID=6875

what ingredients do I need to start my first batch with? I take it should be a small batch just in case I mess it up? I like oat or wheat beers, but I will take anything for first time success.

I am starting to get confused, what is the chiller for? I got a second fridge which has hardly anything in it... I could fit at least two of them kettles in there. :rockin:

Thanks...
 
If you haven't already, you may want to check out How To Brew.
Lots of good stuff there.

The chiller in a nutshell.......you want to cool your wort as fast as you can to pitching temps. The chiller is a long length of copper pipe (usually 25-50 feet) that the wort flows through. The chiller is submerged in an ice bath and the wort cools as it runs through the copper pipe.
 
So, further debating the merits of the partial boil...

You DEFINITELY want to chill your beer rapidly (within minutes of the end of the boil) to temperatures the yeast can survive (less than 100 degrees F, for sure, preferably closer to room temperature for an ale). If you allow it to chill at room temperature or even in a fridge, it will take HOURS.

So, you can boil 2-3 gallons, then top off with 2-3 gallons of icewater, and achieve that rapid cooling effect without the need for any other chilling device.

You can also choose to do a "full boil" of 5-6 gallons, and then you have no choice but to chill the wort (young beer) with some mechanical means. Placing the kettle into an icewater bath is marginally effective with some agitation. More effective is placing a copper coil into the wort, through which you run cold tap water (an immersion chiller). There are some more complex chillers out there (see counterflow and plate chillers), but the immersion chiller is the cheapest and most basic.

So, no chiller is required for now. Later you may find the need for one.
 
If you like a certain style of beer, choose one of these (These are under "wheat beers": http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/RecipeKits.aspx?SubCat=170

When you make the wort, you need to get it from boiling to under 80 degrees as fast as possible. In a fridge, that might take overnight! In a small boil, you can just put it in an ice bath in the sink until under 120 or so, and add cold water to 5 gallons. But, if you've boiled 5 gallons, it's almost impossible to chill that without some special equipment. I use a wort chiller: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=5791

As you can see, there isn't really a "right" way to do this. Many of us have different methods to make great beer. I just wish when I started, I would have come here first because I had to re-buy some equipment because I bought some inadequate things the first time.

I suggest reading howtobrew.com thoroughly, as it is a great read.
 
The chiller is threaded to connect to your garden hose (and a "waste" water hose). You place the whole thing into the kettle, then run cold water through it to chill, hence, "immersion chiller."
 
YooperBrew said:
I suggest reading howtobrew.com thoroughly, as it is a great read.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Because the way this thread has gone so far, if he wasn't confused before, he is now.:D
 
Yuri_Rage said:
The chiller is threaded to connect to your garden hose (and a "waste" water hose). You place the whole thing into the kettle, then run cold water through it to chill, hence, "immersion chiller."
Click to expand...

Hey guys, I thought it needed to be cooled much quicker then that... Which if that coil was submerged in an ice bath and the malt ran through it at a certain rate, it could be near ice cold on the output. I take it is not that critical though?

Thanks...
 
Crash 2006 said:
Hey guys, I thought it needed to be cooled much quicker then that... Which if that coil was submerged in an ice bath and the malt ran through it at a certain rate, it could be near ice cold on the output. I take it is not that critical though?

Thanks...
Click to expand...
An immersion chiller will typically cool your wort inside 15 minutes, which is acceptable. There's a potential sanitation issue when using the method you describe (though I've successfully done it many times, and it works fine).

There are other issues involved when running wort through the tubing - most notably, it's hard to siphon (I use a pump). Also, you get a much larger trub cake.
 
I'm not sure what kind of stove you have, but I have a bit of advice if you have an electric stove top.

You will want your kettle to have a "sandwich" bottom, which is basicly a layer of aluminum in between two sheets of stainless. I went from an all stainless to a sandwich bottom stock pot and it cut my time in half in terms of getting the water up to temp.

http://www.instawares.com/stainless-steel-stock-pot.upi-sps40.0.7.htm
 
talleymonster said:
A very bold statement.

The Glass VS. Better Bottle debate can go on forever. It's really a matter of personal preference. Personally I use glass, but many of the more seasoned brewers here do use Better Bottles. And personally I have nothing against them. I just got started on glass, and I bought a bunch of glass ones on Craigslist for super cheap.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about better bottles, im talking about plastic fermentation buckets...


BTW, my statement was quoted off AHB
 

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