What to spend gift card on?

[collinsDPT]

Hey guys. New to the brewing world, and still waiting on my Midwest Supplies starter kit. My question is this... I have a $50 gift card from my fiance to use on Midwest's website. The problem is, I am unsure what I should buy as "must-haves" right now. I already have a 30qt kettle bot and propane burner. I plan to start with basic brews, most likely a few recipe kits.

Here is a list of what comes in the kit:
• Instructional Homebrewing DVD
• 6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid
• 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
• 8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
• Airlock
• Hydrometer
• Bottle Brush
• Black Beauty Bottle Capper
• Bottle Caps
• Liquid Crystal Thermometer
• Bottle Filler
• Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
• Siphon Tubing

As a beginner, here is a list of items I believe I eventually need to acquire:
• 5 or 6 gallon glass carboy (which I have found on craigslist for ~$25)
• auto siphon
• electronic scale
• Stirring spoon
• wort chiller
• Better/Other sanitizing agents?
• Beer bottles (which I have found on craigslist for free or very cheap)


If you were in my situation, what would YOU spend the $50 card on? (And yeah, I know that this hobby is about to get a lot more expensive than that!)

 

[dutchoven]

I'd get a wort chiller

 

[PantherCity]

I would spend it on Star-san and some recipe kits to brew. Buy that 6 gallon carboy off craigslist or get another fermentation bucket. After a few brews YOU will know what YOU want to spend money on. It may be alot of things depending on your needs.

hope that helps

 

[Ryush806]

+1 on the Star-San. You definitely need a good sanitizer.

+1 on the Recipe kits. If you're like the rest of us you'll be hooked quick. It'd be nice to have another kit hanging around so you can brew just as soon as the first one is bottled.

I've never NOT used an auto-siphon and I can't imagine going without. I'd get one of those too if you have any $$$ left.

 

[collinsDPT]

Thanks guys.

I forgot to mention that included in my kit is a recipe kit and a $25 giftcard from Midwest for an additional recipe kit. This will give me at least 2 brews, which is why I was interested in spending the other gift card on supplies.

 

[enkamania]

Anything but beer bottles, just host a party and you have bottles.

 

[Diaperload]

I started recently with pretty much that same kit. I didn't have a stock pot so I picked up one at the same time. Got one of those?

Each time I went back to pick up supplies for a new batch I picked up something. I started buying little 5oz. starsan bottles. The I got smart and bought a bigger bottle. Consider Starsan Like others have mentioned.

Extra buckets. I started with 2. Now I have 4. 3 for fermenting and 1 for bottling. If you get hooked I assure you that you'll want more than 1 brew going at a time. Of course with extra buckets you'll need extra air locks, bungs, tape on thermometers, etc.

The thermometer that came with the kit was 5-10° off so I picked up a more accurate one that I'm pleased with. I think it was $20.

An impulsive item I bought was a dozen flip top bottles when I was getting sick of drinking the Grolsch. I haven't tried the bottle cap device yet.

My latest purchase was a wort chiller. It's much more convenient than doing the ice bath in the sink. I couldn't make enough ice ahead of time to chill the wort quickly enough so I bought bags of ice on brew day. Now with the wort chiller I don't need to buy ice bags. The wort chiller takes it down to 80 pretty quick. The drop from 80 - 70 is much slower but overall I'm VERY pleased with it. I'd consider a wort chiller like others have mentioned. My wort chiller was exactly $50 and I would guess they go for about that much at other brewing supply stores.

From one new brewer to the next I hope this gives you some insight.

Happy brewing.

 

[bovineblitz]

#1 - Autosiphon. Brewing without one must suck so bad.

#2 - Starsan. Must have.

#3 - Wine Thief. The easiest way to pull out a sample for a hydrometer reading. I like the fermtech one.

#4 - Scale. Gotta weigh those hops.

#5 - Vinator. Kind of a luxury item but I hate bottling to begin with, without an easy way to sanitize the bottles I'd go crazy.

#6 - Bottle Tree. Same.

#7 - Chiller. I suppose this could be higher but seeing as how it's the most expensive thing on this list by far, I'd rather spring for the above items first and then get the chiller. To me, a little more time on brew day (especially when doing extract) isn't as big a deal as being frustrated while bottling. And, the first three are straight up essential in my eyes.

 

[doublebogey10]

I got the same deal this summer.
Just use the gift card on a second recipe kit.
You'll want to get (assuming you don't have already): a good thermometer, auto-siphon, another fermenter (carboy, better bottle, plastic bucket, whatever), starsan, and eventually a wort chiller. Get those from your LHBS or another supplier (NB or AHS, etc) that does flat-rate shipping. Your LHBS might be a bit more expensive but it evens out because of no shipping. Plus, supporting them is a good thing.

Starsan is awesome. I just bottled my first batch and won't bottle another without getting an auto-siphon.

Don't buy bottles. If you can't empty enough to have enough then you picked the wrong hobby!!! I prefer 22-ouncers. If you like brown ales and have a Trader Joes nearby, check their Mission Street Brown. $1.99 for a 22 and it's good beer.

Also, check your bottling bucket when it arrives. They assembled the spigot incorrectly on mine and it leaked. Thankfully, I noticed this while cleaning it BEFORE I went to bottle!

Welcome to the obsession. I am one freaking batch in and hooked like crazy.

Any questions, no matter how dumb, ask on here if you can't find the answer with a search. The people on this board are flat-out great.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

I'd suggest getting some carboys off craigslist to start. Then you'll need the following:
Star San
air locks and bung
some hose (a racking cane or auto siphon would be nice, but I'm still getting by with 5 feet of hose)
digital scale (you can find them really cheap on ebay, I got mine at a thrift store)
wort chiller (make it yourself, 1/3 the price and easy to make)
bottle capper and caps (unless you can find a lot of swing tops on craigslist)
bottle brush
I think that's all you really need to get started other than malt extract and hops
I'd recommend starting small and buying what you find you really need and or want.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

oh yeah and you'll absolutely need a hydrometer

 

[Diaperload]

I believe his kit came with a hydrometer.

 

[BradleyBrew]

+ star san

I would get another bucket for sure... as mentioned before, you will get hooked, and you will quickly outpace your beginner set-up, and thats a GOOD thing

 

[jcdouglas]

I recommend building a wort chiller if you're at least a little handy. Cost me about $30. Save your gift card for items that you can only get at homebrew stores, e.g. ingredients

 

[nittanybevo]

I would pass on the digital scale at least for now, until you are ready to experiment from something other than a kit.

I'd get an auto siphon. I use a graduated cylinder for my hydrometer readings rather than putting it right into my wort. You can pick up tygon lines at Home Depot that you will find tons of use for. I also like those stick on thermometers. My digital one bought the farm after only using it a few times.

One of the coolest things about the hobby is that you are able to find someone who has already done it. There are a lot of really cool DIY projects. Use your gift certificate for the craft specific stuff. Pots, scales, etc can be bought at non-brew shops usually cheaper.

 

[collinsDPT]

Awesome, thanks everyone!

 

[unionrdr]

I'd go for the star-san,bottle tree,& vinator 1st. They made my bottle cleaning/bottling days much faster & easier. Some PBW would be good too. That stuff can soak just about anything clean.
Then,when you get to the point of wanting to add things to the brew,go to Wallmart & get the $20 digital scale. It measures in kilograms,pounds,ounces,& grams. Handy to have at that point. Then make or buy the wort chiller. I've been thinking of a dual coil chiller;from the faucet to one coil in a pot of ice water,then into the 2nd coil in the kettle of wort. Then to the drain. Summer tap water temps make it hard to get below 80 or 90F. The ol' ice bath will work for now. That way,you can get the bottle tree,vinator,star-san,& PBW.

 

[motleybrews]

Definitely starsan, bottle tree (get the big one now. Will save money as opposed to adding to it later. Mine holds 81 bottles) and a vinator. I can sanitize 2 cases of bottles in about 15 minutes

 

[motleybrews]

And I personally would hold off on a scale until you start venturing into tweaking your recipes, or creating your own. The kits have everything in the proper amounts. I would hold off on tweaking things until you have a few successful kits under your belt. I would really recommend with each kit, focusing on a specific item to perfect. Like sanitation. Figure out what the best way is for you, nail it, brew your beer. Next time do that sanitation, then focus on something else, like adding DME. If you do it to slow, the steam from the pot will make it clump up in the bag. Do it too fast, and it'll be harder to dissolve.

Just MHO. That's how I did, and now I've got 9 batches under my belt. The last 5 or so, I've been using the techniques that work best for me. Don't get me wrong, my first 3 batches are really good beers, so I'm not recommending slacking on the other stuff, I'm just recommending focusing on specific things during each batch so that you'll quickly learn what works best for you

 

[collinsDPT]

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone.

Here is what I think I am going to buy:
scale (ebay $5)
vinator and bottle tree (craigslist $30)
Starsan, PBW, auto-siphon, recipe kit (Midwest Giftcard)
Wort chiller (build my own for ~$30)

Hopefully will pick up a carboy for cheap on craigslist or at my LHBS sometime soon as well...

 

[bovineblitz]

That's a good plan.

One suggestion is to get a tub of Oxyclean free (from the detergent aisle in the supermarket) instead of PBW. They're chemically very similar and work in the same way. Oxyclean is a lot cheaper.

 

[collinsDPT]

That's a good plan.

One suggestion is to get a tub of Oxyclean free (from the detergent aisle in the supermarket) instead of PBW. They're chemically very similar and work in the same way. Oxyclean is a lot cheaper.

Awesome. Thanks for the tip.

 

[BierKoning]

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone.

Here is what I think I am going to buy:
scale (ebay $5)
vinator and bottle tree (craigslist $30)
Starsan, PBW, auto-siphon, recipe kit (Midwest Giftcard)
Wort chiller (build my own for ~$30)

Hopefully will pick up a carboy for cheap on craigslist or at my LHBS sometime soon as well...

I think this is a great way to allocate your funds! I just ordered a scale on ebay for $8.25 from a USA seller. I'm also a newb to brewing but I wanted to scale back my next 5gal batch to a 3gal batch to fit my available 3gal carboy. Next on my list is the Vinator, that thing looks super handy!

 

[unionrdr]

It's very handy indeed! And it fits on top of the bottle tree,so sanitizing bottles is fast & easy with both. I can't imagine not using it half full of star-san now. And the PBW will soak about anything clean. I'll never do without it,damn the price.:rockin:

 

[motleybrews]

Yea as soon as I got my vinator, I was in bottle sanitizing heaven. Kinda like an iPhone. After you use it on like, 4 bottles, you'll wonder how you managed without it!

 

[Sardoman]

Your itemized list looks perfect for now!

Once you're a few batches in and have your sanitation down, here's a suggestion for when you are ready to invest in another round of equipment:

Go for the stuff you need to do starter cultures and control fermentation temperatures. Those two steps will improve the quality of your beer more than any other equipment investments can.

 

[bovineblitz]

Your itemized list looks perfect for now!

Once you're a few batches in and have your sanitation down, here's a suggestion for when you are ready to invest in another round of equipment:

Go for the stuff you need to do starter cultures and control fermentation temperatures. Those two steps will improve the quality of your beer more than any other equipment investments can.

Yeah I agree, after a chiller, the next thing to focus on is controlled fermentation temps. Starters are good too but you can use dry yeast for so many styles that it's not as vital. After I grabbed a fridge on craigslist for $50 and added an ebay temp controller (DIY forum) I was in fermentation heaven.

 

[collinsDPT]

Awesome news. Thanks guys for all your help.

And BierKoning, I think we bought the same scale. I ended up only paying like $3 after using a paypal credit I had. Hopefully it works!