Which kit to buy?

[falterkl]

I will be quick to the point. Which of these would you experienced brewers buy if you were starting out fresh?

https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-fermonster-homebrew-starter-kit.html

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/advanced-homebrew-beer-kit.html#product_review

http://www.northernbrewer.com/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit

Or is there a better kit out there? Or is more effective to buy each item separately? Thanks for any advice!

 

[RM-MN]

Are you planning to do a lot of fruit beers or are you oaking a stout? If not, the carboy is not needed. Go for the basic kit. It will have everything you need to get started except for a boil kettle, bottles, and caps. If later on you do decide to do the fruit beers you can buy a carboy but I suspect that may not happen for quite some time.

I bought a basic kit about 10 years ago. I still use most of it. I've bought more buckets, lots of bottles and caps, and had to replace the hydrometer when i dropped it an it broke. As I got into all grain brewing I added a pH meter and a better scale to weigh the grains, and a refractometer so I could quickly get pre boil samples. Those could easily be a later purchase.

 

[Lefou]

I bought this ...
http://www.homebrewing.org/Brewers-Best-BeAst-Equipment-Kit-with-Glass-Carboy_p_3156.html

Added two 3gal and one 6gal carboy. Ditched the mash paddle (LOL), bought blow off cap and tubing which is a necessity along with extra stoppers and airlocks. Bought my own 22oz bottles and saved 12oz bottles from recycle.
I do stovetop kitchen brewing and use the plastic ferment bucket for sanitizing. The bottling bucket is useful because it has a spigot.
This particular kit is excellent for extract/partial mash brews but if you move up to all grain, you'll need to get a mash tun.

 

[byronyasgur]

I'm not an experienced brewer at all. I was where you were just a couple of months ago. It's hard to figure out I think. If you're fairly sure you'll stick at it and/or don't mind dropping a couple of hundred on a kit then fine but all you really need to get started is a kettle ( or decent sized cookpot). fermenter ( with lcd thermometer, airlock and grommet), bottling bucket, auto-syphon ( with a bottling wand would be better), spoon if you've got a big kettle, hydrometer, test jar, bottles, caps and capper. Then you need an ingredients kit of course. Most of that is in ( as an example) this kit which is a lot cheaper. https://www.homebrewsupply.com/brewers-fundamentals-homebrew-kit.html
Nothing wrong with going for the Premium Fermonster Homebrew Starter Kit though — unless you only use it once or twice and you're looking at a white elephant — but if your fairly sure you'll go all the way to all grain then it would be a handy way of getting most stuff in one go. I say "most" stuff because even if you pick the best starter kit on the market you'll always want to get more stuff. I don't know that much about all grain yet but AFAIK that 8.5 gallon kettle looks like it will cover you for 5 or 6 ( or more maybe ) gallon BIAB all grain batches so you wouldn't need the mash tun that way; just make sure you've got a way to heat it - don't assume anything. I doubt you could use this on any stovetop - note it's got "you might also need" below it Burner $99 - and over $300 is a fair bit to "get started" I suppose

 

[mongoose33]

IMO, hands down, the Morebeer kit.

The only way I'd use glass is if I were fermenting for a very long time. There are horror stories of glass carboys breaking, resulting in everything from epic messes to artery-slashing glass shards.

Further, any carboy w/ the narrow neck presents issues the widemouth Fermonster does not.

I have the Northern Brewer Bigmouthbubblers, and the wide mouth makes them very easy to clean. Incredibly light as well. NB has had sealing issues w/ the universal lid they use, which is why the fermonster would be what I'd buy if I were starting again. I don't have much issue w/ the universal lids on the BMBs and they've worked very well for me.

The Morebeer offering has a better kettle, it includes Star-San and cleaner--it's as close to a complete kit as I've seen.

No brainer, IMO: Morebeer wins. If I were starting again, it's what I'd get.

 

[falterkl]

Thank your all for the input. I think I will sray away from glass, as I've heard in other posts that there can be issues.

 

[Toga]

This is a perfect starter kit. You can buy other things you find you need moving forward.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Beginning-Homebrew-Kit_p_352.html

I like this even better but it needs an auto siphon.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Adventures-in-Homebrewing-Beginners-Homebrew-Kit_p_6103.html

 

[falterkl]

Don't I have to have a 5 gallon stainless pot?

 

[madscientist451]

I looked at the three choices and I'd go with the Morebeer kit.
The 8.5 gallon pot and the fermonster tipped the scale for me.
The only thing I don't like is the handheld capper, I prefer the countertop cappers.
I'd also look on craigslist and see what you can get, but its nice having everything new.
I'd add to the Morebeer kit: A 5 gallon round cooler from Walmart: $20.
A spigot kit, which will run about $15, and a BIAB bag to put in the cooler.
You can go with a 10 gallon cooler, but the 5 gallon will work fine unless you are making a really big beer.
Lowe's right now has 7.5 cu/ft chest freezers for $138, add to that an temp controller ($45-80) and you have a pretty nice set up.
Other items would be a small scale to weigh out hops, a 1/2 gallon plastic pitcher
for recirculating wort, some star san, and maybe some more buckets.
Start saving bottles from your store bought beer now, so you'll be ready to get brewing.

 

[seabrew8]

The morebeer one is the best kit if you want to do brew in a bag all grain. The homesupply one could be used for 2-3 gallons batches and forget the last one.

And if you do want to get into all grain homebrew i like this simple system.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=595987

Brew in a bag works fine but its not so streamline/handsoff so to speak then a unit like this. And its also electric.

 

[Know]

I highly recommend this kit

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-starter-kit-1

Go with the plastic carboy version. You can't get better than this for $89

I got a midwest bucket starter kit when I started brewing 4 years ago. This has everything you will need. I still use this equipment and I've made over 500 gallons of beer. You will have to buy a brew-pot separately but you absolutely can't beat this deal.

I've added two 5gal glass carboys to my setup, the rest of the equipment I've used for years is in that kit.

 

[seabrew8]

I think a good question OP is if you want to do all grain or extract.

 

[falterkl]

Thanks again for the help. So I'm thinkingof starting with this recipe:

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/blue-moon-clone-extract-recipe-kit.html

Would this starter kit contain everything I need:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/premium-fermonster-homebrew-starter-kit.html

 

[falterkl]

I will do extracts.

 

[RM-MN]

This starter kit will contain everything you need to get started except for the kettle and the bottles without adding expense for unnecessary items.

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/simply-beer-brewing-starter-kit

This kit even includes an extract ingredient kt to make your first 5 gallons of pale ale.

I'm not impressed with the spigots on the fermenters, sometimes it's hard to get them to stop leaking. A siphon is safer from that aspect. If you want you could use part of the difference in the price between what you suggested and this kit to upgrade to an autosiphon. You can start making extract kits with a 20 qt stock pot. If you decide later on to make all grain beers or want to make larger batches you can easily find bigger pots and add another bucket for fermenting.

 

[byronyasgur]

I will do extracts.

After 2 or 3 brews I decided to do an all grain BIAB - I think from what I read a lot of people are getting either straight into all grain or not spending that long in extract - just saying you might want to allow for options - main thing is the kettle size though.

 

[falterkl]

After doing a little more research I think I want to do BIAB as well. Maybe my first batch will be extract and then switch. Looks like there are countless options in home brewing...

 

[skraeling]

sometimes i still do extract kits every now and then since i can do those indoors (handy when its below freezing outside).

I like the look of that morebeer kit for sure. It has stuff I ended up adding anyway.

• 8.5 Gallon Stainless Steel Brew Kettle w/ thermometer port and stainless ball valve
• Copper Wort Chiller for quick cooling
• Hydrometer for making key sugar measurements

those three items alone make the morebeer kit better. you would need all that stuff no matter what you choose to do beer wise. even if you decided to go bigger? that boil kettle will still be handy (HLT). Not to mention a better carboy.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are looking at going to BIAB pretty quickly, get at least a 10 gallon pot with a ball valve and thermometer. I have a 10 gallon water cooler mash tun and a big grain bill just barely fits (5 gallon batch).

 

[seabrew8]

After doing a little more research I think I want to do BIAB as well. Maybe my first batch will be extract and then switch. Looks like there are countless options in home brewing...

If you like beer. Go with all grain or partial mashes - which are more expensive.

 

[RM-MN]

If you like beer. Go with all grain or partial mashes - which are more expensive.

Let me clarify this post. In terms of ingredient costs, extract is more expensive than all grain or partial mash which replaces some of the extract with grains. In terms of equipment costs....well that depends on the brewer. I purchased a grain mill (Corona mill) and a bigger pot to get started with all grain. That increases the cost of all grain immediately. Over time the difference in costs between buying grain, especially if one can buy the base malt grains in bulk, will offset the equipment costs and there will be a payback. However, it seems that human nature requires "improvements" in equipment and thus brewers have ongoing costs. Changes in our tastes also increase the costs as we go from the cheapest dry yeast to better strains to increase our enjoyment of the beers we make. The value of these improvements is very hard to pin down.

 

[tracyk]

I ended up buying everything individually at the time when I got started as none of the kits were completely furnished. The More Beer kit seems to have better supplies with it and one can do a full boil with it for 5 gallons of extract beer.

If you decide to do BIAB like you suggested you will eventually need a 10 gallon kettle along with a strainer bag or BIAB bag to line the kettle. I know I went through 2 different kettles before landing on a couple of 15.5 kegs that I converted into keggles for all grain. Now I was able to sell one of the kettles through our homebrew club so it would not be sitting around collecting dust. Just something to think about down the road.

I had friends save up their beer bottles for me, which did not take long. Plastic to me is the way to go for fermenting. The fermonster and the Big Mouth Bubblers are the easiest to clean out with their wider openings. I still put them in a milk crate to carry them around, just makes it easier. Plus if you want to check in to see if they are fermenting, not a problem. This is just my 2 cents worth, will let you decide what you want to do...

 

[203PH]

The first piece of advice I got 3 years ago when I started to brew, was to go with as basic kit. He told me you may not even like brewing, and therefore you don't want to sink more money into than you really have to. 2nd piece of good advice was to go with a 10 gallon boil kettle. Gives you leeway with boil over and more flexibility if you do eventually go to all grain.

3 years later I am addicted to the hobby, moved from extract to partial after one batch on the stove. All grain after 3 partial mash. Now looking to go to a 20 gallon BK and eHERMS.

Good luck. It's a great hobby.

 

[byronyasgur]

Looks like there are countless options in home brewing...

LOL you dont know the half of it - it's immense - jump in somewhere eventually though

 

[seabrew8]

Let me clarify this post. In terms of ingredient costs, extract is more expensive than all grain or partial mash which replaces some of the extract with grains. In terms of equipment costs....well that depends on the brewer. I purchased a grain mill (Corona mill) and a bigger pot to get started with all grain. That increases the cost of all grain immediately. Over time the difference in costs between buying grain, especially if one can buy the base malt grains in bulk, will offset the equipment costs and there will be a payback. However, it seems that human nature requires "improvements" in equipment and thus brewers have ongoing costs. Changes in our tastes also increase the costs as we go from the cheapest dry yeast to better strains to increase our enjoyment of the beers we make. The value of these improvements is very hard to pin down.

How long did it take you to dial in your Corona mill? I read its takes alittle while to get the hang of it. I'm thinking for an extra $100 i would just get the barley crusher..

Yeah my post was a little misleading. I meant partial mash is usually more expensive then all grain.

 

[falterkl]

Thank you all again for the advice! I will say, this seems to be one of the most active forums I've joined, thats awesome! Probably a mistake, but I think I may go straight to BIAB.

 

[RM-MN]

How long did it take you to dial in your Corona mill? I read its takes alittle while to get the hang of it. I'm thinking for an extra $100 i would just get the barley crusher..

Yeah my post was a little misleading. I meant partial mash is usually more expensive then all grain.

I'll be just a little misleading too then. It only took me one try to dial in my Corona mill.


That was because I was going BIAB and with that setup, the finer the crush the better. If you are planning on a conventional mash tun, then you need to adjust for the finest crush you can without plugging up the outlet.

I'm not entirely sure why new brewers would want to go with a traditional mash tun. They are more finicky about the crush, too coarse and efficiency is bad, too fine and you get a stuck sparge. I've seen several mentions of a 6 to 8 hour brew day. Great if you want to waste a day. With BIAB you get as fine a crush as you can, efficiency is high right away, it takes just one vessel that you mash in and boil in, and it can be quick. I expect to have the wort chilling and all my gear put away in less than 3 hours.

 

[Lefou]

Thank you all again for the advice! I will say, this seems to be one of the most active forums I've joined, thats awesome! Probably a mistake, but I think I may go straight to BIAB.

oo rah, straight up the middle! :rockin:

Look at it this way.
Those mistakes are valuable learning experiences and working the kinks out along the way can just be part of the fun. I've been beating my head out almost DAILY for the last year or more just learning basic stuff and I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Truthfully, this is one of the most rewarding hobbyist obsessions I've had over the years.
...and I can blame it on my wife. LOL

 

[Moose_MI]

Have you looked through Craigslist and the for sale section here? I'm not sure I've ever bought anything new in 3 years. ... well, bottle caps ... I did spring for new bottle caps when I was bottling.

Sooooo many good deals out there if you look around a bit....

 

[mongoose33]

If you like beer. Go with all grain or partial mashes - which are more expensive.

Ummmm.......at least here in the states it's much cheaper to go all grain.