Which Starter Kit To Buy?

[durin]

Well, I've been wanting to home brew for a couple years now and finally have moved into a new home that will allow me to do it! I've read a lot of things online and the manual in the FAQ and am now trying to decide which starter kit I want to go with.

I found this place online that was recommended by a couple people. The deluxe kit is $86.95 with free shipping and looks like it comes with everything I want.

A local homebrew shop has kits as well but their deluxe kit seems like it comes with less equipment. The price is a little more as well, but I actually have some % off coupons there so its not really an issue (actually makes it a little cheaper).

Which would you guys go with?

Also, for my first brew I'm up in the air with that as well. I was thinking about this one since a) I'm a big Good Eats fan b) it looks pretty simple.

I really appreciate any advice or suggestions anyone could give me!

 

[Noldar]

I'm a big fan of this kit ...
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6876
for beginning/intermediate brewing. It's not terribly expensive ($130 after S&H) and has just about everything you'd need ... Glass Primary and Secondary along with a bottling bucket and an additional plastic primary.

As for your first kit, I'd stay away from Elton Brown's recipe ( I love Good Eats also ) and buy an extract kit from your local homebrewing store.

Before you do your first brew, I find it very helpful to have a check list ready for things that need to be done and also have my steps written down just for backup

Good luck with this fun hobby!

 

[TheJadedDog]

I have to second all of Noldar's suggestions. Also, if you haven't already looked at Palmers www.howtobrew.com, I recommend reading it over before you brew.

 

[disaffected]

Yeah, that kit from Midwest sounds really good. The discription is confusing, so I'd call them first to verify contents of the kit. They say "w/glass carboys" in the title and in the description, but also say they have upgraded the glass carboys to better bottles in the same paragraph. Sort of confusing, seems like they'd just update the whole thing to replace "glass carboy" with "Better Bottle". I'm surprised they could offer that with two Better Bottles and the extra fermenting pail for that price. Pretty nice.

I got the Deluxe Starter Kit that's halfway down the page there on the Northern Brewer site. I'm very pleased with it. The Midwest kit sounds even better for the price.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Looks like you're well on your way to homebrewing - the kit you mention seems decent for the price, especially with free shipping. I'll second beer4breakfast on the plastic Better Bottle carboys - I like mine.

As for the Good Eats recipe, here's a link to my variation - it turned out really nice for me. The extra specialty grains added a bit of body and flavor over Alton's recipe. His techniques on the show are a bit sloppy, so here's a few pointers:

DO sanitize thoroughly.

DO consider using a no-rinse sanitizer like Star San instead of bleach.

DO rinse really well if you decide to go with bleach.

DON'T "just cram" the lid of your fermenter into the bucket. You can sanitize it there, but use care not to scratch up your fermenter.

DON'T boil the specialty grains - steep them as Alton does, then strain the grains out, leaving yourself a grain "tea." You can rinse (sparge) the strained grains with ~170 degree F water to extract more flavor if you like.

DON'T pitch yeast directly from the vial/smack pack - make a yeast starter a day or two ahead of time.

Can anyone else think of any mistakes I'm missing from "the show?"

 

[durin]

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone. I have an email into Midwest Supply about the carboys as beer4breakfast suggested. $130 is a little more than I was hoping to spend on the starter kit, but I'd rather spend a little more now than wish I had gotten a better package later.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

Or if you want to go ultra cheap my LHBS has a pretty good deal on very basic kits. http://www.thebrewshopokc.com/equipment.html#brewingequipment Scroll to the very bottom of the page.

 

[Ol' Grog]

That's the kit I got last month. No frills, but will make beer and by far the cheapest priced ones around. When I bought it, I got Brewers Best American Amber kit, two cases of bottles and a thermometer in addition to the kit. Total cost was 127 bucks. That was EVERYTHING. The only thing I've bought in addition since was some copper tubing and made a wort chiller. It won't win any Miss. American Wort Chiller beauty pagent, but the mo' fo' works. I'd want to use a plastic pail for the primary because you get the same results, will only be in there for a week before racking to secondary and the main thing is, they are easier to clean. Lot's of stuff in the pail once you've racked. Those glass primary are going to be hard to clean and you'll also need a big funnel. Pouring wort out of your brew pot into that small opening on a glass primary is very, very difficult to do.
If your really serious about this and will be making your beer period, I'd jump over to kegging. Bottling is a PITA. But, there are always learning curves that one needs to take.

 

[durin]

I plan on giving bottling a run first before I drop the money on kegging equipment.

What is the big advantage of a glass carboy over a plastic one with a spicket? Does seem like alot more work to pour / clean.

 

[Walker]

What is the big advantage of a glass carboy over a plastic one with a spicket? Does seem like alot more work to pour / clean.

'Glass vs. Plastic' can be an almost religious debate.

Plastic is lighter, has the handy spigots, and won't break.
Glass won't scratch, is not porous, and you can see what's going on inside of it.

Use whatever fits your needs. They both make good beer.

-walker

 

[TheJadedDog]

I've been using a plastic primary and glass secondary; I'm planning on moving over to all glass as soon as SWMBO approves more beer related purchases.

 

[durin]

Okay, here is the response I got for Midwest about the Intermediate Package:

You can choose either glass or better bottles. Choose item #MBEK3 for the better bottles option and #MBEK3A for glass carboys.​

So I guess I'm trying to decide if its worth it at that price, or if its better to get a cheaper all plastic kit to start with then upgrade as time goes on.

Double Springs has a start up kit that comes with 2 6 Gallon Buckets with a Lid and a Spigot, all the other stuff, and choice of imported canned malt kit for $64.95 with free shipping. The kit from Midwest is going to be $130, then plus another $30 or so for an extract kit, seems like a lot more for something I'm just getting into.

 

[Noldar]

If you plan on actually making this a hobby, you will wind up buying what you don't have at a more marked up price individually. I would consider buying the intermediate kit if you truely plan on making this a hobby. If you plan on just seeing if you like brewing, try to either get to a Brew on Premesis or find a friend to help/watch them brew.

Again, if you plan on making it a true hobby, really debate on getting an intermediate kit. If you're going nto use it once/twice a year, stick with the basic.

 

[disaffected]

I agree with Noldar, but there is another side to it too. The simple kit will brew beer, there's no question of that. So if lump sum expenditure is an issue or if you want to make sure this is something you will stick with, then the simple kit will tell you that. No matter what kit you start with, if it turns out that you really enjoy brewing beer, you are almost certainly going to be buying more equipment anyway. You can spread that cost out over time.