Just Starting - Need Advice

[SPOOK2517]

Hey everybody,
I am just starting out with the home brew and have compiled a short list of things I figure I will need. I already have the bottles, caps and capper. If some of you guys could just check out my list and let me know if I should get anything else or if you would recommend anything else please let me know. Also recommend a extract if you could.

Oh, one last thought. Do I need a fermenting bucket and a bottling bucket or can I just use a fermenting bucket with a tap on it? Thanks in advance.

-6.5 Gallon plastic with lid and Drum Tap
-5 Gallon glass carboy
-Airlock S-Bubble type
-Airlock 3 piece type
-Carboy cap, 3, 5 & 6 gal carboys
-Carboy Drainer
-Thermohydrometer
-5/16" Auto-Siphon
-Small Plastic Tubing clamp
-3/8" siphon tubing, per foot
-1" (Large blow off/per foot)
-8" Funnel with strainer
-24 inch Plastic Stirring Paddle
-Bottle brush
-Carboy brush

[wild]

If you're getting carboys then you don't need buckets or vice versa. 6.5 gallon for primary and 5 gallon for secondary (assuming 5-gallon batches).
My take on using the bottling bucket is if you have more than one brew going, you have to wait until your bottling bucket is empty to use it for bottling another brew.
Either get the S-Bubble type or the 3 piece type airlocks. My take on airlocks is that the 3-piece is easily cleaned.
Start thinking about a turkey frier also. Its faster and making a mess outside is easier to clean or at least to hide. :D

Wild

[BrewDog]

I agree with what wild said.

I recommend you check out the >=$79 and up brewing kits at Midwest Supplies (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat=11166&fd=1). All of the kits there are good deals.

Then you will need a brew pot, too. Get the biggest one you can and you won't need to buy another one when you graduate to Full wort boils.

If you plan on doing full wort boils right from the start, go with at least a 7 1/2 gallon pot, and get a turkey fryer and an immersion wort chiller, too. Without these, you will be there forever trying to get 6 gals of wort to boil on the stove, and you will be there forever trying to cool it down so you can pitch your yeast.


HTH-

[abeck1969]

Here is what I use to brew with extract when I'm not kegging...

beer brite for cleaning
paper towels
large rectangular container for sanitizing solution (tupperware, rubbermaid, whatever)
stainless steel spoon for stainless steel pot (could be plastic)
soft spatula to scrape malt extract out of can
3 or 6 gallon pot
6.5 gal carboy primary
5 gal. carboy secondary
immersion wort chiller
hydrometer
thermometer (dial type)
racking cane
5' length of tubing that fits over racking cane
either bubbler or three piece air lock
carboy bung
sometimes a large diameter blow off tube pushed into a modified carboy bung
beer thief (get sample from carboy)
typical bottling bucket with spigot
same tubing as used with racking cane
plastic spoon for plastic bucket
bottle filler
capper
caps
bottles

I'm sure I forgot something. I don't use a funnel with a screen. It just gets too plugged up. I just rack it into the carboy with cane and tubing.

-Beck

[Mad Scientist]

Honestly, I don't think you will need the 3 gallon fementer.

How many bottles did you get? Obviously, you're going to need 2 cases to start, but if you keep bottling, you'll need around 6 to 8 cases, so that you can keep brewing, and keep the pipe line full. These days, I think I have in the range of 16 cases, and I have given away many cases of bottles.....