New brewer...question

[cadetlinux]

Okay I am about to go into this head first. The problem is I don't want to buy a start up kit that I'm only going to want to upgrade later on... I was looking at http://www.homebrewmart.com/starter_kit_4_store.html
or http://www.homebrewmart.com/starter_kit_3_store.html
I think I would rather bottle at this point. I don't want a beginners kit however, I am looking to spend a moderate amount of money...can anyone recommend anything? Thanks in advance, this looks like a great site!

[b3s]

well, if you are serious about brewing and money is not an object, i would look at a kit like this one (http://www.thebrewhut.com/shop.cfm#3). for your first recipe i would read john palmers how to brew (http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html) online book. the first section tells you what to do without the whys and wherefores. the kit from brewhut (blatant plug: my local brew store) comes with papazian's book on home brewing which contains similar instructions.

basically, get a kit like this, and 6-8 pounds of pale dry malt extract, an ounce of centennial hops and an ounce of cascade hops, a large (20 quart or 32 quart) pot for boiling, some yeast, and you are good to go.

i went with the cheaper kit (plastic buckets) and quickly moved to glass carboys. now the buckets are for all grain brewing and used as a mash-lauter tun in conjunction with a sparge arm.

oh, and welcome to the hobby. it is a blast. even your worst beer will be better than 90% of all beers out there. i have yet to open up a home brew and say "gee, a bud would be better than this."

i just wish in this desert i live in that i could lager. there are a few lager recipes i'd like to figure out. notably east side dark from lakefront brewery back home in wisconsin. someday i'll be able to afford a place with a garage again and a chest cooler will be on the books :)

once again, welcome to the hobby and good luck!

// edit

oh yeah...you'll want 48 12-oz bottles or 36 16-oz. bottles to bottle in! i went with 16-oz. ez caps (grolsch style) bottles at first, then went with the tap-a-draft (http://www.defalcos.com/tapadraft.htm) system for tapping. i now do two 6-litre tap-a-drafts and twelve 16-oz. ez-caps per batch.

[cadetlinux]

thanks...that link doesn't wanna work for me though, what is the name of the kit on their site, i'll look it up...i'm very excited to get started.

[b3s]

at http://www.thebrewhut.com go to product catalog, then brewing kits. the kit was The Brew Hut Ultra Brewing Kit. it is a good kit and is the kind of thing you want. basically glass carboy fermenters, a bottling bucket, and all the necessary goodies. i definitely recommend reading either john palmer's online book or papazian's guide to home brewing. both are quite excellent.

[Redbird Fan]

neither of those 2 kits (from your post) really get you where you are asking to be (and you can spend less for sure). Here's a short list of things you should be looking for - to avoid some upgrading in the future -
6 1/2 gallon glass (secondary) fermentor,
5 gallon glass fermentor
5 gallon bottling bucket (food grade)
Hydrometer,
Airlock and stopper,
Bottle filler,
Racking cane,
5 feet 3/8" tubing,
Bottle brush,
One gross bottle caps,
Funnel,
Carboy brush,
bottle capper,
Thermometer,
Fermometer adhesive thermometer,
one-step sanitizer
bottles,
brew Kettle, (look for one that is stainless steel)

the brew kettle should be 5 gallons (at least) in size and you can buy this much cheaper at your typical store (Wal-mart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond)

You will also want a wort-chiller - you can make this pretty easily yourself for no more than $15 (or you can buy them for around $30-$40).

You will also want a bottle washer ($5-$10) and a bottle sanitizer ($12).

Please know, everyone homebrew's a little different than the next guy, and either one of those kits will do you just fine! (although you really will want a wort-chiller and I didn't see it listed in either kit - and a bottle washer)

[cadetlinux]

is there any bonus in getting a steel fermenter, does light through the glass play any part?

[b3s]

i've never seen a wort chiller listed in a beginner kit...even in a high-end kit...but having resisted the temptation i finally bought one in april and it does make a difference...otoh, since getting one my water bill went up $4/month....but on the third hand (my kingdom for an intelligent octopus) since home brewing my beer bill has gone down about $30/month...i guess i'm ahead $26/month :)

yeah, that takes into account the amortization of equipment...geez, now i'm a #&T%!^&*^#^&% accountant

[cadetlinux]

heh, i have no water bill so thats cool

[b3s]

Originally posted by cadetlinux
is there any bonus in getting a steel fermenter, does light through the glass play any part?

yeah, light can go through the glass carboys. the point of the steel conical fermenters is that you only need one fermenter. instead of racking to a secondary fermenter, you release the trub, or yeast/protein/gunk fallout once the krausen has fallen. there are plastic conical fermenters as well, but i personally would avoid those...no point in tossing 200 bones towards something that will probably scratch and collect bacteria. i would love to have some stainless or copper conical fermenters myself...i can make the stuff, but have no room :(

[Redbird Fan]

Light will not be an issue if you keep it out of the sun - and you will likely keep your fermenting beer out of the way (like in a closet and/or closed room) somewhere - it's easier to control the fermentation temperature as well.

I can't think of a disadvantage to ceramic vs. stainless steel - except maybe clean up and it's harder for bacterial to live on stainless steel.

I'm sure either will work.

sorry, I thought you were referring to the brew kettle - oops!

[cadetlinux]

hrmm what would you consider to be a good stainless steel conical fermenter...and does anyone here make more than 5 gallon batches?

[cadetlinux]

http://www.morebeer.com/index.html?page=detail.php3&pid=FE790 any opinions on this kit?

[Tom C]

I personally make 10 gallon batches now. I use a modified keg to do my mashing and boil in. I transfer the wort into carboys, transfer them into a secondary, to a bottling bucket (or keg) then into bottles. I just recently kegged my first batch witch is soooo nice to have fresh beer on tap without the clutter of bottles. This summer I am going to convert an extra refridgerator I have into a kegerator. I plan on always having two-three different beers on tap, cooled ready to serve. I will also use the refridge as a lagering tool for the summer as well.

You can use the 5 gallon Cornelius Kegs (soda kegs) as serving kegs or as a fermentor as well.

Tom C

[Fast_Eddy]

Welcome to brewing cadetlinux - if you love beer then you'll really love homebrewing...

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[paul84043]

If I were going to shell out the cash for a Stainless Conical, I'd get a 12 gallon so you can do 10 gallon batches if you want.

Buying a good kit out of the gate is definitely worth it, glass carboys with handles are awesome. The copper wort chiller is worth it's weight in gold, as well as the Autosiphon, the Thief for taking hydrometer readings.
I use a 30 qt pot on a regular 30,000 btu propane burner. The larger pot gives you plenty of room for foam. This is of course only for 5 gallon batches.