Getting started with Homebrewing

05-29-2009, 11:54 AM

I started with buckets, and a 5 gallon glass carboy for secondary.
Picked up the bench capper right away.
Bought a 5 gallon brew pot but quickly went to a 7 for full boils.
Haven't picked up a chiller yet, still use the bathtub.
A wine thief is a necessity, less intrusion and will allow for the minimum required sampling to get a SG reading.
Autosiphons are a godsend
I'm now up to 2 6-gallon glass carboy for fermentation and 6 5-gallon secondary glass carboys. At any given time, at least 3 are filled (except now, since I'm moving soon and don't want to move full carboys to storage)

Edit for more stuff:
I'm picking up as many of the square plastic milk carton holders as I can. They make moving carboys around so much easier.
Make sure you have a fermentation area that has little/no temperature fluctuation and stays below 75 degrees, preferably below 70. If that's not possible, you might want to look around for a cheap old fridge or chest cooler and a temp override thing. Or you can go ghetto and search for "son of the fermentation chiller" blueprints online. Temp control is the biggest problem most homebrewers face.

Oh yeah, get a nice notebook to keep detailed brewing notes. They are the most helpful thing ever when you want to recreate a phenomenal brew...

kaisersozei · 05-29-2009, 12:01 PM

Welcome to the ranks, you will definitely enjoy it!

If you're looking at midwestsupplies, I would start with this kit:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/produ...px?ProdID=6874

Gives you everything you need to brew a batch at a time. As you progress and get more adept, you may want to add additional carboys or a wort chiller as Drat suggests. But the kit above is basically what I started with 15 years ago--I've added to it substantially, but it still represents the core of my equipment.

Good luck, and feel free to hit us up if you have any questions--homebrewers love to push people down the sudsy slope!

05-29-2009, 11:54 AM	#1
Drat Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Getting started with Homebrewing I started with buckets, and a 5 gallon glass carboy for secondary. Picked up the bench capper right away. Bought a 5 gallon brew pot but quickly went to a 7 for full boils. Haven't picked up a chiller yet, still use the bathtub. A wine thief is a necessity, less intrusion and will allow for the minimum required sampling to get a SG reading. Autosiphons are a godsend I'm now up to 2 6-gallon glass carboy for fermentation and 6 5-gallon secondary glass carboys. At any given time, at least 3 are filled (except now, since I'm moving soon and don't want to move full carboys to storage) Edit for more stuff: I'm picking up as many of the square plastic milk carton holders as I can. They make moving carboys around so much easier. Make sure you have a fermentation area that has little/no temperature fluctuation and stays below 75 degrees, preferably below 70. If that's not possible, you might want to look around for a cheap old fridge or chest cooler and a temp override thing. Or you can go ghetto and search for "son of the fermentation chiller" blueprints online. Temp control is the biggest problem most homebrewers face. Oh yeah, get a nice notebook to keep detailed brewing notes. They are the most helpful thing ever when you want to recreate a phenomenal brew... Last edited by Drat; 05-29-2009 at 12:00 PM.

05-29-2009, 12:01 PM	#2
kaisersozei The Homebrew Hammer Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Gerard Location: Midlothian, VA Posts: 3,183 Trading: (40)	Re: Getting started with Homebrewing Welcome to the ranks, you will definitely enjoy it! If you're looking at midwestsupplies, I would start with this kit: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/produ...px?ProdID=6874 Gives you everything you need to brew a batch at a time. As you progress and get more adept, you may want to add additional carboys or a wort chiller as Drat suggests. But the kit above is basically what I started with 15 years ago--I've added to it substantially, but it still represents the core of my equipment. Good luck, and feel free to hit us up if you have any questions--homebrewers love to push people down the sudsy slope! __________________