Any Beer Homebrewers?

Big Papa

ANy of you Egg Heads homebrewers at all.

If so could you please give me a list of all the equiptment you would need to make my new hobby to come the most efficient and enjoyable.

I do not want a kegging system. I will rack into bottles. I think most recipes are for 5 gallon batches, so would need the equiptment for that setup.

thanks
Big Papa

fishlessman

buy the bucket kit, the kits come with everything you need for a simple bucket batch, buy the complete joy of homebrewing and pick out an ale or a simple stout, stay away from lager for your first few batches. get some quart bottles, it will make your life easier and you lose a few ounces yeast so the regular 12 ounce bottles are a waste. pick a simple beer and add from there, the book details what you need as the batches get more detailed

WessB

Here's the "hardware" kit I purchased earlier this year...we have made 4 batches already...enjoying one as we speak by the way....I have also ordered 3 beer kits from them as well and have been pleased with all of them...one flat shipping charge as well...drop me an e mail with a phone # and I will give you a call, or send me an E and I'll give you my number if you'd prefer...
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/marketing-categories/landing2/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html

Big Papa

Thanks Wess for the response.

I live 10 miles from Northern Brewer and that is the exact kit i was looking at.

I will have to go there and talk to them on Monday.

What upgrades would you get?

Beer tree for drying bottle?
Wort Chiller?
any others?

Little Steven

Wess,

Hahaha, It's five o'clock somewhere :laugh:

Steve

WessB

Just a tick past noon....but who's countin...LOL

WessB

Would be easier to discuss on the phone....unless that's a problem...

AZRP

I think you will rethink the kegging system. Do a couple batches with bottles and you will see what I mean. -RP

tom in ct

Hi Big Papa,

I am a newbie on my Egg, but I am a veteran of over 100 batches of homebrew. Since I am getting more out of the forum than am putting in, I am happy to be able to have a chance to contribute.

Getting a kit is the best way to start. I currently keg, but used to bottle on a regular basis, and never had a beer tree. If you are tight on space, it might help.

On the wort chiller, it depends. If you do all grain brewing, its a must. If you are doing extract, and only brew a partial batch, you can get by with out it.

What I used to do it boil a few gallons of water a day or two before brew day. After it cooled to room temp, I would put it into cleaned and sanitized milk jugs, and put them in the fridge. On brew day, when it was time to add water to bring the batch up to 5 gallons, the cold water would also cool down the wort.

If there is one thing you should concentrate on as a new brewer, its sanitizing your equipment. Talk to the folks at Northern Brewer, and get something good, like iodaphore to do the job.

Hope that helps
Tom

tom in ct

Hi Big Papa,

I am a newbie on my Egg, but I am a veteran of over 100 batches of homebrew. Since I am getting more out of the forum than am putting in, I am happy to be able to have a chance to contribute.

Getting a kit is the best way to start. I currently keg, but used to bottle on a regular basis, and never had a beer tree. If you are tight on space, it might help.

On the wort chiller, it depends. If you do all grain brewing, its a must. If you are doing extract, and only brew a partial batch, you can get by with out it.

What I used to do it boil a few gallons of water a day or two before brew day. After it cooled to room temp, I would put it into cleaned and sanitized milk jugs, and put them in the fridge. On brew day, when it was time to add water to bring the batch up to 5 gallons, the cold water would also cool down the wort.

If there is one thing you should concentrate on as a new brewer, its sanitizing your equipment. Talk to the folks at Northern Brewer, and get something good, like iodaphore to do the job.

Hope that helps
Tom

Big Papa

not a problem at all Wess. Just heading out the door to work.
Life as a Chef. Nights, Weekends and Holidays and every hour in between.

here is my email address if you want to write down a few more pointers.

chefcor@gmail.com

Thanks again

Big Papa

Thanks for input tom.

One huge quest i have is.

After the initial 1 st day cook.

If a certain batch takes 3 weeks to ferment and I am busy working, will the beer be ok if it sits a few days longer if i cant get to racking it right away?

WessB

Your getting good info here already and I'm sure more will chime in....if I feel I can add anything not mentioned here I will drop you an e mail...otherwise just keep an eye on this thread...."Deepsouth" taught me a lot of what I know...there are several homebrewers here on the egg forum..you should easily get enough info to get you well on your way..plus there are many good homebrew forums out there as well...

tom in ct

Someone in the thread already recommended "The Joy of Homebrewing" If you get that and read it, you will become familiar with the phrase "Relax. Don't Worry. Have a homebrew."

If it takes you a few extra days to rack or bottle a beer, just keep repeating that phrase to yourself. :-)

WessB

The discovery channel is airing a season premier this evening..10 pm my time...called "Brewmasters" I have no idea what it will end up being, the previews look like it's gonna be something involving Dogfish...

RiverRatSkier

Hey Big Papa,
I'm a homebrewer (in the Mpls. area). A friend and I started about 3 years ago. Two other friends have joined us over the last couple years. We are going to hit the 1000 gallon mark on our next brew day. We started out small with partial boil and extract kits from Midwest, and it has grown to where we now do three seperate 10 gallon batches of all grain at a time (well, actually two batches, with a third being a partigyle).

Northern Brewer and Midwest supplies are both great stores. People all over the country mail order from both of these stores, and we can get there in a matter of minutes any day of the week. I tend to prefer Midwest, but really, they are both great.

Definitely start small (bucket kit) and see if it's something you will enjoy and stick with. As your joy of the hobby grows, so will your equipment. If you keep an eye on craigslist, you can usually find some decent deals on used equipment. I tend to not recomend buying used ingredients and chemicals, as you are not really sure what you are getting, but the equipment is pretty straight forward, and easy to clean (kegs, carboys (glass is my preference), etc...).

The AHA (american homebrewers association) has a great forum. There are a lot of experienced homebrewers there that are quick to give mostly good advice.

I hope you have fun with it!

Big Papa

great info everyone.

Please keep opinions, thoughts, and help comming.

civil eggineer

I did a batch over 10 years ago. The beer turned out great but as expensive as purchasing a finished beer but taking weeks, bottles, gear, ....

DrugCoder

Yes the initial cost makes the first few batches cost more than just buying it. But, the more you brew the cheaper your beer gets. You also get to have the final say when it comes to deciding what your beer will taste like. You don't have to settle for someone else's creativity.

Go brew and have fun. There are a lot of little steps but don't worry if you're doing everything exactly perfect. It will come out tasting like beer and it will more than likely be really good beer!

Hungry Joe

I think I may ask for one of these for Christmas. For now I might as well get started on emptying the 48 to 52 pry-off bottles.