A Homebrew Christmas

If I was starting from scratch, I would be seriously considering the kit that Midwest Supplies has up on its site right now. Gets you all the stuff you need for fermenting, a complete (refurbished pin lock) kegging setup and a temperature controller for $300. Course, that doesn't get you everything you need for all-grain brewing, but it seems like a really good deal if you don't have any equipment yet.

 

I'd ask how big and how dedicated are you to this hobby/obsession? How much ya` want to spend? We can have you sell your soul at the cross-roads. *Grinning from ear-to-ear.*

Whatcha` got? Whatcha` need?

Edit: All Grain? A 5-10 gal batch can be had for a $25 ball-lock valve set up a cooler for~$30-40 and $7 worth of steel braid. If you want to fly sparge, it's going to cost you a pie pan, or more equipment. Again ^^^ How serious are we talkin`?

 

Here are some links for you to chew on.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-brewers-first-equipment.226853/#post-2948774
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...istmas-gifts-did-you-get.140679/#post-2019532
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/howd-i-do.232201/#post-3007739

But we could all fill 3 pages with meaningless suggestions because we don't know your goals/devotion/current equipment.
If you got nutin', this is what I shared with my friend to get started. It does not include a mash tun bc he was starting with kits.

Fermentation/bottling
http://morebeer.com/products/personal-home-brewery-kit-1-standard.html

kettle/burner
http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-815...ubst_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=14G8ZEBYYHQVSGJXSM9Y

With

http://morebeer.com/products/stainless-weldless-ball-valve.html

Chiller
http://morebeer.com/products/stainless-steel-wort-chiller-25-38-tubing.html

Oxygenation
http://morebeer.com/products/oxygenation-partial-system.html

Books
www.howtobrew.com This is the home brewer equivalent to the book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Its updated and free online.)

http://morebeer.com/products/brew.html

http://morebeer.com/products/book-brewing-classic-styles-80-winning-recipes-brew.html

Kegging instead?
http://morebeer.com/products/basic-homebrew-draft-system-pin-lock.html


Anything else would be chemicals for cleaning, miscellaneous tubing, ingredients, and little things like clamps which really can't be determined until building and dry-runs happen.

***Everything in this list has a substitute that may be cheaper or you may already have it and can be re-purposed. There is also a great homebrew shop in LC at Commons and Gulf St. The specific stuff I have listed has a great balance of price/quality/longevity/convenience/simplicity/one stop shopping. You can go broke on specialized widgets and the like. I'm more of a streamline/multitasker brewer.

***Also, everything in this list has it's counterpart in the Northern Brewer, William's Brewing, ect. catalog. I typically try my LHBS first, but this has links to pictures so you can get the idea.

***Kegs and kegging stuff, as well as all of this stuff, can be found as individual pieces on eBay/Craigslist cheaper if you have the luck and time to find it, but ASSUMING YOU HAVE A SPARE FRIDGE OR COOL/STABLE TEMP AREA TO FERMENT IN (which is absolutely essential to making great beer) this is everything you need (except for experience) to make fantastic beer and will be current for a long time.

I'll bring you both catalogs (MoreBeer and Northern Brewer).

I know this seems like a lot, but there is much much more specialized areas that make an impact, like yeast starters and grain mills, that are great improvements but not necessary yet.

 

Well, if you're already brewing with extract, the only additional thing you really need is a mash tun. I think most of us make them out of coolers, but you can buy kits, like this one: http://www.homebrewing.org/product....m=ProductAds&gclid=CIOe-v6_tMICFRJlfgodCFYAZw

(I have no affiliation with that website, never ordered from them, they were just the first name that came up when I googled.)

That's pretty much it. But you could also consider a grain crusher.

 

Sure. It's what I usually do. It's often windy where I live, and when the wind is blowing it makes the propane burner really inefficient. (I suppose I could build some kind of shield for it, but ... ) So I generally clear out a space in the middle of the garage and set up there.

 

I really wish I had skipped the cooler mash tun and bit the bullet on keggles and a stand, but my rationale was "if I don't like this hobby in a couple years these mash tun cooler deals are cheap"...

 

What price range? What batch size? There is too much stuff out there without narrowing it down a bit.

Maybe you could also list what equipment you currently have so we could make better recommendations also.

As for the cold brewing; wear those layers and brew some strong ass beers and drink them to warm you up when brewing in the cold :-)

 

Lovely thread !! I also was wondering what to get this Xmas for homebrewing! I asked for a mashtun beginers kit an 5lb C02 tank for my krgerator/soda dispenser and a mash paddle..