I want to start home brewing... Need some help!

My advice is to read this... www.howtobrew.com ...then come back and ask your new questions here.
The older version of How To Brew is free at the above link. Or better yet, you can buy the current version pretty cheap on amazon.

 

You made mention of brewing 2 gallon batches.

You may want to consider using a Mr. Beer fermenter to make these 2 gallon batches.

For your viewing pleasure:

 

HowToBrew is always a classic starting point. So much good info.

 

Welcome to this crazy (but fun) hobby. Your question is a frequent one in this forum but unfortunately the key words to use in a search bring back too many responses. Here are links for searching on 'newbie' and 'noobie' which will give you a start for getting answers that you can read right away rather than waiting for new responses.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/30853605/?q=newbie&o=date&c[node]=8
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/30853592/?q=noobie&o=date&c[node]=8

I'll also suggest that you page thru this forum because there are plenty of threads that deal with small batches, equipment, etc. and rather than doing searches, it is easier to just browse the thread titles on each page and read the posts if they seem to fit.

 

I am a one gallon advocate, especially to start out with. The equipment can be found about anywhere, and consists of a five gallon pot and a three gallon pot along with the glass one gallon jug. The time to brew is fairly short, and if you mess up a brew you aren't out that much money. I did start with a one gallon kit I got as a gift and went from there. I just started last November and have done 15 brews, which has allowed me to learn a lot more than I would have doing a bigger brew less frequently.

 

I honestly think it's a little overwhelming for new readers. It is a great read, but I suggest a hands-on approach every time for the newbies. Find a homebrew club or someone who brews and start hanging out on brew day. The rhetoric can come later.

 

I recommend you look into the Brew In A Bag (BIAB) approach to all-grain brewing. Some information here: http://www.biabrewer.info/ --extensive forum w/ info
http://homebrewmanual.com/brew-in-a-bag/ ---pictorial summary
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/How-To-Brew-in-a-Bag.pdf - American Homebrewer Association summary article
Other good links out there, but you know how to google.

Basically, BIAB is a way to make all-grain batches of beer with a minimalist approach to equipment and a reduction in time. I believe that following the approach to the letter does put some limitations on batch size, but if you are interested in smaller batches, that is not a problem. This approach didn't receive a lot of attention 10 years ago, when I was beginning to think about all-grain brewing. I probably would have opted for it if I knew about it, but I have to confess to not really having done it myself (well, there was this one time that I sort of modified my own approach to one resembling this technique).

 

There is an AHA activity coming up called "Big Brew". Homebrewers show up at locations like Homebrew Shops and Breweries, sometimes a guys house. They brew various recipes and sized batches on whatever their system is. May 2 this year. Information with the group recipes.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/aha-events/national-homebrew-day/

Locations can be found here.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/aha-events/national-homebrew-day/big-brew-events/

I also recommend finding a club near you. Being in a club really elevated the level of beer I make due to the feedback I got. You will meet some great people.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/community/clubs/find-a-homebrew-club/

 

There isnt exactly a complete kit for such small batches unfortunately (I too am a small batch brewer). I use a 3 gallon igloo cooler as a mash tun for BIAB, its a little too small it limits me to about 6-7% abv brews. You could also just use a 5 gallon kettle but I think the coolers hold the mash temp much better. The Tuns you can buy premade online are too big for 1 gallon batches IMO so youre going to have to get creative on that. Id also look into a 3 gallon carboy or brew demon/mr beer for fermenting in. You can also ferment in 5 gallon buckets but the wider surface area makes it a little harder to get your full volume because of the trub(you can use a book under one side of the bucket so everything collects on one side). Hope this helped a little

Also, if you come to enjoy this hobby I wouldnt wait too long to get a keg(3-5 gallon), its so worth it

 

Sure, lets say I want to brew 1.5 gallons. My system evaporates 1 gallon of water per 60 minutes of boil. So I need to have 2.5 gallons of wort post-mash. That means I need to mash with ~2.7ish gallons of water(if doing no-sparge) to make up for the water being absorbed into the grain during the mash. So my cooler is nearly full without any grain, so Im limited to 3.5-4lbs of grain, which typically puts me in about 6-7% abv. In reality, I usually have to mash with about 2.1 gallons or less then dunk sparge or top off pre-boil(reduces efficiency). Even an extra gallon on my cooler would really help, Ive just been lazy.

 

If the initial start up cost of a 5 to 6 gallon system doesn't scare you, and you can find a competent homebrewer to help you, and you have no trouble either drinking or sharing the fruits of a 5 to 6 gallon batch there is absolutely no reason why your first batch can't be or wont be delicious to the end of the batch.

 

If you're going to brew a smallish batch, you'll want to try to keep your fermentor sized down a bit too. It may not work well to use a 6.5 gallon bucket to ferment 2.5 gallons of beer. That's just too much head space.

As for a suggestion for other equipment that you might need, I don't recall if you said what your fermentation environment will be, but it's very important to be able to provide an ambient temp of 60-65 degrees with minimal fluctuation. (A closet in an apartment usually won't be good enough.) The fermentation process will raise the wort temp a few degrees, but you want to try to keep it below 70 with that extra heat, thus a controlled environment will help in that cause to minimize the extra heat rise. Usually a basement is a good place (away from the furnace or water heater) and on the floor may be necessary to get below 65. You can Google 'swamp cooler' to see what your options are to build something, or you can spend some bucks on an old fridge or freezer plus an external temp controller to contain your fermentor, thus a controlled environment.

 

Head space is not a real issue wrt primary fermentation; that head space will quickly fill up with CO2 at the beginning of fermentation.

Cheers!

 

I'd advise just scaling up to 5 gal. You are doing the same amount of clean up and investing the same amount of time. Might as well have more beer to show, and share for the trouble.