Buying my first kit this week

For brewing day you need 5 gallon pot, kit , bag for your grain, extra 5 gallon container, powerful burner, sanitizer, spray bottle.
My suggestion is that you watch some videos and get the idea of what the process involve.
I have started with 1 gallon and move not long ago to 6 gallon equipment, I can tall you it wasn't and its still not easy to do 6 gallon at home, I just need stronger burner.
You might consider starting with smaller format like this kit http://brooklynbrewshop.com/ , get the kit with the basic equipment, after making the first batch you can buy the next batch ingredients from any supplier and brew any type, all-grain, partial or extract. The next stage is grow up in batch size and find the best necessary equipment suitable for your specific need and available space.
E: happy brewing

 

First thing I would do is not buy a 5 gallon pot. Get at least a 10. I just saw one on ebay for $35.84. Also a good plate chiller is very handy, I would go with at least a 40 plate.

Shop around for a good propane burner for brewing outside., Try and find one that has at least 150K btu's, some may think this is overkill, but extra horsepower comes in handy.

If this doesn't fit into your budget, wait and save a bit more, you will be better off in the long run.

here's a link for the burner.......210,000 btu's

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic...bayou+classic+kab4+high+pressure+banjo+cooker

 

I started with this pot for 5 gallon extract, although I started on the stovetop.

Then I bought this burner.

 

I chronicle everything I make, from day one. Feel free to use anything you see. I put up my full recipe and procedure with notes, successes, failures, everything.

IMO the most important equipment that you didn't already list is...

wine thief
auto-siphon
bottling wand

recommended for your second batch: a gram scale.

I personally would go with the wort chiller because you'll need ice to cool it, and unless you have a ton of it on hand, you'll wind up buying ice. Then you might as well just buy a wort chiller because sooner or later you'll wind up spending that in ice anyway. Also, the wort chiller just plain KICKS ASS once you use it. Note: mine did not come with the proper hook-up for my sink. I wound up using electrical tape to tape that baby to the faucet. It actually worked just fine... but yeah, make sure you have the correct connector if you buy a wort chiller. It might come with only a hook-up for a garden hose.

Gravity meters break easily and are cheep. I now have two of them.

The water purity tablets are fine, but I use spring water so I don't use those. My water isn't really suited for brewing.

I personally love my 8-gallon fermentation bucket, and it wasn't much more than the 6.5 gallon one. Just a thought.

Starsan for sanitizer, definitely.

Wow, the heating issue is definitely to be considered. I would sure love to have a propane setup, as I have an electric stove. Electric sucks for making beer. I have scaled down to smaller batches to allow for a full boil, and even then I have to straddle two burners with my pot.

Speaking of pots, bigger is probably better. Mine will hold about 4 gallons max, less with a rolling boil. I wish I had sprung for a bigger one, but then my stove wouldn't heat it anyway, so maybe it's for the best.

As for the boil, you can of course do a partial boil and top off, which is exactly what I did on a bunch of batches. It will come out fine, and you don't have to do a full boil.

The most important batch I ever brewed was my second batch, which was the first one I did on my own. It was a steeped grains, partial boil English IPA. My full procedure, with flaws, errors, and iffy moments, is included. It came out GREAT! This was the moment I realized I was going to be able to do this successfully.

Make a checklist and follow it.

Practice bottling with some water before actual bottling day. You don't have to actually cap the bottles, but get the feel for siphoning, bottling etc. On bottling day I move the fermenter into the kitchen early in the morning, tip one end onto a book to give it a slight angle, and let it settle for a few hours. Then I siphon into my bottling carboy (a bucket is fine too, probably better actually). Pay attention during siphoning and hold the siphon in the perfect place and you'll suck up less (or very little) gunk. I put the fermentation bucket on the counter and the carboy on the floor. Make sure you put the boiled priming sugar into the bottling bucket/carboy before you siphon!! Make sure you measure it properly!! Then move the bottling carboy/bucket onto the counter and start the siphon again. I keep a pan there for overflow/drippage etc. You'll see what I mean, make sure you have a pan there. And make sure you run sanitizer through the bottling siphon/hose/wand before you bottle.

Bottling is faster and easier with bombers, but it's more satisfying to have 12oz bottles because you get more of them and you can give them away without giving away 22oz of beer.

I use the bottling wand and just fill till it just barely overflows, then pull it out. This leaves the perfect headspace for carbonation.

I use stone bottles. they don't have labels and work perfectly. I rinse / brush them very well with hot water after I drink them and drain them in the dishpan till I need them. I've been re-using the same ones for a while now. You don't need to buy special bottles. Just make sure they are clean, use the brush. Sanitize on bottling day.

Also, brew a second batch before the first one is ready. That way even if the first one doesn't come out great, you'll already be too far into it to back out!

Anyway, I've rambled. Good luck man! Do tell how it comes out

 

Not sure what you/they mean by water purity tablets, but if your water has chlorine/chloramines, you can get rid of them using campden tablets. (When I think of water purity tablets, I think of iodine tablets, which are used to kill bacteria, and are not particularly useful in brewing.)

 

I still haven't got any feedback from Bayou on the number of BTU the SP10 can put out. I've read between 60,000 and nearly 200,000. I'd think under 100,000 if it's just a 10PSI hose. Any thoughts?

 

Gamefreac, I don't know if you have ever brewed or seen anyone brew. I think people are making this list too complicated. As mentioned above, it's important to do your homework before you buy ANYTHING. I think a bottle brush is utterly useless, but someone might put that near the top of their list. You need to know what people use in the process, and then decide for yourself how serious you are going to get. This will help determine what you want to buy--especially with some of the more expensive equipemnt like a boil kettle and burner. I honestly wonder if it would have been cheaper for me to buy the suppleis individually, as I've set many of the pieces from the starter kit aside and haven't used them in years.

 

If you're even slightly handy, you can build a wort chiller for about half the cost of purchasing one.

 

I just started a few months ago and decided to do full boils after doing research. I went with a burner, 10.5 gallon kettle and wort chiller. Brewing outside makes it fun for me and I am not as worried about making a mess.

Here is the burner I got. Best price I could find. http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SQ14-Single-Outdoor/dp/B0009JXYQ4/ref=pd_sbs_lg_3 It is perfect size for my kettle and has 4 legs so it feels sturdy. Takes around 15 minutes to get 6.5 gallons of water to a boil.

You will probably need a wort chiller if you are doing full boils. Also I wouldn't slack on the size of the kettle. A 5 gallon will work great for partial boils but you will appreciate having extra space for a full.

 

Check out the northern brewer deluxe kit. It comes with a 6 gallon & 5 gallon carboy, it could save you some money in the long run if you think you will be serious about brewing. I recently bought the kit and like it a lot. I bought a 5 gallon pot for $20 on amazon. I have been doing parrtial boils on the stove so 5 gallon is all I really need.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...-starter-kits/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit.html

 

Turkey Fryers are at Walmart and have ~7.5 gallon pots enough to do a full wort boil (I have 8 and it's close to being too small some batches but I make it work). If you are doing full boils (100% recommended for better color and hop utilization) I would 100% recommend a wort chiller and you'd only be $44 over budget. Not bad!

I would recomend this b/c of the square flat burner so you can get a larger pot if you want but it's out of stock. http://www.walmart.com/ip/30-Quart-Propane-Turkey-Fryer-Set/13059419

This one is in stock for $59 (7.25 gal pot): http://www.walmart.com/ip/King-Kooker-Propane-Turkey-Fryer/14956840

MoreBeer has wort chillers for $59 and free shipping for $59 orders. I have this one and it works great to cool a full boil 5gal of wort from 212 to -70 in about 12-15 minutes: http://morebeer.com/view_product/19513/102204/Wort_Chiller_-_1_25_x_3_8_With_Tubing

 

If you are trying to save some money I would go with the NB basic kit. It seems like a better deal than the amazon kit. Around $90 after shipping and you will have it in a week or less. Especially since it comes with a few more things you need plus the extract kit (25-$30 value). You can always buy the secondary fermenter later. A lot of beers don't require one and some people don't even use them. If you want the secondary on NB I was able to add a 5 gal better bottle, drilled bung stopper, airlock and fermometer for a total of $112 after shipping. You just have to select the basic kit and add on the extra stuff. Use coupon code carboysale to get 25% off the secondary. Buy your yeast locally if possible. Espically liquid yeast it does not ship well during the summer.

 

If you add an ice pack to the cart when you buy liquid yeast I have yet to have an issue as long as you plan your order around the weather when it's not in the 90s for a few days.

 

I live in VA which isn't even considered one of the hottest parts of the country and there were very few days under 90 this summer. The liquid yeast I got was shipped with a gel pack and it was hot by the time I got it. I smacked it after a week in the fridge and it never really expanded much over a full day. Went to the homebrew store and got another. Smacked it and two hours later it was fully expanded. I do not blame NB in any way for this. I really like their service and products. I just learned that personally it is better for me to get the yeast locally espically since there isn't much difference in cost. Also the dry yeast I got from NB was good but my homebrew store's is usually 6 months fresher.

 

I guess I'm lucky living in CT since New England doesn't get too hot. This summer we have had a bunch of heatwaves so I guess it's like a normal day in Virginia... ha-ha. As for freshness I have always been lucky on getting new yeast from NB or MidWest or MoreBeer.com