My Plan for Starting Homebrewing

First, your local homebrew shop sucks. They can easily build you a one gallon batch "kit," assuming they sell ingredients. And if they don't, then it's not really a homebrew shop.

Sounds about right, without knowing what's already in your one gallon equipment kit.

Buckets, glass carboys, and plastic carboys are all viable options. Size-wise, I'd recommend taking your biggest contemplated batch size and multiplying by 1.3. That will ensure you have enough headspace that you won't (often) lose yeast and beer to blow-off from vigorous fermentations.

ETA: Oh, and read "How to Brew," either the free online version or the updated print version.

 

If you are looking for convenience, you need to either stick with 1 gallon batches or 5 gallon batches. Seems to me that in your situation, you should use the gift card to purchase a 5 gallon starter kit and use it to brew either 5 or 2.5 gallon batches. Not knowing what came in your 1 gallon starter set, I assume you could use most, if not all, of the stuff from a 5 gallon starter kit.

As far as eyeballing it when splitting kits, that's not a good idea at all. I got a digital kitchen scale at Walmart for $10-$15 that works great for measuring grains and DME, and I got a $10 digital scale from Northern Brewer for hops. Both would be a wise investment if you intend to split kits.

 

Splitting a 5-gallon batch in half is probably better than trying to split one 5-ways. I'm sure there would be nothing wrong in theory with splitting five ways, but with such small quantities of ingredients to begin with, you might have consistency problems between each of the five batches, especially if you aren't going to have any scales to measure them out.

I think the bigger fermenter and bigger pot should cover everything. If you're just starting out, definitely just use a bucket. It's simple, cheaper and safer to deal with. I don't know what kind of airlock the Brewer's Best system comes with, but you may need a new one for your bucket if the other doesn't fit.

 

I think measuring ingredients without a scale is almost a guarantee of inconsistent results. But if you can look at two piles of grain and determine that they are the same, then hats off to you.

 

You could for the meantime, find recipes online or from friends and such and purchase grain from your Lhbs and make one gallon brews to your liking. Plus it gives you a chance to experiment a little as well and alter recipes to your liking.

I would for sure step up to a 5 gallon kit at a minimum though. Makes things a little easier. I would go with a 6.5 gallon bucket or carboy for primary fermentation. A 5 gallon is fine normally for secondary if you choose to do so

 

Why pray tell are these the only two options for someone looking for convenience?

 

How does any of this begin to make things easier for a beginner?

 

Are there other local homebrew stores near you? This one sounds like a Charlie Foxtrot so far. I'd consider moving on after the gift card is spent. If this store sells scales, maybe use the card to accelerate the move. If you get serious about brewing, you're going to need at least one. I use a 5 lb postal scale for grains and a drug dealer pocket scale for hops and minerals.

 

What kind of beer do you like? We can come up with a good first recipe for you and then you just need to get the ingredients. It sounds like you should not rely on advice from this shop.

 

Sorry Herb! Was just answering his last question about what size buckets to use if he went to 2.5 gallon batches. Furthermore was only offering an option to go to a 5gal kit seeing a premeasured kit was better than eyeballing a kit in half or better yet 5ths

 

There is nothing wrong with brewing 1-gallon batches, and it provides you a vehicle to brew a few batches at minimal ingredient expense to make sure that you're going to like this hobby. It isn't too difficult to create a 1-gallon recipe, and like @wspscott says, we can come up with something here that can get you started. It allows you a chance to experience the brewing process and develop your techniques too.

I looked online at what I think is your equipment kit but the specs were not clear, so just to clarify, does your 1-gallon jug measure out to 1-gallon, or is it a little bigger so that 1-gallon of liquid can go in there and still have head room? Also, does your bucket have a spigot? If you have not used this equipment yet, are you comfortable returning it and getting a larger kit? Or use your credit for the return and the gift card to get equipment that will suit your needs better? The How to Brew book has a section about equipment, and it can help you decide what your brewing goals might be. Whether your intent is to bottle or keg your beers (have you decided this?) will also help you decide a few little nuances about what equipment you need.

 

Not the only 2, but before being clarified, it sounded like the OPs LHBS may not even carry ingredients, so to step up from 1 gallon premade kits, 5 gallon premade kits are the next most common premade kit size and so either 2.5 or 5 gallon batches are most convenient. Wasn't it obvious

 

I just brewed my first 1 gallon IPA kit and obviously a rookie at this but after reading this post, I've got a question. It looks like the "kits" for a one gallon batch are roughly in the $15 range. This does not seem that attractive price wise given the yield of roughly 12 beers. Would a good home brew store mix a recipe from scratch, that would be less expensive?

 

Possibly, if they sell grains in less than one pound increments.

 

Okay, it sounds like your decision is made to stick with 1-gallon batches for now. You have everything to produce beer except a boil pot, bottles/caps and recipe ingredients. A 1.5 to 2-gallon pot should be large enough to brew a batch this size, and that pot is small enough that you can brew your beer in your kitchen. And you can save your beer bottles that you purchase from the store to reuse for your beer so that you only need to buy some caps.

I have never used a 1-gallon glass fermentor, so I don't know if it is a standard thin-wall jug or if it is a little beefier to handle fermentation pressure if the air lock happens to get plugged, as well as being able to take some knocking around from handling. I'll suggest that you choose a beer style recipe that is not a high ABV style to help avoid the possibility of a clogged air lock, as well as being an easier beer to brew.

One other thing to think about is whether you have a place with a fairly constant ambient temp of 65 degrees where you can ferment your beer? Besides getting everything right on brew day, being able to ferment at a proper temp is the next most important thing for you to be able to do.

Ask as many questions as you'd like to get yourself ready. Besides reading How to Brew, there are threads in this forum that discuss tips for newbies to make that first brew session easier, so read back 6, 8, 10 pages to find appropriate thread topics and pick up this valuable information. You might also be able to find specific threads if you do a search on the key word 'tips' but that word gets used a lot around here.

 

When I first started I used a mr. Beer fermenter, that's perfect for 2 gallon batches. I was able to fit the little brown keg in my portable igloo cooler so I was able to control the temp. I would just swap ice packs out from time to time.

Good luck...cheers.