New to home brewing, where to start?

Well...welcome to the obsession / addiction.
I'all think searching BA's HB archives would be a great place to start your research.

 

Any of the kits would work. However, if you want to "get serious" about brewing...you're going to need more than a $300 budget.

Of course, it's best to start out small and work your way up, but be aware that you are going to have to invest a bit of money into this hobby.

 

Fermentation chamber...most efficient is a chest freezer and temperature controller. After that many would say the ability to pitch yeast properly. This would entail purchasing a stir-plate and flask to make yeast starters. I've just recently decided to try doing yeast starters, though I've had good results by pitching two vials/pouches of liquid yeast.

Another important tool for me has been beersmith...though there are also some free brew software out there.

I could keep adding onto this list...I'm serious when I say there are many items that people would think are absolutely essential to making good beer.

However, of most import are: Temperature control, yeast pitching rates, and sanitation (which I didn't mention).

Starsan is the best sanitizer.

 

Read this: http://www.howtobrew.com/

Sanitation is #1 unless you like infected beer.

This is what I started with from MoreBeer.com

Bottle of Star San Sanitizer (4oz)
Plastic Bottle Filler
Bag of Bottle Caps (1/4lb)
Bottle Capper
Reusable Mesh Steeping or Hop Bags
Plastic Spoon
Funnel
Home Beermaking Book
Bottle Brush
Carboy
Package of Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW)
Plastic Bottling/Sanitation Bucket with Spigot
Airlock
Rubber Stopper with Hole
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Jar
5ft Vinyl Transfer Tubing
Sterile Siphon Starter (Contains Racking Cane with Tubing, Air Filter and Carboy Hood)
5 inch long dial thermometer
2 Cases of (12) 22oz Bottles
8-Gallon Heavy Duty Kettle with Ball Valve, Barb and Notched Lid
Copper Wort Chiller with Tubing

I'd suggest getting a wort chiller as well but it is not completely necessary. Although fermentation temps are very important if you can keep your beer between 60-70 when its fermenting, you should be fine. If you want to make world class beer you will most likely need a way to constantly monitor the temperature but you can still make good beer without it.

 

LOL...I appreciate the sentiment. However, I am just another homebrewer who has charted some of the waters you're dipping your foot into. There are plenty of people with more knowledge than I, and far more deserving of your thanks.

I just hope some of what I've learned can help.

 

I got the Northern Brewer deluxe kit and immersion chiller, plus an extra carboy for under $300 iirc. It was perfect for what I needed for my first few batches, and I saved up for a few upgrades since then. I think it's a great deal, shipping and customer service were great.

 

Any equipment kit is going to contain at least the basics (bucket, carboy, bottling equipment, siphon etc.). I always recommend to get a 10 gallon (for a 5 gallon batch) pot and a burner to do everything outside. Included with that would be a wort chiller for full boils with a reasonable cooling time.

Also, star san- its the best.

 

And yeast pitching temperature. But yes, this ^^^^.

If you don't have a wort chiller yet, get one. A pre-chiller setup is nice if you live in a place where the tapwater is quite warm. Or some people use plate chillers. I don't see the need with my current setup, but it's conceivable that I might use a plate chiller when my larger setup is complete. I haven't decided yet.

 

To get going with making good beer you do not need to go all in to start. Two things that you can put off for the time being are the ability to make a starter and full-out temperature control. Eventually you will want to be able to make a starter so that yeast pitching rates with liquid yeast will be adequate. Until then you can use dry yeast; one packet of dry yeast is sufficient for most beers. Simply rehydrate in sanitized water (boiled, then cooled). As for temperature control, you want your fermentation temperature to stay below ~70 F for most ales. This means that if you can find a cool place (60 F to 65 F) in you dwelling, you should be fine. If not Google something like "fermentation swamp cooler" for a cheap and cheerful method of fermentation temperature control. Right now I suggest that you concentrate on (1) using a kit or a tried-and-true recipe (Brewing Classic Styles is a great reference), (2) sanitization, and (3) getting your wort to correct pitching temperature before pitching your yeast.

 

My buddies and I have started buying from these guys because the price is a decent. Plus they are new and trying to increase there inventory I contacted them regarding liquid yeast and they responded like an hour later and told me they would have it very soon. I just like their business model of low prices.

http://www.valuebrew.com/

 

They actually just posted on Facebook that they got liquid yeast already... I am going to be requesting some more grain options shortly..