Recommended next step in homebrewing?

Read up on brew in a bag (BIAB). It's all grain brewing using one kettle and a big mesh bag. It's perfect for you, or anyone else wanting to do all grain batches of 5 gallons or less.

 

You'll have to decide how big you want to go and how big your apartment will let you go. You can get very creative in how you stack your fermenters, mash tuns, and kettle. Glass bottles always seem to take up the most space, IMO.

You want to do full boils. Period. If you are doing typical batches (5 gal) you'll want to have space to slosh around above that. I wouldn't go any smaller than 8 gallons for a boil kettle.

You can do BIAB, as @AlHounos ^^^ recommends. It's a good way to see how you do with grains before going all the way to All Grain. It's cheap and pretty easy on everything but your back.

If you don't have room for a propane burner outside, you can buy or build a heat stick for inside. http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precis...167750&sr=8-1&keywords=5+gallon+bucket+heater or a homemade one from CPVC and a water heater element from a hardware store. It'll help heat the house in the upcoming winter.

I wouldn't buy much in the way of gear at the homebrew shops. I'm all for supporting them, but I usually just use them for little purchases and ingredients. Great for holding stuff in your hands and getting ideas, but not so nice on the wallet. Don't be afraid to tell them "no" and to shop around.

 

The advice above on BIAB is spot on for transitioning to all grain. Google one gallon all grain recipes. One gallon recipes will give you some practice at developing your brewing craft without needing to invest a lot in equipment or supplies. Having just started down the exact path that you are on three months ago, I have the following tips for you:

1) lurk here often
2) read John Palmer's "How to Brew", read it again
3) your first few brew days will be hectic and take more time than you think - plan accordingly
4) cleanliness and sanitation are your friends (think PBW and StarSan)
5) make checklists and take notes
6) control fermentation temperature and conditions
7) be patient... let yeast do its job!
8) the hard part... refrain from drinking beer while brewing your first batches - you'll thank yourself later

That being said, you'll probably find that one gallon batches are a lot of work for a very little amount of beer. I did four one gallon batches before moving up to 2.5 to 3 gallon batches. Your question prompted me to stop lurking and start posting. Thanks for that.

 

Seek out a Homebrew club and an experienced brew buddy that is willing to share equipment and information. Avoiding the common mistakes of new all grain brewers will allow you to make fantastic ales from the start.

 

I grabbed a 1 gallon, all grain kit from Brooklyn Brewshop and it works great. Lets me do all grain on my stove top. The only downside is that at 1 gallon, the batches disappear quickly and that it still takes about 3 hours to brew and you only get a gallon. But, it does let you experiment and get to know the process. They do brew kits or you could easily write your own recipe in a 1 gallon batch.

 

Brew in a bag is a good suggestion. You can get a cheap aluminum pot on Amazon, something like this http://www.amazon.com/Winware-Professional-Aluminum-Quart-Stockpot/dp/B001CHKL3G/ I have one of these for making stock, it is a good pot. If you get a 5 gallon pot, you could do full boils for 2.5-3 gallon batches on your stovetop.

How to Brew is well worth the money http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
I also recommend Brewing Classic Styles http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Classic-Styles-Winning-Recipes/dp/0937381926

Ask lots of questions before brewing, we can help prevent a lot of the common mistakes.

 

Unless you can get outside to boil it, getting 5+ gallons of liquid to boil on a stove top if you're in an apartment may be tricky/time consuming/energy consuming. Plus, with a newborn in the picture you're time is precious. I'd probably stick with smaller batch's in the 2.5 gallon or so range. Also, BIAB is great for smaller size batch's because you're not dealing with 10 plus pounds of soaking wet grain and trying to lift it out of the kettle.

If memory serves @HerbMeowing does smaller batch's/ non-standard size (that is to say, not 5 or 10 gallon) and has experience with the Mr. Beer stuff. Maybe he could offer some thoughts.

 

I am in the same boat as the OP and am considering BIAB. I only have a 6 gallon fermenter though. Can I ferment a 3 gallon batch in a 6 gallon fermenter?

 

You sure can. Just can't do it the other way around

 

Have a look at one pot electric brew systems too like the Braumeister or Grainfather. I'm sure there are others.

 

Two things that were just casually mentioned above that I'd like to repeat for emphasis are:

1. You need a way to control the environment where your fermentor vessel will be kept. If being in an apartment causes you to not have a place where the temp is 65-67 degrees (especially with a baby), then the quality of your beer will suffer if your fermentation temp is allowed to go much above 70.
2. Since you are in an apartment, it's almost guaranteed that your batch size will be restricted to less than 5 gallons if your stove is electric. (Unless you can brew outdoors with an LP gas burner.) Some homebrewers can do it, but it's a difficult thing to do unless your pot is very wide and can cover two burners. If you have a gas stove in the apartment, you have a better chance to boil 5-gallon batches, but it's unlikely that you can go any larger.

There are work-arounds for these two conditions that can allow you to brew 5-gallon batches, but they complicate your life at a time when you may not want it like that with a baby.

Good luck with your reading the recommended books, and I think you'll enjoy getting more deeply into the hobby.

 

Coopers bought MrB a year or three ago.
The quality of the LME and recipe kits has reportedly been improved; however ... b/c it's a convenience product ... they're are over-priced. Noobrewers can do much better building recipes with the help of the LHBS.

What is it about the MrB system that leads the OP to think "(a)ny affordable decent quality kit style systems (would) make you feel more like a brewer than the Mr. Beer kits" other than the satisfaction one gets from spending money they don't need to spend? Or is it like the old joke about what mopeds and boinkin' fat girls? (both are fun to ride but you wouldn't want anybody seeing you on one).

The MrB fermentor is the perfect size for apartment dwellers. Low profile. Small footprint. Turn a gallon jug on its side and it's the same height and length as MrB. Why settle for one sixer when you can brew four in essentially the same space?

• It's large enough for 2.45G (9L) batch sizes.
• They're inexpensive ($10 new; give away prices on Craigslist)
• Large-mouth makes it easy to clean.
• Fits nicely in a 48-QT ice chest for easy fermentation temperature control by swapping out a 22-oz bottle of frozen water twice a day.
• Get two and use one as a bottling bucket.
• Get three and have two staggered batches going at once to build and maintain a pipeline

Your stove should have the capacity to get ~3.35 - 3.5Gs of wort to a rolling boil.
Cover the kettle if necessary until the boil kicks in ... then put a fry pan splatter screen under the lid to allow steam to escape. Tip the lid occasionally to drain off the condensate so it doesn't return to the boil.

Pictures ...
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...ng-operations-approaches.102390/#post-1505121

 

Any wort.
Any yeast.
Anytime.

My preferred styles are IPA and SMaSH but the MrB fermentor has also been known to produce barleywine ... old stock ale ... wit ... CA common ... and raspberry wheat.

 

These two are great advice. I do BIAB and love the fact it was cheap to set up originally. Then you add as you can (bigger pot, burner, temp control). One of my favorite days of the month is our home brew club meetings.