An 8 gallon pot, a brew bucket with a spigot for bottling, a good thermometer and hydrometer, and a carboy is about all you'd need for the big stuff. A mashtun possibly if you're going to brew allgrain. Other than that, a big stir spoon, a strainer, airlocks and bungs, some tubing, and sanitizer. Bottles, caps, and a capper if you aren't kegging. You really need less than you'd think.
Welcome to this wonderful hobby, Mike. Your question about recipe as well as equipment for a first brew is one that is asked frequently here. I suggest that you read back 8-10 pages to get as many opinions and suggestions that will help answer the question. Keep in mind your budget, what easy beer style that you like to drink, and whether you want to start off with brewing malt extracts or with using the all-grain process. Read howtobrew.com online for some discussion on these questions, or better yet, purchase the book (it's a later edition from the online version) so that you can highlight, write notes, etc. That book is essentially the 'standard' info source for homebrewers.
I've been brewing for about 18 months, so I'm a relative newcomer to the hobby myself. I'm now using a slightly modified version of the brew in a bag (BIAB) technique, a fairly recent switch. I decided to spend a good year or so using extract and work on understanding critical things like yeast health, pitching rates, when and how to make starters, fermentation temperatures, and sanitation. I'm glad I did it that way before going all grain. All of those factors are important regardless of whether you use extract or are all grain. Now that I'm confident in my process when it comes to yeast and sanitation, I'm comfortable bringing other variables like mash pH and mash temperature into play. My recommendation is to focus on better understanding a single aspect of the process every time you brew. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy this awesome hobby!
It often helps to find someone else who homebrews. He can tell you about all of the stuff that he bought, used once, and never used again. If you sit in on a brew session this will also help show you the ropes on what you'll be doing when you brew your first beer.
This really helped me. If you don't have a friend in the hobby, then perhaps a local homebrew store offers a beginners class. If not then I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you watched one of their brew days.
I recommend that you purchase a kit from a good Local Homebrew Store (LHBS). The folks at the LHBS will be a valuable resource to you. They will work with you to formulate the recipe for your first batch of beer and answer any questions you might have. Is Love2Brew near you? http://www.love2brew.com/contact-us-a/246.htm Cheers!
I started with this: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shop/great-gifts/deluxe-equipment-kit Not an endorsement, although I was happy with this equipment and was also very pleased with my first pale ale. Just an idea of what you might need.
Not sure how often or if this still do this at all, but this is the kit I bought a couple years ago on a groupon deal. It was I think $60, and came with a choice of three extract kits (red, brown, or wheat, I believe), and a $25 gift card to the site. I figured if I was ever going to get into homebrewing, I would never see a better deal than that.
I've actually located a homebrewing club a town over form me. I'm excited to take this love of beer to the next level.
