Home Beer Brewing

Question: Best beginner home beer brewing kit?

(Posted by: Grant on 2008-06-25 10:02:41)

Ok, I want to brew my own beer, but I am a college student and only want to spend tops 130$ (USD) or so for kit and my first batch of beer. I have seen TONS of kits on TONS of sites, but I have no idea what is good for the money. I also really like dark beers so that would be great if you knew of a kit that included how to make a porter or something like that.

Posted by: Mayor Adam West on 2008-06-25, 10:12:43

Try: midwestsupplies.com/ products/ ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat= 11166 &fd= 1 I recommend the 79.95 starter kit... cleaner/ clearer beer. Then pick a recipe kit: midwestsupplies.com/ products/ recpkits.asp What is going to get you is the bottles... around $11 for a case and you'll need two cases. Try saving any NON-TWIST OFF bottles you get from now on. WASH THEM OUT IMMEDIATELY! and this will reduce your out of pocket expenses. EDIT: What an a##bag... beer doesn't yellow your teeth... (Insert random insult here that would normally get me yet another violation notice.) EDIT: Please stay away from Mr. Beer... Unless you like having limited selection and/ or love sh#tty pale lagers.

Posted by: DoH on 2008-06-25, 10:39:16

You don't need a kit. Find a glass carboy, look on craigslist.org. Get a brand new food grade plastic pail.(try a restaurant supply house). Buy a large stainless steel pot (I'm talking big, like lobster pot big, not a dutch oven), yard sales are a good source for these. Go to a bar and see if you can buy a couple cases of empty bar bottles off of them (no more than $5/ case). Other alternative is to buy beer that comes in "brown " long neck bottles that aren't twist offs. My bottles are many years old, but when I started I purchased 4 cases of bud long neck in "bar bottles ". Clean them by soaking them first in a big bucket of hot water w/ automatic dishwashing detergent (cascade), this will get the labels off. You will need to buy - Fermentation lock w/ cork for top of the carboy. Gizmo to measure sugar/ alcohol content bottle wand (used to siphon beer into bottles) bottle caps bottle capper malt extract yeast hops copy of "the joy of home brewing " ( <$1 at used book stores everywhere), matter of fact get this first. Nice to have handle for the carboy (screws around the neck) Make your own wort chiller. (all parts are available at home depot in the plumbing aisle - made mine at an Ace Hardware). Buy a kit - sheeesh what has home brewing come to?

Posted by: oikos on 2008-06-25, 15:15:05

I started with a Brewers' Best kit. They show up on eBay all the time, sometimes on Craig's List. If you can get a used one, that cuts the cost right there. Thrift shops and flea markets are other sources of equipment. You can make some of what you need too. First, get a copy of Papazian's book The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. That will tell you what you need. Once you have browsed thru the general portion of the book, go to the Brew Your Own (magazine) website. Click on Reader Resources. That will give you a list of advertisers with links to their catalogs. Figure out who can give you the best price. Don't forget shipping. Sometimes large orders get shipped free. Future purchases may be cheaper through a local homebrew store. If you have one, it's a good source of advice too. I'd suggest starting with an all-extract brew. A five-gallon batch will give you a bit more than two cases of pints.