New to brewing: Best Kits

[thecrow124]

It occurs to me that people use glass and plastic. A bit late. Everything in my setup is stainless now.

Sorry about that. Still, I would avoid bleach personally. Iodophor is less reactive but more effective as a sterilant.

Does Iodophor stain the white plastic buckets? I have never used it but I thought I heard that that was one of the knocks against it was that it could stain. I am probably wrong, just wanted to ask before I go using it.

 

[wartyOne]

Does Iodophor stain the white plastic buckets? I have never used it but I thought I heard that that was one of the knocks against it was that it could stain. I am probably wrong, just wanted to ask before I go using it.

Yes, it will stain plastic, but the stain doesn't affect anything flavor-wise. However, if plastic readily accepts a stain that easily due to its porosity, imagine what kind of leftover bleach solution is staying in your equipment that you can't see. Or bugs for that matter.

It also stains the spray bottles, but if all those are used for is sanitizer anyway it doesn't matter.

One other benefit for having it around is that it denatures alkaline solutions (cleaning agents), so if you get something on your skin, it's good to have around to neutralize it.

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

So I actually took a class at the place where i purchased my kit. Very informative, worth the money IMO. Of course they suggested starting with an extract kit so I was just wondering what you guys think a nice one might be to start with. Looking at the option below, its 15% until tomorrow night. Wondering if it's a good buy?

White House Beer Kit Promo - Northern Brewer


Or other options that sounded good were:

Caribou Slobber Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains : Northern Brewer

Brickwarmer Holiday Red Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains : Northern Brewer

Honey Brown Ale Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains : Northern Brewer


OR the one at my place I absolutely wanted to buy, but just wasn't realistic for a first timer:

New Zealand IPA Beer Ingredient Kit - Keystone Extract Kits - Ingredient Kits - Beer

I figured thats a hefty price tag ($58) for my first batch. Always a pretty good chance i'll mess it up and be down heavy cash.


Any of these better or worse than the other? Has anyone brewed any of these already?

 

[thecrow124]

My first brew was the Carribou slobbler. I would say if you like brown ales then that would be a good one to brew. It is easy and almost impossible to screw up. I fermented almost 10 degrees to hot and it still turned out really good. Not perfect, and with discernable flaws, but still very drinkable. If you don't like browns, go with something else.

If you like IPA's, go with that kit. In all honesty, all extract kits are pretty easy, just make sure you get the temp down as quickly as possible to not just pitching temp, but a temp that is viable for the yeast you are using. Shut off the flame to add the malt syrup, and mix well before turning the flame back on. Don't overthink the process, although as a first timer you will, it isn't hard at all. If you follow the instructions peovided you will make good beer.

Also, no matter what you make, taste it at every step. Taste the wort, taste the OG sampl, taste the FG sample, taste it when you bottle it, just to see how it changes, do that with every batch, just so you can see what happens. If you decide to do this however, ferment a little more than 5 gallons, just to that when you bottle you have the full 5 gallons. If you want the abv to be accurate, but a 2lb bag of light dme and add a little bit to the boil kettle , maybe a cup, to bump up the gravity so that it reaches target before ferment.

Don't overthink it though, making beer is pretty easy.

 

[RctsGrinna]

I have been brewing for almost 20 yrs now, my first batch was July of 1994. I know this because I take a copious amount of notes. In those twenty years I have learned three very important things.

1. Sanitation, Sanitation, Sanitation (no exploding bottles)

2. Notes, Notes, Notes (the more notes you take the easier it is to duplicate a result that you love.)

3. Fun, Fun, Fun ( makes sure you have fun doing it, otherwise its not worth doing)

 

[757Hokie83]

I have been brewing for almost 20 yrs now, my first batch was July of 1994. I know this because I take a copious amount of notes. In those twenty years I have learned three very important things.

1. Sanitation, Sanitation, Sanitation (no exploding bottles)

2. Notes, Notes, Notes (the more notes you take the easier it is to duplicate a result that you love.)

3. Fun, Fun, Fun ( makes sure you have fun doing it, otherwise its not worth doing)

as far as note taking goes, I found this sheet from one of my brewing books, and got a notebook full of them....record every batch that I do

http://www.radicalbrewing.com/rbws1.pdf