Starting equipment

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:04 am

I'm in the process of building a list of things to buy to get my setup started. I've learned in the past from other projects that skimping on gear can make for a frustrating experience. If I'm going to invest money in something I want to make it a positive experience.

I'm probably going to go with the intermediate starter kit from Midwest Supplies. I'm going to check with them and see if I can change out the 5 gallon carboys for 3 gallon ones since I think I'm going to start with smaller batches. If they don't substitute than I'll probably buy their kit and add the smaller bottles as it looks like it would be cheaper in the long run.

Is there anything else, besides a brew pot and pot thermometer, that I should consider adding to this?

A couple of items I've seen in the site that I think might be handy would be a carboy dryer stand and a wine thief for sampling/testing. Is there anything that's a waste of money?

Thanks,
Randy

TappedOut · Post by **TappedOut** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:08 pm

OK, my thoughts. Never had a carboy dryer, nor saw the need for it. A turkey baster works fine for getting samples. Auto-siphon is a fabulous thing. I also don't know how I used to brew without a spray-bottle of star-san. Oxy-clean is great for cleaning. I do most of my fermenting in a bucket, but sometimes use better-bottles. Carboys offer too much of an opportunity to sever an artery in my opinion. Either way, though, carboy or better-bottle, a milk crate to carry it is essential, IMO. Both to keep from dropping, and, for the better-bottle, to prevent suck-back.

And from the school of hard knocks (or more precisely the school of cleaning up a big mess in the kitchen), always, always, turn off the heat when you add the first hops.

Enjoy,
-Tom

jjbuck · Post by **jjbuck** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:03 pm

If you're not going to be kegging, a bottle cleaner that screws on to your kitchen faucet makes the bottle cleaning chore so much faster(and probably does a slightly better job than the sprayer hose on your sink). I think they are less than $10 and wouldn't be surprised if you could pick one up at Benz or HyVee. You can clean bottles with one hand leaving the other to drink a glass of milk or whatever.
JB

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:57 pm

I think I would go with the kit with the better bottles. You should be ok with the 5 gallon ones. During primary fermentation the extra head space won't be an issue. If you find something you like you will have the ability to do a whole batch without buying any more equipment. I agree with some sort of carrier either way. I use brew haulers. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-brew-hauler.html

If you can get hold of a turkey fryer you will have most of what you need for a boil (kettle, burner, thermometer). Stainless is great, but an aluminum pot is fine. You just need to season it. You can do it on the stove, but I like the outside thing.

If I can confuse you any more just ask.

Tom

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:33 pm

Is the "Easy Clean" stuff they package with pretty much all of these kits adequate for sanitizing or should I get something else? I really don't know what all the different products are best for.

On a related question: I'm on a septic tank system out here, so I would imagine that pouring the buckets I use for sanitizing down the drain might be problem, or not? We just moved out of town last fall and I'm still learning.

Brando mentioned the turkey fryer idea to me as well. It sounds like it might be the way to go for the boil. I was thinking that stovetop would be more convenient for small batches, but the though of potential boilovers is kind of scary. I don't want to end up on the wife's shit list if you know what I mean.

Randy

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:26 pm

It looks like Easy Clean is just a cleaner. Idophor or StarSan will still be needed for sanitizing. And your correct don't put those in your septic system. They don't even recommend dumping Idophor on the ground as the iodine doesn't degrade.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:49 pm

Star San is a septic safe sanitizer and PBW is a septic safe cleaner. Trust me, I double checked before installing a $12,000 peat moss based septic system. BTW, a number 2 will cost you $5 at the next meeting.

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:55 pm

Put me down for $20.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:09 pm

tompb wrote:Put me down for $20.

Holy crap!!!!

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:47 pm

I better buy some more TP before March 18!

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:59 pm

On a serious note, I really like the glass carboys. They are the perfect fermenting vessel except the breaking part. You can watch the yeast do their magic which my kids and I enjoy. It is funny trying to explain to a 3 and 6 year old about what my pet yeasts are doing. Glass keeps the O2 out and does not scratch as easy as plastic. Any scratch is a potential harbor for bacteria. Been brewing 8 years and only dropped a carboy once because it didn't have a handle on it and I had a few too many strong beers that night. It was in the garage so clean up was easy and luckily there was no beer inside. Nobody got hurt, I was wearing shoes for once while brewing. I do try to minimized moving the carboys around. I pump to my carboys on top of the counter top so I don't have to move them until they are empty.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:14 pm

JJ is right about the bottle washer, but beware, it can spray water everywhere, so don't do it where you don't want everything to get wet - including you!

I use a brewhauler, too. Works great. You can even put a styrofoam disk in the bottom for cushion if you're really paranoid about dropping it. Allows two of us to move the full carboys around. Less chance of dropping, especially going down the stairs from the kitchen to the basement. I use it to move the empty ones around, too - just to be safe.

Auto-siphons rule! One of the truly MUST HAVE's in your equipment kit. I see that they have upgraded the kit to include one - sweet.

If you're going to bottle, consider the drying tree. I made my own drying rack but its cumbersome to move around (heavy).

You should strongly consider getting a blow-off tube, regardless of what size carboy. Nothing is more frightening than to go to bed with your primary happily burping away only to wake up the next morning to an overflowed airlock and yeast cap running down the side of your carboy!!

If you are time-constrained during brewing, consider a wort chiller (buy or make). It's a big time saver and a good insurance policy on avoiding contamination.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:12 pm

I have a turkey Fryer kettle that I put a weldless ball valve on as well as a weldless thermometer, if you interested. I also have a igloo color mash tun with ball valve added. Get with me if you are interested in some used equipment. This is fine equipment, I just upgraded to making 10 Gal batches, which this equipment no longer useful to me.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:27 am

A jet bottle washer is a must have cheap tool. I have had both a metal one and a plastic one. The metal one seems to have a bit stronger stream but is rough on glass. I like the plastic one I have now much better for cleaning carboys so I can turn it on the glass without scratching it. The metal one use to get jammed which was not cool when you take a bottle off and it keeps spraying.

I just have the cheap handles around the neck of my carboys. You shouldn't use them to lift a full carboy though. They are more of a good gripping area for one hand. Thick rubber glovers make handling wet slippery glass a bit better.

I would say a wort chiller is a must. An immersion chiller works great and is simple to use and clean. A big key to good beer is cooling it quickly to ward off contamination and also to preserve hop aromas and flavors that can deteriorate with heat as you are waiting for your wort to cool.

brownbeard · Post by **brownbeard** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:13 am

You know what works great for carrying carboys? Those off white canvas grocery bags from HyVee. I am not brave enough to try the nylon ones. The canvas ones hold up nicely.

Personally, after years of using glass, I have moved right back to plastic buckets. they are so much easier to clean and deal with. I am not really afraid of the breaking glass so much. It is all about the ease of use. Plus, if a bucket gets too nasty, pitch it and get a new one. Buckets can be had cheap. As for long term aging, I will do that in a keg rather than a carboy. If you are going to make 3 gallon batches, you don't even need extra large buckets. 5 gallons will be plenty of space.