[jueypls]

Hi guys,

I'm brand spankin new at home brewing (Haven't made a single batch) and I was considering making my whole brewing kit myself. I've done quite a bit of reseach and it seems easy enough.

My question is the following: has anyone else done this and what are some concerns to consider when doing this? Also, do this affect the beer in any way?

[pete b]

Hi guys,

I'm brand spankin new at home brewing (Haven't made a single batch) and I was considering making my whole brewing kit myself. I've done quite a bit of reseach and it seems easy enough.

My question is the following: has anyone else done this and what are some concerns to consider when doing this? Also, do this affect the beer in any way?

Welcome to the forum and home brewing.
By "brewing kit" I assume you are talking about equipment rather than ingredient kits. You are right, it is easy enough to buy the components separately. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with starting with a kit and it might save you a few bucks.
Are you starting out with extract brews? If so you can start out pretty minimally. The one thing I guess I wouldn't skimp on is a good quality stainless steel kettle. If you cook that won't go to waste even if the hobby doesn't stick. But it probably will. Maybe big time.
Good luck.
And by the way any more details about what you plan to get and how you plan to Brew (extract, all grain, Brew in a bag etc.) will get yo a lot of good advice here.

[dilluh98]

Hi guys,

I'm brand spankin new at home brewing (Haven't made a single batch) and I was considering making my whole brewing kit myself. I've done quite a bit of reseach and it seems easy enough.

My question is the following: has anyone else done this and what are some concerns to consider when doing this? Also, do this affect the beer in any way?

If you are talking recipe, for a first brew I would consider buying a mini-mash or partial mash kit from your local homebrew shop. They're very easy to do and I think what partial mash adds to the flavor is absolutely worth the extra "effort."

I agree with Pete. The best piece of equipment you can invest in early on in the hobby is a decent stainless steel brewing kettle.

[reverseapachemaster]

If by brewing kit you mean putting together a recipe then I'd encourage you to stick with a pre-made kit or have your local homebrew shop put together a recipe for you for your first few brews. It's alluring to have your own recipes but if you don't understand the ingredients then you run the risk of being well off the mark from what you want.

[jueypls]

Sorry guys! I didn't realize the difference. I was talking more about the equipment itself (fermenter, bottling bucket, ect.)

As far as the kettle, I'll definitely go with something high quality. I do enjoy cooking and I'm sure I'll enjoy brewing. A lot.

[jueypls]

Welcome to the forum and home brewing.
By "brewing kit" I assume you are talking about equipment rather than ingredient kits. You are right, it is easy enough to buy the components separately. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with starting with a kit and it might save you a few bucks.
Are you starting out with extract brews? If so you can start out pretty minimally. The one thing I guess I wouldn't skimp on is a good quality stainless steel kettle. If you cook that won't go to waste even if the hobby doesn't stick. But it probably will. Maybe big time.
Good luck.
And by the way any more details about what you plan to get and how you plan to Brew (extract, all grain, Brew in a bag etc.) will get yo a lot of good advice here.

I'm not sure how I plan to brew just yet as I'm just starting out. I've done quite a bit of research and for now I'd like to focus on developing my brewing skills

[dilluh98]

If you want to start out with extract brewing that's great. But, brew in a bag (BIAB) is dead simple and will develop brewing skills more effectively that you will continue to use down the road if you continue with the hobby. If you can steep tea or make a bowl of oatmeal, you have the necessary skill to start BIAB right away and most homebrew shops sell BIAB ingredient kits now, too. The only added piece of equipment beyond what you'd need for extract brewing is a large strainer bag that will fit in your kettle. These can be had for cheap at your local homebrew shop or a paint strainer bag from the hardware store works too.

[Joe Sr.]

Get a bigger pot than you think you'll need.  I think a 7 gallon pot is the minimum, even if you wind up doing stove-top batches without boiling a full 5 gallons.

If you wind up going all-grain with an outdoor burner, you can still use the same pot.  You don't need to get one with a valve as you can add a valve easily if you decide you want one.  I love my valves, but they're not "necessary."

You can always add a mash tun later.  Those are easy to build from a cooler.

I would also recommend a plastic fermenter.  Buckets or one of the clear PET products will work just fine.  Glass can be hazardous.

[dilluh98]

I know they likely cost a bit more, but I'd go with at least one clear PET carboy to begin with. Why? It's really interesting when you first start out in this hobby to be able to watch the fermentation process in action. When I started, I would check in on the carboy at least once a day just to see what was happening. This also gives you clues as to what stage of the fermentation process you are at (early krausening, brown head, high krausen, krausen starts to drop, yeast starts to drop out, etc). You'll also start to notice that different yeast strains have different looking krausen and flocculate differently (or don't) as fermentation winds down.

If you go the bucket route, you have less opportunity to watch your wort turn into beer. Cracking the lid and peering in is not the same as seeing yeast dance all over the place inside the carboy. Just my two cents. I use both, but still find it more fun to watch fermentation in a carboy.

[Joe Sr.]

If you go clear, it's important to keep the fermenter out of direct light.

I cover mine with old t-shirts.

[ynotbrusum]

If you go clear, it's important to keep the fermenter out of direct light.

I cover mine with old t-shirts.

+1, Joe.  I try to keep the box that the container was shipped in just for this purpose, but an old sweatshirt or dark t-shirt works perfectly well to prevent skunking from light.  It is amazing how quickly this can happen to beer and how often it is overlooked.

[pete b]

I have an army of carboys covered with old pillowcases that have a hole for the airlock. But these are for ageing mead. I recommend plastic fermenter.
I think starting with extract is a good way to start because I like to learn things in chunks and extract brewing makes it possible to remove a whole set of conditions and focus on sanitation, controlling fermentation, and hop schedules. This way you go into your first all grain only needing to learn about mashing. That being said everyone learns different so know thyself.