[Slowbrew]

Thanks for the info Tommy.

Question (apologies for my lack of knowledge):  Why do I need to top up the volume to 5 gallons after a 3 gallon boil?  Is it not possible to do a 3 gallon boil with the proper proportions of malt extract where you don't need to top it up with water before fermentation?

It certainly is.  You got a lot of good info here, but as you see, people have different ideas about how to do things.  Pick something that looks good to you, try it, and ask more questions.

You can brew any size batch you want to. 

The assumption most of us typically make is 5gal batches since that's how we started.  Most recipes in the homebrewing world, especially extract brewing, will be designed around 5gal batches.  All it takes is a bit of math to change the batch size.

Paul

[HopDen]

IMO, before you start, READ,READ,READ as much as you can on brewing science. Also, and again this is just my opinion, go straight into all grain brewing. Thats not to say there is anything wrong with extract because there isn't,BUT, all grain is where you will eventually end up. I brewed extract back in the late 80's and made ok beer but not good enough to spark the intense interest I now have for brewing and i quit. I started brewing again about 6 years ago and it is an obsession! I brew about once or twice a month. If there is a craft brewer near you then go introduce yourself and volunteer to work. That dirty grunt work will give you some great insight. If there isn't a brewer, join a brew club! One last opinion, if you have some fairly deep pockets, go electric and don't settle for a system less than 10 gallons. When I started brewing again I went all grain with a keggle, 2 -10 gallon gott style coolers,carboys and the such and was garage bound weather permitting. Now I have a pretty awesome 20 gallon electric system in my basement and I never tire of brewing.It really is a love affair and one that the wife enjoys too.  GO FOR IT!! You won't regret it!

[kgs]

Thanks for the info guys!  Really appreciate it.  Particularly the tip about avoiding glass fermenters.

I think I'm gonna start off with this kit:

https://northernbrewer.ca/collections/shop-kits/products/brew-share-enjoy-kit

It comes with:

6.5 gallon fermentor w/ lid & Bubbler airlock
Bottling Bucket w/Spigot assembly
Fermenter's Favorites Bottle filler
5 Gallon Stainless Brew Kettle
21” Stainless Spoon
Siphon, 5 ft. Siphon Tubing & Siphon Tube Holder
Cleaner/Sanitizer - Fermenter's Favorites Oxygen Wash
Bottle Brush

On top of that, I'm also planning to buy a thermometer, hydrometer, and immersion chiller, as it sounds like they're all quite important pieces. I'd like a bigger kettle as well but I'll start with the one in the kit and then eventually probably upgrade to a 10 or 15 gallon kettle.

Are there any crucial pieces of equipment that I'm missing here?

As I think others are suggesting, for your first batch, you could skip the immersion chiller ($50) and chill in the kitchen sink. Buy two bags of ice so that you can be extra sure to get your wort under 70 degrees. Then if you decide you like brewing, you could spring for more gear.

What I'm not seeing on that list is sanitizer. The "Fermenter's Favorite Oxygen Wash" looks a lot like Oxyclean, but how does it sanitize? It's not very much, whatever it is. Personally, I'd throw in a bottle of Star San ($13 from Northern Brewer) and a $1 spray bottle from your local hardware store.

[DS66]

Thanks again for all the helpful tips everyone.

I ended up purchasing a kit from a local homebrew shop, with a mix of grains and extract.  My first brew day was quite an adventure, I think I made a few small mistakes along the way but for the most part it went well!  One thing that concerns me though... the original gravity before fermentation seemed to be quite high...  It was at 1.10.  I don't know what it was supposed to be at for this specific recipe (Red Ale), but I know that's likely higher than it should be.  Can my beer still turn out okay with this high OG?  What are some mistakes I might have made during the brew process that may have contributed to the gravity being too high?

[Slowbrew]

1.10 is quite high for a red.  A few questions will be asked so let's get some of them out of way right off the bat:

1)  What did your recipe look like?
       1a) what size batch was it?
2)  What temp did you take your OG reading ( after cooling the wort or while still hot)?
3)  Did you do a 3 gallon boil and add in water to top off to 5 gallons?
       3a) Did you stir it really well to avoid stratifaication of the sugars and clear water layers?
4)  Did you check the calibration of your hydrometer in distilled (or at least room temp tap) water?

Those are the first questions that come to mind right off.

Paul

[DS66]

1.10 is quite high for a red.  A few questions will be asked so let's get some of them out of way right off the bat:

1)  What did your recipe look like?
       1a) what size batch was it?
2)  What temp did you take your OG reading ( after cooling the wort or while still hot)?
3)  Did you do a 3 gallon boil and add in water to top off to 5 gallons?
       3a) Did you stir it really well to avoid stratifaication of the sugars and clear water layers?
4)  Did you check the calibration of your hydrometer in distilled (or at least room temp tap) water?

Those are the first questions that come to mind right off.

Paul

1) Unfortunately I don't have the recipe off hand.  There was 4 lbs of grains for mashing/sparging.  Extract and two hop additions were added during the boil.  I will obtain the exact recipe of the grains used next time I head to the shop.

2) I took the OG reading after cooling the wort to about 65 degrees.

3) I did a 3 gallon boil, and this recipe called for topping it up to 6 gallons.  I just realized that I did not stir it at all after topping up the water.... damnit!  That was probably my issue! 

4) I did not check the calibration.  I guess it's a possibility that the calibration was off?

The lack of stirring after adding the water was most likely my biggest issue it seems.  Is it reasonable that this could have lead to the inflated OG?  Is there any hope for my beer now?  It's been fermenting for two days at this point. 

[Slowbrew]

Yes, not stirring could have left layers of highly concentrated wort between or on top of water or lightly sugared water.  That's the most probably cause.

Most hydrometer's I've had have been off a little, high or low, by maybe 1-3 gravity points.  Like reading 1.054 when it should be 1.057 or 1.051.  It typically won't be off by huge amounts but it doesn't hurt to know.  You can adjust your numbers by simply adding or subtracting.

Don't worry about it too much.  The first batch is always an adventure and eveyone has their stories.  If you followed the directions and added the correct amounts you can be fairly confident, using extract, that your actual OG was pretty close to the recipe estimate.  The yeast will mix things for you as they do their thing and your FG readings should work okay. 

The important thing is you made beer.  It's all good.

Paul

[kgs]

1.10 is quite high for a red.  A few questions will be asked so let's get some of them out of way right off the bat:

1)  What did your recipe look like?
       1a) what size batch was it?
2)  What temp did you take your OG reading ( after cooling the wort or while still hot)?
3)  Did you do a 3 gallon boil and add in water to top off to 5 gallons?
       3a) Did you stir it really well to avoid stratifaication of the sugars and clear water layers?
4)  Did you check the calibration of your hydrometer in distilled (or at least room temp tap) water?

Those are the first questions that come to mind right off.

Paul

2) I took the OG reading after cooling the wort to about 65 degrees.

Hey, look at you getting the temperature down to 65 degrees! That's great.

The beer is probably fine. It took me years to realize that wort (even all-grain wort) needs to be stirred before taking a gravity reading.

You could test your hydrometer (something new to learn while you're waiting for the beer to become beer) but I'm guessing it's just fine too.