going to attempt a beer kit help please!

[peaches9324]

question#1 Can any stock pot be used to boil the wort?

question#2 Do I need a false bottom or will a canner rack placed upside down do?

question#3 Is the black star burner a good burner to use?

question#4 Is there a particular wort chiller you recommend? re: copper or stainless steel?

I think this is all the questions I have for now, but will probably have more questions as time passes. fyi the kit is Oktoberfest Lager All-Grain Beer

thanks!!

 

[Pumpkinman]

A few Questions:
What kind of kit are you making, which manufacturer? This will help to see if the instructions are posted online.
I've brewed plenty of Oktoberfest, it is one of my favorite styles (marzen), I highly recommend taking the time to gather the correct equipment and yeast, you will be very happy with the end results.
IF this is your first kit, you've chosen a kit that requires a bit or work, you will need to make sure it comes with lager yeast, you will need to make sure that you can ferment at 50°, then bring the temp back up for the d-rest, followed by up to 8 weeks of lagering at 30°- 25°. I purchased a 4.6 cu ft dorm fridge for $35.00 that I use for fermenting, lagering and cold crashing. again, I recommend getting everything you need to do the Oktoberfest correctly. I'd personally start with an ale, it is much more straight forward.
For the false bottom, it depends on what you will be using as your mash tun, I use a 10 gallon industrial igloo cooler converted, with a false bottom and ball valve.
If the kit comes with ale yeast, it won't be a true lager.
A copper wort chiller will displace heat much faster and efficiently.
You can use any stock pot to start off, make sure that it will hold as much water as the recipe calls for. I purchased an 8 gallon brew kettle from Bayou Classic, affordable and works like a charm, and another shorter wider kettle from another company, the taller bayou classic is my go to kettle, if you plan to make batches larger than 5 or 6 gallons, you'll need to scale up.

Ask as many questions as you can think of.

 

[richmke]

There are 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon kits (or some 5 gallon kits are splittable). Those can be made without the x-large equipment.

 

[Jericurl]

I'll be following this thread.

Manthing's birthday is next month and I'm contemplating getting him an easy beer kit. I'm trying to figure out what I already have from winemaking and what I will need. One of my go to suppliers has a kit that is supposed to make a dead on duplicate of his favorite beer, but the catalog doesn't really specify what I will already need to own if I buy the kit.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

I've brewed a few different beer kits, most of what I've done has been on a turkey fryer and pot. any pot will work, you don't need a false bottom there are other options such as paint strainer bags doing this as a BIAB. or simply netting most of the grains before you do your boil. pumpkinman is right lagering requires more steps but is a great style! I'm fortunate enough right now that my heated garage is set at 50 creating one giant lagering room. either chillers will work. enjoy it and have some fun!!I find that wine kits are easier than beer kits on brew day but require more attention than beer kits after the fact. but they are both equally rewarding.

 

[botigol]

Peaches,
1. Just about, so long as it does not have a non-stick coating. I don't know why on the non-stick coating, but I remember reading that.
2. A canning rack will not help unless you are doing BIAB.
3. From what I have read people seem happy with the Black Star burner, but I don't have personal experience with it.
4. I am going to build a copper immersion chiller (seems to be the most widely used material) one of these days, but currently just use an ice water bath in my kitchen sink to cool.

Jeri,
When I started brewing beer the only piece of equipment I needed to add was the boil kettle/pot and I found it in my garage...my old canning pot. It is enamel-coated steel. That said, it depends on the type of kit that you buy. Just adding a brew pot will allow extract, extract with specialty grain and partial mash brewing pretty easily. The recipes for these are generally geared for partial boil brewing and therefore only require a five-gallon pot. All-grain brewing will require more investment, but as richmke noted brewing smaller batches can help to avoid some of the larger pieces of equipment.

 

[Jwatson]

Most of the equipment you use for wine (fermenters, airlock, stopper, hydrometer, tubing, sanitizer, etc.) is used for beer. You need to decide if you will bottle or keg. The only real expense is a good stainless steel brew kettle. They range from simple to very elaborate.

I recommend an extract kit using an ale yeast. Ales are almost idiot proof. Use Wyeast brand for your first as you can test its viability. For your first batch, I don't recommend one with at high O.G. as it will require a yeast starter.

www.northernbrewer.com is a great online homebrew site to order. Lots of instructional videos too.

Read John Palmer's How to Brew. Just google the title and you can read it online.

 

[Jericurl]

I'm thinking of buying him this kit.
We do have a burner and large pot that was originally purchased for frying a turkey. I'm not sure how many gallons it is, though I can measure and find that out. The pot is the size of a 5 gallon bucket and I believe it is made of aluminum. Would aluminum cause an odd reaction with beer ingredients?
as far as a false bottom, I have a grate that I lay in the bottle of a pot when I'm canning that would work fine, or I have plently mesh bags I use in winemaking.

I'm honestly not sure if kegging or bottling would be better or the nuances of the differences with each. I'm guessing that bottling would be cheaper in the beginning?

 

[botigol]

A turkey fryer will work fine. I have read that you should fill aluminum pots with water and boil it for an hour prior to use for brewing. The false bottom is only for all-grain brewing and is very different than a canning rack. Go with Jwatson's suggestion of an extract kit using the Wyeast yeast option. Keg vs bottle is a personal choice, but you are correct, bottling is much cheaper upfront. However it is significantly more work.

 

[botigol]

Oh, besides bottles/keg, I forgot to mention a floating thermometer. Small thing, but if you have a meat sensor that would suffice as well.

 

[Pumpkinman]

I've probably made 50 plus all grain brews in the past year alone, the one thing that you don't want to do is trivialize the process, be prepared, with home brewing anything and everything that can go wrong will happen within a very short time frame, this doesn't mean that anything will go wrong, just be prepared.

As I stated in my original post, read up on the process, Extract brewing is the easiest way to start, making an ale is also the easiest way to go, but make sure that you read John Palmers book, it is available online for free, click here.

Times and temps are extremely important, not only when boiling, but the fermentation temps can make the difference between the yeast giving the beer a fruity flavor or the characteristics that you intended.

Even with extract brews, steeping the grains at temps above 170° can bring out the tannins in the grain hulls/husks, with All grain mashing at higher temps will give you more body but less fermentables, and so on.

If you plan on brewing more than one batch, get a dedicated kettle, if you plan on going all grain, make sure you have the proper equipment, kettle, mash tun false bottom and so on, you can get by without, but why risk making a disappointing beer and being discouraged from continuing?

I enjoy making beer as much as I enjoy making wine, it just seems that I'm always doing a lot more pre planning for beer, going over the recipe and ingredients several times before brewing, a lot happens within a window of 3-6 hrs. It seems that I can relax a bit more when making wine.

Be prepared for at least a 3 hr brew day with extract brews, and up to 5-6 hrs with all grain from crushing the grain, sanitizing everything, brewing, mashing, sparging, pitching the yeast and the final clean up, but after a half dozen times or so, you can narrow down the process.

There are a few accomplished brewers on the forums, I believe Tom and Wade are both long time home brewers as well.

Ask as many questions as you can, I'll be happy to answer as much as possible, but again, I recommend starting with an extract kit, I believe one of the top selling kits is the Brewers Best Red Ale kit, I made 3 or 4 of these before getting all of the necessary equipment and going all grain, it makes a real nice beer.

That said, it is a lot of fun, I agree, enjoy it, just be prepared.

 

[richmke]

Note: If you have a plastic primary for wine, get a separate one for the beer. The plastic picks up the odor/taste. Might be good to get the new glass big mouth bubbler. The wide mouth makes for easy cleanup, and the glass makes it usable for beer and wine.

 

[Wade E]

I h8ghly recommend the foam down drops for newbies!!!! I also recommend you watching your pot very closely when boiling it especially when your adding something to it. It really really gets out of control very fast and will destroy your stove in a hurry and then your wife will never let you make beer in the house again!!!!!! The f8rst time I made I used our stove and thank god it was a smooth top stove! Even it took me 1 hour. to scrap the top clean with solvents and a razor blade. LOL The anti foam drops knock the foam fown almost immediately.

 

[Turock]

We make a couple beer kits every year and they are so good that it's tough drinking a Bud or Miller, anymore. We like the dark ale kits--one of our favorites is Nut Brown because it has no bitters. I'm just not a fan of very bitter beer. If you finish them with wheat, instead of corn sugar, they will be even smoother.

By the way---for those who might like to make a beer with fruit flavor like raspberry or strawberry, I noticed that the E C Kraus site has recipes for making these kinds of beers. I really enjoy a good Sam Smith raspberry or apricot beer.

 

[Boatboy24]

I'll be following this thread.

Manthing's birthday is next month and I'm contemplating getting him an easy beer kit. I'm trying to figure out what I already have from winemaking and what I will need. One of my go to suppliers has a kit that is supposed to make a dead on duplicate of his favorite beer, but the catalog doesn't really specify what I will already need to own if I buy the kit.

I've been making small batches using Brooklyn Brew Shop's kits. With the winemaking equipment you have, and what they give you with the kit, you have all you need except for bottles and closures. If you drink Grolsch style bottles, you can re-use them. Otherwise, a capper is only $15-20 bucks. The one gallon batches are expensive on a per bottle basis, but they are a good way to try out the hobby. And they make all-grain brewing pretty painless. I think Northern Brewer sells 1 gallon extract kits.

 

[peaches9324]

Oktoberfest lager all grain crushed kit. I'm not sure who the manufacturer would be but I do know where I ordered it from but don't know if its ok to mention another site on this site. recipe for 5 gallons yeast is dry Saflager s-23 I got this because of the awesome reviews! I know I should start with a one gallon kit, Is there a good one gallon lager kit I can try? And as far as the glass carboy goes, I broke it with cellar craft classic port style wine in it oh what a mess I had to mop up in the kitchen! I had bought the kit when it was on sale at the winemakers toy store a site that I love and I had ordered from frequently, left it sit in my basement hallway for a year! I have all the required equipment for making a one gallon beer kit.

 

[Jericurl]

So, from what you guys are saying, it sounds like I can just buy the extract kit (not the mini mash or the all grain) and use what I've already got here without buying anything else until it's time for bottling.

I am thinking we will probably go with the Grolsch type bottles.
Which is pretty much going to mean that everyone gets frisked at the door before leaving, those things are expensive!

 

[jpsmithny]

Oktoberfest lager all grain crushed kit. I'm not sure who the manufacturer would be but I do know where I ordered it from but don't know if its ok to mention another site on this site. recipe for 5 gallons yeast is dry Saflager s-23 I got this because of the awesome reviews! I know I should start with a one gallon kit, Is there a good one gallon lager kit I can try? And as far as the glass carboy goes, I broke it with cellar craft classic port style wine in it oh what a mess I had to mop up in the kitchen! I had bought the kit when it was on sale at the winemakers toy store a site that I love and I had ordered from frequently, left it sit in my basement hallway for a year! I have all the required equipment for making a one gallon beer kit.

Please do NOT make an all grain kit as your first attempt. I think you will be disappointed and then never try it again. You may not get the sugar extraction
needed.

Get a partial mash kit and follow the directions closely.
You'll get a feel for the process. You can do it in your kitchen and your chances for success go way up.

 

[peaches9324]

I also have a floating thermometer, capper and caps - I used when making hard lemonade thought it was a flop but after aging after a year it turned out pretty good!, re-used beer bottles, I have large brew buckets out the wazoo, couple glass jugs, a big enamel canner and a couple big stainless steel pots and one huge aluminum one, all the utensils, all I need is a really good one gallon kit. thanks for all the responses didn't know I had any responses until I logged in today because of my email settings but I got that fixed now. I would of responded to all of them. I also see where others had posted other suppliers so I guess I can too, got my beer kit from Midwest Supplies LLC

what I've got going now: what I have made and consumed
aging apple wine in glass gal. jug pear wine
aging pear wine in glass gal. jug apple wine
aging grape blend in glass gal. jug cellar craft classic port
strawberry wine in carboy cellar craft porto corinto
strawberry champagne clearing Grand Cru Bergamais - Beaujolais
gooseberry champagne
watermelon wine

 

[peaches9324]

lol ok Is there a kit, brand, name you can recommend?