Home Brewing Kits

[adam c]

Wifey keeps asking me what I want for Christmas and I think I've decided on a home brew kit, anyone recommend something for starting out?

I saw Mr. Beer and Amazon has some decent reviews on it

[craigcd]

PM legendboy

[TurboMedic]

Originally posted by adam c
Wifey keeps asking me what I want for Christmas and I think I've decided on a home brew kit, anyone recommend something for starting out?

I saw Mr. Beer and Amazon has some decent reviews on it

Those are small, and you aren't really gonna get great beer in 14 days no matter what anyone says. It will be harsh. I find my homebrew get better with age (although, I had a batch hit the wall at 9 years, but before that it was spectacular). Just buy the stuff you can also use for wine, a plain primary, a glass carboy, a spoon, some brushes, etc.

Its better to buy a kit you can also use for wine, because its more versatile (you will eventually make wine, thats just how it goes). I swap between making beer and wine, and its no good having a bunch of unitasker equipment laying around....

[yellowsnow]

They have some great beer/wine kits at the Home Vintner. i took a class there, and these guys are really crazy about their wines and beers. i tasted some of the beer they brewed, and i have to agree, it was some of the tastiest beer i've had. they won 1st place at some wine award too.

my friends and i bought a kit (carboy, primary, etc), and are currently making a german white wine that won a bronze award. should be bottling them in a week! the wine kit cost us over $100, and the wine making kit was about $80, should bottle over 40 bottles if i remember right.

they told me not to mix the beer and wine kits. something about contamination if you mix them...

[adam c]

Everything I read about the home brew kit said to leave it 6 weeks and not 14 days, i think I will look into taking a class before starting my own in home brewing, thanks for the info guys

[legendboy]

The home brew kit from the Vinyard is what I am using.

Its basically the same as a wine making setup. Grab yourself a few glass 6g carboys too.

To start stick to festa brew 6g wort kits or brewhouse 5g. Don't even waste your time with extract kits.

I have a large amount of ezcap bottles I am looking to sell and also a shit load of grolsch bottles.

I built myself a kegerator


Originally posted by adam c
Everything I read about the home brew kit said to leave it 6 weeks and not 14 days, i think I will look into taking a class before starting my own in home brewing, thanks for the info guys

I leave my beers for minimum 3 weeks in primary fermenter, then 4-12 weeks in secondary carboy before kegging or bottling.

You can have great drinkable beer in as little as 3 weeks but that is all grain mash. Hollywood is making some amazing beers 45L at a time but all grain is alot of work compared to fermenting pre made wort kits.

[TurboMedic]

Originally posted by yellowsnow


they told me not to mix the beer and wine kits. something about contamination if you mix them...

I wouldn't be worried about that at all...you clean and disinfect diligently like you should.....They're trying to sell you a second kit....:facepalm:

[legendboy]

I probably wouldn't ferment wine in my beer fermenter and vice versa

i would think it would definitely impart an odor for sure. not a problem with glass carboys

[yellowsnow]

Originally posted by TurboMedic


I wouldn't be worried about that at all...you clean and disinfect diligently like you should.....They're trying to sell you a second kit....:facepalm:

I'm pretty anal, so I wont be mixing my kits together. It's pretty cheap for a kit.

[TurboMedic]

Originally posted by legendboy
I probably wouldn't ferment wine in my beer fermenter and vice versa

i would think it would definitely impart an odor for sure. not a problem with glass carboys

Hm. Never had a problem.....I have 2.5 full kits, and have done both in with no issues whatsoever. So have many others I have known. My ex's dad owned a well known home brewing store about 10 years ago, and his home brew wine and beer (from the same equipment) were amazing......If you have good quality equipment and cleaning practices it just shouldn't happen

[legendboy]

i just assumed since my beer fermenter smells strongly like beer

[TurboMedic]

Originally posted by legendboy
i just assumed since my beer fermenter smells strongly like beer

Maybe mine is a different material. I have one primary that's older and different material I would only use for wine due to the staining, but my other one is a really good food grade plastic, almost a TPO type material that seems impervious to any sort of staining or smell. Cleans perfect every time....I guess I can't comment on everyone's equipment, so I'll just say mine is fine for mixing :devil: