Shoping list for first time all grain homebrewers
Highly recommend brew in a bag (biab) for people just getting into the hobby. So simple and easy to do. Here is a list of the things you'll need.
1. 7-8 gallon turkey fryer. Bonus points for stainless steel but aluminum is fine. Steal from grandma's garage. Propane tank needed and lighter needed as well.
2. Bag. Meant for 5 gallon biab batches, OBK is a good place to look.
3. Chiller. 25-50' of 1/2" refrigeration copper tubing plus an old garden hose and some stainless hose clamps will do the trick. Get copper in 50' rolls at Home Depot, use any old hose that's long enough to get to a faucet, then drain to the lawn. Use half and sell other half to a buddy.
4. Carboy or bucket + lid, plus rubber stopper and airlock for fermenting. I like better bottles since you can see the bugs dancing. Get at homebrew center, 6-7 gallon. Avoid glass unless it's free, too heavy and dangerous.
5. Bottling bucket. Fermenting pail with spigot and bottle filler wand. Again homebrew center, or make an ugly one yourself from a 5 gallon pail like me.
6. 1/2" Autosiphon plus tubing. lifesaving piece of gear for transferring everything, don't waste your time on a 3/8" one, too slow.
7. Capper and caps. Get a bench capper from the homebrew center.
8. Bottle rack. Go for the 48 bottle fast rack, so awesome. Bottle tree acceptable substitute.
9. Bottle washer and vinator. Brass bottle blaster that attaches to your laundry sink to flush out cigarette butts and mold from donated bottles and vinator to squirt sanitizer in each bottle.
10. Good thermometer. Can't make good beer unless you get your temps right, go for a CDN or other lollipop style. I use a thermapen, totally worth the $100.
11. Couple of 5 gal buckets. Home Depot, for measuring water and rinsing grain, get 2-3 since they're cheap.
12. Hydrometer and cylinder. For measuring gravities, can forgo this if you don't like numbers (ie. Brad).
13. Chemicals. My favorite. Star san for sanitizing everything and oxyclean for cleaning pots and fermenters.
14. Grain, hops, yeast and priming sugar. Kind of a necessity to make beer.
15. Scale. Need a bathroom or 5kg kitchen scale for weighing pounds of grain and a jewler's scale for weighing hops. 0.01g with a 200g limit is perfect, on ebay for cheap. Also good for weighing drugs.
16. Spray bottles. One for Star San, one for water. For taming angry boils and sanitizing everything. Think dollar store.
17. Mash paddle. A big stick will work, but you'll look like you know what you're doing with a proper paddle even if you don't.
18. Oven mitts. To keep your hand model career alive. Dollar store.
2. Bag. Meant for 5 gallon biab batches, OBK is a good place to look.
3. Chiller. 25-50' of 1/2" refrigeration copper tubing plus an old garden hose and some stainless hose clamps will do the trick. Get copper in 50' rolls at Home Depot, use any old hose that's long enough to get to a faucet, then drain to the lawn. Use half and sell other half to a buddy.
4. Carboy or bucket + lid, plus rubber stopper and airlock for fermenting. I like better bottles since you can see the bugs dancing. Get at homebrew center, 6-7 gallon. Avoid glass unless it's free, too heavy and dangerous.
5. Bottling bucket. Fermenting pail with spigot and bottle filler wand. Again homebrew center, or make an ugly one yourself from a 5 gallon pail like me.
6. 1/2" Autosiphon plus tubing. lifesaving piece of gear for transferring everything, don't waste your time on a 3/8" one, too slow.
7. Capper and caps. Get a bench capper from the homebrew center.
8. Bottle rack. Go for the 48 bottle fast rack, so awesome. Bottle tree acceptable substitute.
9. Bottle washer and vinator. Brass bottle blaster that attaches to your laundry sink to flush out cigarette butts and mold from donated bottles and vinator to squirt sanitizer in each bottle.
10. Good thermometer. Can't make good beer unless you get your temps right, go for a CDN or other lollipop style. I use a thermapen, totally worth the $100.
11. Couple of 5 gal buckets. Home Depot, for measuring water and rinsing grain, get 2-3 since they're cheap.
12. Hydrometer and cylinder. For measuring gravities, can forgo this if you don't like numbers (ie. Brad).
13. Chemicals. My favorite. Star san for sanitizing everything and oxyclean for cleaning pots and fermenters.
14. Grain, hops, yeast and priming sugar. Kind of a necessity to make beer.
15. Scale. Need a bathroom or 5kg kitchen scale for weighing pounds of grain and a jewler's scale for weighing hops. 0.01g with a 200g limit is perfect, on ebay for cheap. Also good for weighing drugs.
16. Spray bottles. One for Star San, one for water. For taming angry boils and sanitizing everything. Think dollar store.
17. Mash paddle. A big stick will work, but you'll look like you know what you're doing with a proper paddle even if you don't.
18. Oven mitts. To keep your hand model career alive. Dollar store.
Luxury items
1. Grain mill. Can get away with not having one by buying pre crushed grain or using a friends, but so much easier if you have your own. OBK has them for a decent price.
2. Oxygen tank and stone. Shaking your carboy to oxygenate the wort is free, but sucks balls. 1 min of bubbling pure oxygen is much easier and makes better beer if you're going high gravity. Look on Brewdawgs site.
3. Refractometer. For gravity readings on the fly. Who doesn't like numbers. Ebay for cheap.
4. Vacuum sealer. For sealing and storing hops in your freezer. Better than ziplocs. Again also good for storing drugs, see item 15 above.
5. Multi tap kegerator. No explanation necessary.
6. Heated garage. For brewing all year round, may need to arrange future house purchases around this (ie JP).
1. Grain mill. Can get away with not having one by buying pre crushed grain or using a friends, but so much easier if you have your own. OBK has them for a decent price.
2. Oxygen tank and stone. Shaking your carboy to oxygenate the wort is free, but sucks balls. 1 min of bubbling pure oxygen is much easier and makes better beer if you're going high gravity. Look on Brewdawgs site.
3. Refractometer. For gravity readings on the fly. Who doesn't like numbers. Ebay for cheap.
4. Vacuum sealer. For sealing and storing hops in your freezer. Better than ziplocs. Again also good for storing drugs, see item 15 above.
5. Multi tap kegerator. No explanation necessary.
6. Heated garage. For brewing all year round, may need to arrange future house purchases around this (ie JP).