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You won't have to pay the shipping costs twice, and you'll have the equipment when you need it. Good list if you want to stay local and shop at Listermann's, although I like carboys and would go with a carboy, carboy brush, stopper and airlock. So give our beer kits a shot, and experience the joy of homebrewing for yourself. I have never brewed before and don't have room for a lot of equipment since I live in an apartment. And yes, extra carboy's and buckets are worth it.
I could see how someone new might see a carboy brush in a brew shop or website and assume they need one for their better bottle. Just a note, if you do go with a plastic carboy do not get a carboy brush, it can scratch the plastic. Only get a carboy brush for use with glass carboys.
Mr. Beer Kits
Good luck - selecting your equipment is fun, but as many people here can attest, it becomes an addiction. For fermenters, take a good look at the "Better Bottle". It's a plastic carboy which comes in at least a couple sizes.
And don't let the size of your apartment scare you from brewing bigger batches, you'll be suprised where you can fit things. The best place to get started is with one of our beer making kits. They come with everything you need to brew your first batch. I went with better bottles, but you can have great results with any of the three options. If you search the forum, there are tons of threads debating if glass, buckets, or better bottles are superior.
Brewing Tools Every Mr. Beer Brewer Needs
I, like many other people here, started with Mr. Beer, so don't let that get you down. You'll just get addicted and need a real kit anyways, at which point the Mr. Beer goes in the trash. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Mr. Beer is all about simple and efficient homebrewing with amazing results.
If you start with a $59.99 Brewers Best equipment kit and a $15 carboy from Old Time pottery you're doing pretty good for $75. According to the website, you've got a Old Time Pottery in your town. You can save $10 on 5 gallon glass carboys buying them there. I am not against plastic, especially since I have never brewed beer before. Sorry if I am asking too many questions. As I understand it, glass doesnt scratch in a way that plastic does so it is less prone to ruin batches from lack of sanitation.
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If you get serious into it, then you'll always have them full. If you don't, you can always sell them on craigslist and make most if not all, your money back so you have nothing to lose. Several websites have nice starter kits of equipment.
In terms of where to buy - check out the major retailers, and do some comparison shopping. What I did is load up the shopping cart with the same items in each store, add the shipping, tax, etc., and see which is the best deal. Or split the order between two or three vendors if there are local deals to be had. Once your beer is fermented, it's fermented. I would say that if you've got the funds to do it, it's best to get it now.
The best place to get started is with one of our beer making kits. They come with everything you need to brew your first batch.
Follow directions for boiling the kit, cool, put into the sanitized fermentor and add yeast. Close lid and wait 7-10 days then bottle in sanitized bottles with priming sugar. Any of the beer kits that you see on the site that are extract kits. I do this, and find ways around the space issue.
The six is good for primary fermentation (it has more of a head-space for vigorous fermentations). The five is good for secondary fermentation. Have a look at , gives a really good and easy intro to brewing.
I was in there once and guy asked me if I could help him out with a recipe conversion. I made a call to a brewing friend that I knew had ProMash and we whipped up a good ingredient list on the spot. Plus, you may decide to start with brewing kits, then maybe tweak them a bit. They can help you out with substitutions or other equipment you may want to add down the line as you get a few batches under your belt.
Some retailers have great deals on shipping, but slightly higher prices. Others may offer lower prices and you may spend more even with higher shipping. Forrest at Austin Home Brewing can also hook you up with equipment. They have a fixed price for shipping if you spend a minimum amount. I bought one, used it one time then moved on. I still use the fermentor when I do a 2 1/2 gallon experimental batch, so it does not tye up any other equiptment.
