The Bar Towel

TheBeeraholic wrote:

Derek wrote:It's not the cheapest, but it's a good start:
http://www.magnotta.com/festabrew/Searc ... %20reserve

In terms of equipment, you could start with a fermenting bucket, bottling cane and some caps (use bleach to sanitize and table sugar to prime).

Once you're bit by the bug, read this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/index.html

Thanks for the lnks. I was planning on starting to homebrew and this looks like the right place to start. I'm going to pick up the West Coast IPA and all the equipment I need and place to start the boil on my week off. Thanks and Cheers!!

Any suggestions on where to purchase all the required equipment?

TheBeeraholic wrote:

TheBeeraholic wrote:

Derek wrote:It's not the cheapest, but it's a good start:
http://www.magnotta.com/festabrew/Searc ... %20reserve

In terms of equipment, you could start with a fermenting bucket, bottling cane and some caps (use bleach to sanitize and table sugar to prime).

Once you're bit by the bug, read this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/index.html

Thanks for the lnks. I was planning on starting to homebrew and this looks like the right place to start. I'm going to pick up the West Coast IPA and all the equipment I need and place to start the boil on my week off. Thanks and Cheers!!

Any suggestions on where to purchase all the required equipment?

Festa brew kits you don't need to boil, pretty much a premade pasteurized wort in a sealed plastic bag in a box with a packet of yeast (a few homebrewing friends of mine actually make them at Magnotta). There's a festabrew store in Scarborough that will have all the stuff you need (fermenter, capper, racking cane, etc). There are detailed instuctions in the box on eveything you'll need too.
http://www.magnotta.com/festabrew/Locations.aspx
I started with premade wort kits, 2 years later I have over 25 all grain brews under my belt.

TheBeeraholic wrote:

TheBeeraholic wrote:

Derek wrote:It's not the cheapest, but it's a good start:
http://www.magnotta.com/festabrew/Searc ... %20reserve

In terms of equipment, you could start with a fermenting bucket, bottling cane and some caps (use bleach to sanitize and table sugar to prime).

Once you're bit by the bug, read this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/index.html

Thanks for the lnks. I was planning on starting to homebrew and this looks like the right place to start. I'm going to pick up the West Coast IPA and all the equipment I need and place to start the boil on my week off. Thanks and Cheers!!

Any suggestions on where to purchase all the required equipment?

There is a couple guys running online home brew shops in Whitby,

Brewer's Pantry is fairly new, I haven't dealt with Spencer yet http://brewerspantry.com/index.php?route=common/home

The other has been around for a few years, Brian is a good guy, I know pickup from his place is an option
http://www.homebrewersretail.com/servlet/StoreFront

Soda Centre on Kingston Road has an actual storefront which can be helpful when you're starting out http://www.sodacentre.com/

Toronto Brewing is another online only guy
http://www.torontobrewing.ca/servlet/StoreFront

and the best stocked place in the GTA is also the farthest from you, Randy has a great selection online and a storefront out in Brampton
http://www.homebrew-supplies.ca/

Thanks guys!

Derek wrote: In terms of equipment, you could start with a fermenting bucket, bottling cane and some caps (use bleach to sanitize and table sugar to prime).

This was really the absolute minimum, just to illustrate that there really isn't a significant cost hurdle.

If you're serious, I'd at least get a carboy for secondary fermentation (along with an airlock). Then when it's done fermenting & clearing, you can rack it back to the bucket and mix the priming sugar with the whole batch (rather than priming bottle-by-bottle, which can have inconsistent carbonation results).

I often hear that space is an issue... but when you're not brewing, many carboys will fit into the plastic bucket, so storage space doesn't have to be a serious issue either. You also need the space for two and a half cases of beer, but chance are you've already made that space.

Stage 2: Watch for a deals on brewing pots, then you can start boiling (and use different extracts, hops or even specialty grains).

Stage 3: Pick up a cooler to convert to a mash tun or simply do the brew-in-a-bag. There's a lot more time & effort required, but you can use the same ingredients as the pros and produce brews of equal (or even better) quality. Bonus: if you get a mill and start buying grains by the sac (55lbs for <$30) and hops by the pound (<$20), you can really start to save at the same time (roughly $12 to $20 for 20L).

You can certainly get a lot more elaborate, but after 7 years I still haven't (though a keg system would be really nice).

Basspro had turkey fryer kits for $40 lately, add a $30 cooler and $20 for parts for the mashtun. Watching kijiji you can find carboys for $10-20. Then airlocks, tubing, and other little parts, and ingrediants for the 1st batch and you should be under $200.

The great thing is the more you brew the more you save!

I bottled 3 batches then gave up and invested in kegs and an old fridge. 15 minutes to fill a keg instead of hours of cleaning and filling bottles.

Baulz wrote:Basspro had turkey fryer kits for $40 lately, add a $30 cooler and $20 for parts for the mashtun. Watching kijiji you can find carboys for $10-20. Then airlocks, tubing, and other little parts, and ingrediants for the 1st batch and you should be under $200.

The great thing is the more you brew the more you save!

I bottled 3 batches then gave up and invested in kegs and an old fridge. 15 minutes to fill a keg instead of hours of cleaning and filling bottles.

It seems the majority eventually go this route... and while $200 may sound a little off-putting, it'll actually pay for itself in 2 batches (assuming $12 per store 6-pack, 120 bottles = $240).

That said, it seems to be a little intimidating for many newbies.

The upfront cost to use no-boil kits is MUCH less (granted you don't get the long-term savings from being able to use raw ingredients).

But yeah, there's many ways to start... even 1 Ga all-grain kits:
http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=7129

Just pick something your comfortable with (considering budget & ability) and get started!

Derek wrote:I often hear that space is an issue... but when you're not brewing, many carboys will fit into the plastic bucket, so storage space doesn't have to be a serious issue either. You also need the space for two and a half cases of beer, but chance are you've already made that space.

I used to brew 6 gallon all-grain batches every 2-4 weeks while living in a 2nd floor, 1,000 sq ft condo. Ran the turkey fryer out on my balcony, even in -30C. In other words, if you want it bad enough, it can be done, you will find a way to make it work.

In regards to equipment, yeah, there is a bit of an expense, but if you start out with kits the amount of equipment is minimal. Then add a brew pot and chiller to do extract, then a mash tun to go all-grain. Kegging systems are sweet, and can be assembled quite cheaply. Once you do have everything setup, you don't really have to keep investing unless something breaks down, though most homebrewing equipment is well built (this year I replaced a 30 year old freezer and my very first bottle capper finally broke). I couldn't even begin to calculate the amount of money I have saved by not having to buy as much commercial beer, especially when considering the beers I prefer (DIPAs, sours, barleywines, imperial stouts and belgian dark strongs).

There is so much great information out there now on homebrewing, it is very easy to pick it up quickly.

OH MY GOD.

Inflation. Slices of pizza run in the 3's or 4's of dollars now too. Fuck modernity.

JesseM wrote:OH MY GOD.

Inflation. Slices of pizza run in the 3's or 4's of dollars now too. Fuck modernity.

Mmmm... pizza. Yeah and if it's not a fresh well-made 1/4 large pie with excellent crust, more's the rip off. I like Pizzaiolo at some locations, formerly glorious Amato sucks in the overall sense, and large chains must really try to be so awful.

Given pizza's importance to beer we could discuss this elsewhere.