The time has come!

[Tapsucker]

The wife insisted I get a hobby to combat the onset of middle age (I guess I'm getting on her nerves ). She does not consider drinking beer a hobby, but she is willing to except brewing, so here I go!

I have assisted a homebrewer many years ago, but that was mostly washing bottles so I have read most of the threads here and dug into the How to Brew website etc. - I am confident and ready to start.

I would like to start small with a small investment, but I want to buy lasting or upgradable equipment (I hate to buy and throw out crap). Any suggestions on good quality starter kits? I guess I could put together what I need from homebrew-supplies.ca, any advice?

Also, since I want to start small as I learn, I'm not ready to mail order big quantities of ingredients. Does anyone have suggestions for good suppliers (retail) in Toronto, preferably North Toronto?

[JimC]

Grain, extract or kit?
How big batch size? Do you think you'll want bigger batches in the future?
Do you have easy access to 220v power where you intend to brew?

[Tapsucker]

I plan to move to grain as soon as I can, but I'll probably start with extract.

I'd like to practice around or below the 5 gal size. I don't mind upgrading vessels later, but I'd like to make sure I buy good quality hydrometers etc.

I've been hanging onto 750mil bottles for a while that can be capped, so I'll probably brew to match storage capacity!

I have an excellent gas range that will be the heat source. It will just mean lugging everything up and down the basement stairs.

[Derek]

I'm on the stove-top & like working in the kitchen (and brewing in the winter). My big gas element was only 12,000 BTU, so it takes a while to boil (in 2 pots), but it works.

For the new place, I think I'll try to find a 15-18,000 BTU stove-top for a reasonable price (my wife likes to cook too). Though it is tempting to take it outside and have 200,000 BTU for a quick rolling boil!

Magnotta's Festabrew kits are good. I've used cans of Cooper's in the past as well.

We're comming up on the end of summer, so watch for some deals on drink coolers. If you're on the stove top, that's probably the most expensive part of going all-grain! (yes, it can be done quite cheaply).

[phirleh]

The wife insisted I get a hobby to combat the onset of middle age (I guess I'm getting on her nerves ). She does not consider drinking beer a hobby, but she is willing to except brewing, so here I go!

I have assisted a homebrewer many years ago, but that was mostly washing bottles so I have read most of the threads here and dug into the How to Brew website etc. - I am confident and ready to start.

I would like to start small with a small investment, but I want to buy lasting or upgradable equipment (I hate to buy and throw out crap). Any suggestions on good quality starter kits? I guess I could put together what I need from homebrew-supplies.ca, any advice?

Also, since I want to start small as I learn, I'm not ready to mail order big quantities of ingredients. Does anyone have suggestions for good suppliers (retail) in Toronto, preferably North Toronto?

Do you have any friends who were winemakers? Offer to clean out their dusty fermenters and carboys and put them to good use. I procured half of my stuff this way and didn't pay a dime (glass carboys, fermenters, hydrometers, siphon tubes).

I've been doing mini mashes on my stove (half extract/half grain) in a 3 gallon pot, with great results and minimal mess (just don't look away from the stove for any reason!)

I started with buying wort (similar to the Festa kits) a good way to learn about fermentation and cleanliness and not too much of an up front investment. Papazian's "Joy of Homebrewing" is a recommended read, check your library for others.

[Tapsucker]

Do you have any friends who were winemakers? Offer to clean out their dusty fermenters and carboys and put them to good use. I procured half of my stuff this way and didn't pay a dime (glass carboys, fermenters, hydrometers, siphon tubes).

Funny you should mention it! I just spoke to a friend who gave up wine making and he his lending me his entire kit to get me started. He even had someone give him some mash pots and cloths when he considered trying his hand at beer. It's all coming my way for now, but I'll probably offer to buy it if he doesn't want it back.

[icemachine]

Do you have any friends who were winemakers? Offer to clean out their dusty fermenters and carboys and put them to good use. I procured half of my stuff this way and didn't pay a dime (glass carboys, fermenters, hydrometers, siphon tubes).

Funny you should mention it! I just spoke to a friend who gave up wine making and he his lending me his entire kit to get me started. He even had someone give him some mash pots and cloths when he considered trying his hand at beer. It's all coming my way for now, but I'll probably offer to buy it if he doesn't want it back.

Give him a case of beer and he'll probably be happy with the trade.

[KwaiLo]

I would suggest the Magnotta kits. They make pretty tasty beer.

You can start to gather the equipment that you will use long term while making these. Carboys, hydrometers, bottling buckets etc will be used no matter the process.

Making the Magnotta kits will get you used to sanitizing your gear, and get you used to the fermentation process.

Once you are satisfied with what you can do with the kits, it isn't a big leap, in either dollars or in technique to go all grain.

[cannondale]

Suggestions (for once you have a few extract batches under your belt using whatever equipment you have now) and some things I wish I'd done sooner:

- Build yourself a cooler MLT (or some kind of mashing vessel) and go all grain as soon as possible. Use a cooler large enough for mashing 30+ pounds of grain for larger batches down the road. You'll also need a grain mill. The 'Barley Crusher' is an incredible piece of equipment, and you can use a power drill to cut down on grind time.

- Start buying your brewing ingredients in bulk asap in order to save a ton of money. Also try to plan your brewing well in advance so you can place larger orders and save on shipping, etc. I understand everyone starts out by ordering just what they need for the next 5 gallon batch, I did too, but in retrospect this is a very inefficient and uneconomical practice:

Base grains by the 25 kg sack (e.g. Gilbertson & Page, Grains Process)
Specialty grains by the kilo (e.g. Homebrewers Retail)
Hops by the pound (e.g. Beer and Wine Filter)

- Buy a pot large enough to brew batches 10 gallon or larger as soon as possible. You can then use your smaller pot for heating water. You can brew twice as much beer in nearly the same amount of time. 13-15 gallon stainless steel kegs can be found online for well under $100.

- Build yourself some sort of wort chiller. The immersion type is quite simple and you can find all the parts at a big box hardward store, and instructions all over the net.

- Build a keg fridge. This is a fairly pricey one, but it gets you away from the monotony and pain in the ass of bottling, and into the convenience of draught beer.