(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best home brewing starter sets

I'm very skeptical that microwaving coffee causes chemical changes in the coffee. I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

Oxidation does cause changes in the chemistry of coffee, but not microwaves from the oven in your kitchen. I have microwaved cold extracted coffee for years, and it definitely can compete with hot-brewed coffee for flavor. It's just as enjoyable.

Cold extracted coffee does have less acid than hot-brewed coffee, and it can help when someone is dealing with GERD. It has less caffeine, as well. For some reason, some folks seem to like brewing cold-extracted coffee in a concentrate form, but I've always brewed mine at regular strength, and it tastes great hot (after being microwaved) or cold, straight up, no cream or sugar. And if it is kept sealed in the refrigerator, oxidation can be slowed, but not really prevented.

Cold extracted coffee has a different flavor profile than hot-brewed coffee; in particular, since there is less acid, other flavors come through, and you might find that a coffee which tastes great in a cold extraction is not as good when hot-brewed, and vice-versa. Typically, a lighter roast which might be quite lovely when hot-brewed may not be as good when cold extracted, and conversely, something roasted too dark for hot brewing may be quite lovely when extracted cold.

Regarding the OP's ideas, for the quantity of coffee he is seeking, I would suggest that most commercially-available toddy systems that I am aware of (Ronco, Coffee Toddy) are too small for producing the quantity he seeks in a single batch. He might want to consider a food-grade bucket with a lid and a pillowcase or muslin sack. I know of one local roaster who prepares their coffee toddy in that way, and it tastes fine.

If you only want to increase the ABV it's not as simple of an exercise as you probably wish.

Adding more extract will increase the ABV, but will also increase the color, the flavor, and the residual sweetness. Again this will be most noticeable in a light "session" beer like your kit.

Brew Enhancer will increase the "body" of the beer as well as the ABV, and will turn a light beer like that into a heavier thing, in terms of flavor. It's basically an extract blend designed to leave more sugar behind (unfermented) than "normal" extract.

Both those options will also decrease the perception of hop flavor/bitterness.

Adding straight sugar will not add flavor, and it will not darken the color. In fact it will do exactly the opposite, it will decrease body (a bit), dry out the finish (more) and through doing so it will potentially make the hops more perceptible.

Now which way you go is up to you. I don't think anyone here has the magic blend to keep the beer tasting the same but with more alcohol (though sugar will get you closer than extract), rather a blend of the two paths is probably the best bet. So the questions come down to "How large of an increase?" and "What flavor are you trying to get?"

Stick with your Mr. Beer kit for a few more sessions. Refills are $20 for two gallons which seems reasonable. Just stick with ales and don't brew lagers. The more flavorful the beer is supposed to be the easier flaws are turned into tasty features. I'd go with this porter: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Beer-Churchills-Homebrewing-Sanitizer/dp/B01D5J7ZIW/ref=bdl_pop_ttl_B01D5J7ZIW

The amber ale and stout would be on my list too. If you like IPA's try that.

If you want a piece of equipment I'd buy a hydrometer or a bottle capper. https://www.amazon.com/Homebrew-Guys-Hydrometer-Specific-Potential/dp/B012YLS62G/ref=sr_1_21?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1524334825&sr=1-21&keywords=brewing+hydrometer

Make sure you do a good job sanitizing everything and you'll be 90% there. Star-san is an excellent sanitizer. I don't know what Mr. Beer uses. Bleach or iodine can also be used if done correctly.

If I were to suggest one thing to buy, it would be a good book. The John Palmer How to Brew is an excellent choice. What you learn will apply to Mr. Beer kits and as advanced as you want to go. https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1524335575&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=palmer+how+to+brew

Lastly, I'll double down on my advice to stick with flavorful ales and stay away from lagers and pilsner. Best of luck.

S-04 has great reviews on this sub and other places when it comes to cider, even the top Amazon review mentions it.

But I haven't personally tried it. I started making cider this year and I was cheap and got 10 packs of Cotes Des Blancs on Amazon for $8.

Cotes Des Blancs is known to be drier but it also produces fruity tasting esters which add to the flavor and it does sometimes stop at 1.002 in my experience so still a bit of leftover sweetness.

I'm interested in trying the S-04 next but the Cotes Des Blancs is just so cheap lol.

Honestly when you look up Cotes Des Blancs it's regarded as keeping the apple flavor or at least making esters that go well with the apple flavor, so it might be good for you too.

In fact the description on midwestsupplies.com is:

> Cote des Blancs is also known as Epernay II. It is recommended for Chardonnay, Riesling, mead and cider, as well as fruit wines, particularly apple. it imparts a fruity aroma in both red and white wines. A slow fermenter that works best between 50 and 80 degrees. This strain will not ferment to a dryness at the low end of the range, leaving residual sugar resulting in a sweeter wine.

I think they mean leaving residual sweetness when it's used for making wine (higher abv so the yeast will die faster?) but in my experience it's stopped fermenting at 1.002 a couple times and when I calibrated my hydrometer it might have even been more like 1.004.

In my experience it's not a slow fermenter though, I ferment at about 78F (can't get any colder yet I live in the South) and it's done in about 7-8 days.

What size kettle would you suggest for 5 gallon BIAB? Any cheap grain mills or are they expensive? Scale is a useful idea thank you ha. Also the bungs are cheap on the label peelers site. Here is a link to the kit.

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Brew-Home-Brewing-Supp/dp/B01467U8D6/ref=sr_1_1?s=fiona-hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1450311813&sr=8-1&keywords=monster+brew+kit

Also is getting one gallon carboys good for experimenting?

Appreciate the help buddy!

I don't think there's a need to measure gravity during the boil. During the mash, take a sample and either cool it to room temp or use the temperature adjustment calculator. Maybe a refractometer can be one of your first purchases - Amazon has several for around $20

I probably wouldn't do 1gal batches in a 6gal carboy. However, you can get a brew bucket pretty cheaply. The local hippie store here sells apple juice (gluten free, no gmo, allergy compassionate, etc. obviously) in a 1gal jar. There's your 1gal fermenter - poke holes in the lid and put a baloon on it. Again on Amazon, there's a "bookshelf" brewing kit. $40 isn't exactly cheap, but it includes the ingredients for an all-grain batch, so it's not terrible.

For under $50, you're brewing your first all-grain batch. You can start to refine your process with a $20 upgrade. That's all you need.

(don't get me wrong, I love all the toys - I have several thousand dollars of stuff to brew beer, but none of it is necessary)

Can you please provide more information about the process you undertook?

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I'll paste my go to guide that was given to me by a member of this sub:

I like high ABV hooch, and I have a couple of rules of thumb for grams per liter or cups per gallon, the easiest one to start with is probably 3 cups of sugar per gallon for a 14% ABV hooch. You can adjust up or down from there, so 2 cups per gallon is around 9% and 1 cup per gallon is around 4%.

A little tip if you want to push your yeast to high ABV brews: 'step feeding' is where you start with about half of the sugar then add the rest after your yeast is well established and bubbling away. If your sugar concentration is too high to start with the fermentation can either take a very long time to start or not start at all.

So, a basic recipe would look like this:

1. 1 gallon - just go to Walmart or whatever grocery store is convenient and pick up whatever is cheapest (as long as it doesn't have preservatives, most don't)
   
   
2. pour out about 4 cups of the juice to make room for all the sugar you're going to add
   
   
3. add 2 cups of sugar, cap it, and shake vigorously until it's all dissolved
   
   
4. add a packet/teaspoon of yeast. If you have fancy cider/wine yeast then use that, but bread yeast will work just fine. Add whatever you have for nutrients. Boiled yeast and fruits or tomato paste/ketchup, just give your yeast a little something to chew on. Cap it and shake it again to get everything intermixed.
   
   
5. loosen the cap just enough for air to escape. You can rig up a balloon air lock (or even a real airlock) if you really want to, but I've never had an issue with just a loose cap. put it somewhere that's not too hot and not too cold. mid-70s F is ideal.
   
   
6. You should see lots of bubbles after a couple of days. Let it bubble away until there is noticeably less activity: time to step feed.
   
   
7. Add two more cups of sugar syrup and shake until it's all dissolved. Your yeast may or may not be able to tolerate eating all of this. Baking yeast might die off as the alcohol content rises.
   
   
8. You should see some renewed fermentation... just let it sit with a vented cap until you're not seeing any more bubbles and pour yourself a little taste. If it's still sweet, then the fermentation is stalled and it's probably as strong as you're going to get with the yeast/techniques being used. If it's really dry then you're all set, but you might want to back sweeten it before you drink it. You can add a little simple syrup or other sweetener to taste.
   
   
9. Move it to the fridge for the 'cold crash'. Let all the sediment fall to the bottom then either siphon it to another container (vinyl tubing is dirt cheap at most hardware stores) or gently pour it off while doing your best to not disturb the layer at the bottom. You can do this a couple of times until no more sediment falls to the bottom.
   
   
   Alcobase Extreme 23% Turbo Yeast 16.4 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y0NWX0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mAEBDb2KZ3Y8Fó

Hi, These 2 choices worked great for me after getting lots of advice.
Getting this kit that included the glass carbo as well was great because you get hardly any dregs in the finished bottles making it a better drinking experience.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008I3B0HS/ref=psdc_979839011_t4_B01N3W4FR8#feature-bullets-btf
And
the beer extract I used after it was recommended and I keep going back to https://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Australian-Homebrewing-Brewing-Extract/dp/B001D6MQ8E

If you like mineral water, you can pick up some Burton's Salts which will make a pretty much perfect match to San Pelligrino (I like it with a twist of lime). I believe the cost comes to about 4 cents a liter. Probably a good deal healthier too. see here for more info

I think that kit actually is an ale. I know cerveza is typically a lager, but if it's the Aztec kit, that's actually an Ale yeast (The "2-week process" gives it away). So I would ferment it in the 65F range, with no secondary. So that will make things easier.

More info on lagers (FYI only, since yours isn't one) - Lagering is done after fermentation is done anyways, so it won't make a big difference. A typical lager (which I don't believe this is) will ferment at around 55F for 10-14 days. Then needs to warm up to 70F for 3-4 days, then down to 35F to lager for 4-6 weeks. So lagering an ale is just like putting it in the fridge when it's done. No different.

As far as adjusting it? Not a bad idea. It's all up to what you prefer. If you're a hop head, you may want to throw .5-1 oz of hops in to give it some real hop character. Sometimes the hopped malt extract can get a bit bland. And if you want it to be a bit darker, steep maybe some caramel 40L or something in the water before you add the extract. That's the beauty of homebrewing! You can modify it to suit your taste.

Good breakdown, but I believe the kit you linked doesn't include a glass carboy. You need the "deluxe" starter kit for a glass carboy, which goes for $117 here.

http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-DELUXE-Brewing-Equipment/dp/B00AC55H24/

That Amcyl pot in the kit OP linked to goes for $200 retail.

http://www.homebrewsupply.com/amcyl-10-gallon-brew-kettle-w-3-piece-ball-valve.html

That still only adds up to $317 for pretty much the exact same gear. So as far as I can tell, the only benefits to buying the kit from Barley Haven would be same day pickup and supporting the LHBS.

*I'm not affiliated with any of these companies.

I would recommend getting a basic starter set and doing extract kits, this is a good one for example.
You'll also want:

• http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Brew-Products-644-Dextrose/dp/B002WF5JSE/ref=sr_1_3?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1453967122&sr=1-3&keywords=coopers+can
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Brew-Products-647-Light/dp/B00AWQW7DK/ref=sr_1_4?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1453967122&sr=1-4&keywords=coopers+can
  
  and you're ready to go. This puts you at $44 for 20L of beer or 2.20 / L.
  
  I would rather buy slightly bigger equipment than you need at any given time or you'll find yourself at your capacity limit from day 1 and end up buying stuff twice.

Not as many reviews, but people seem to dig this one. True you get what you pay for, but how often are you brewing? Something to take into consideration.

When I inevitably invest in a stir plate (something I plan on doing when finances allow), I'll probably be getting the Malestrom, but will shop around for at least a week beforehand because that's just want I do when I spend $100+.

*edit-Of course, based on what others here are saying, I might just get the guy I posted in my original post and spend the extra money on a rum barrel :)

Happy Birthday! This craft beer starter kit I think would give me a lot of happiness. IF I'm capable of making myself a nice brew.

Joke: Why can't T-Rex clap their hands???

Because they're dead.

Long haul it would be better if you sanitized it. But if the glass was pretty freshly cleaned on any one given instance of adding liquid into something actively fermenting the yeast already there will likely wipe out any interlopers. So basically bad habit, dont do it again, but probably wont matter.

As to the drinking a bit, I think its a good practice. See what it tastes like at any step, and if you start doing meads with spices you'll want to sample to figure out when you should be pulling the spices out. If you don't already have wine thief I would suggest grabbing one.

Not a bad plan there. I'd actually considered buying some original just for my root beer extract. I like to add a bit of Stevia and root beer extract to heated milk when I'm craving some Starbucks (I quit caffeine almost completely, other than a random Chai at said Starbucks).

If you want to try the extract, this one I bought I like: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JMJZWI0/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Could be good, but betting you'd need a bit of Stevia or some sweetener or it might taste odd with just original and root beer extract mixed :)

This is a beer kit I got from Amazon, [https://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-Dunkelweizen-Ingredient-Kit/dp/B0067MZQ9U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541433591&sr=8-2&keywords=dunkelweizen+beer+kit](Brewer's Best Dunkelweizen)". The yeast was liquid yeast that we got from the beer supply store in town, but sadly I don't know which one it was. We told them that it was for a Dunkelweizen and they gave us that one, so I'm hoping it was appropriate. I made a 1L yeast starter and judging from the first-day Kräusen it was healthy because we had a ton of it that went out of the blow-off tube.

​

My best guess is that it's temperature related. We don't have active control, we have it fermenting in my living room.

Dude extract is about as easy as it gets. Order a kit off amazon and follow the instructions.

The only special equipment you really need is a fermenting bucket, bottling bucket, some tubing, and a bottlecapper.

Edit: Midwest Supplies - Beer. Simply Beer. Starter Kit - Equipment for 5 Gallon Batches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3W4FR8

Monster Brew Home Brewing Supplies JI-JHQY-CYU0 True Brew Oktoberfest Home Brew Beer Ingredient Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003SSFG7I

I've never heard of this. I thought it might be like a 'smoke shifter' but no it is actual thing:
https://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Brew-Enhancer-Brewing-Additive/dp/B008Q030JO

From the product description:
>Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 contains dextrose, maltodextrin, and Light Dry Malt. The dextrose will ferment out completely with no residual cidery flavors while the maltodextrin does not ferment thus improving the body, mouthfeel and head retention of the beer. The Light Dry Malt, being 100% pale malt, will further add to the body and increase the malt character of your favorite brew. Great for use with any beer styles where a fuller, maltier flavor is preferred.

Honestly, I still use all this stuff 20+ brews deep.
Northern Brewer - Brew. Share. Enjoy. HomeBrewing Starter Set, Equipment and Recipe for 5 Gallon Batches Chinook IPA

I use an extract to make a pretty tasty Root-beer. The extracts vary a bit, so depending on the flavor of Root-beer you like, you may need to try a few different ones. The one I use is Hires Big H It has more of a vanilla taste where other extracts I've tried have more of an Black Licorice flavor. I use 5lbs of Beet Sugar, 1lb Honey, the extract above and 4oz Pure Vanilla extract
I heat about 4 gallons of water to 180, turn off the heat, dissolve the sugar, add the honey and extract. Cool with some ice bringing it up to about 5 gallon. I then put it into a keg with 4oz of pure vanilla extract. Hook up to my CO2 and carbonate.

Thanks! I'm now looking at the Midwest Supplies kit, because I already have a pot. I'm a bit confused about the difference between the difference between the auto-siphon and the siphon that this kit has; is there a huge benefit to the former in the case I'm only doing 2.5 gallons rather than a full 5 gallon batch? Also, can I just use any large spoon, or is there a purpose to the stainless ones?

I like them because of the flexibility they allow for. The larger tabs you're basically relying on the manufacturer to measure the carbonation.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P5NHC6/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

Those are what I used. Muntons not coopers. My mistake

For a kit with pots and fermentor, or just the ingredient kid for a 1gallon batch like this, Brooklyn Brew Shop Afternoon Wheat Beer Making Kit: All-Grain Starter Set With Reusable Glass Fermenter, Brew Equipment, Ingredients (Malted Barley, Hops, Yeast) Perfect For Brewing Craft Beer At Home https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RR9SOGY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_F-wuDbGBRDJ4Q

Got this kit off Amazon. Plenty to get started and comes with an IPA recipe kit.

Northern Brewer - Brew. Share. Enjoy. HomeBrewing Starter Set, Equipment and Recipe for 5 Gallon Batches (Chinook IPA) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765CZ6P9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_U0vzDbC8HMBAT

I got the Brewers Best Kit listed on that spreadsheet several years ago, and I still use every piece of it. Except the capper, that eventually broke and I replaced it with a metal one.

They have it for $145, it's about $110 shipped on Amazon. Seems to have several more items (including a glass carboy) then the True Brew kit.

http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-DELUXE-Brewing-Equipment/dp/B00AC55H24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426187067&sr=8-1&keywords=brewers+best+equipment+kit

Easiest way to carb would be carbonation tablets. Pretty easy to throw them in while bottling at pretty low expense. I linked to amazon but you can buy them from anywhere really.

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Carbonation-Tablets-4-5-oz/dp/B007P5NHC6

The Ronco Brew System is a knock-off of the Toddy Brew System and comes with a plastic decanter instead of a glass one. It also comes with a lid unlike the Toddy. I have heard mixed opinions on the Ronco unit's filtering though.

Really, you'll be good with any bottom container that will fit.

A kit I like is the Brooklyn Brew Kit.

You can find these on sale sometime at Home Goods for $20 sometimes. This will get you around 9 beers.

What you need to do is just understand the principle of each step, then use what you can to do that.

For mashing (that means soaking the barley in hot water) I use a cooler and another guy uses a pot.

To strain off the wort (that's the sugary grain juice) some people have a mesh bag others have a false bottom.

Use whatever you have to do it best you can.

Then if you want to jump to 5 gallons, there's always some poor guy who just had a baby and his wife is making him sell all of his brewing stuff on OfferUp or LetGo.

Oooo I want to try this. How many grams of yeast for six gallons? Do I need to buy a special sanitizer?

This is what I have in my cart right now:

[Airlock](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A6TRKO4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?
smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1)

Yeast

6 gallon carboy

Anything I'm missing beside the juice?

This is what I bought. Haven't tasted it yet but everything came packaged well and sealed

https://www.amazon.com/Beer-Simply-Gallon-Brewing-Starter/dp/B01N3W4FR8

Te paso la pagina de fermentado.com.mx, Soy de Mexico y la pagina tambien, pero me parece que hacen envios internacionales. El equipo no lo compre ahi pero si compro ahi los ingredientes, ademas el equipo es muy similar al que consegui yo (https://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-RA-D1KL-DOQN-DELUXE-Equipment/dp/B00AC55H24/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473266170&sr=8-3&keywords=brewers+best)

Ese kit de amazon trae todo lo que necesitas para comenzar, solo te faltaria una olla grande. Te recomiendo una de acero inoxidable de 15 a 20 lts, las de aluminio tambien funcionan pero pueden dejar sabores en la cerveza. Esa olla la consegui en mi ciudad en una tienda de articulos para restaurantes.

I just use this thing. $10 and the filter gets rid of all coarseness (which cloth and metal filters have never been able to do for me) and keeps the oils (which paper filters don't, leaving the coffee sorta flat).

https://www.amazon.com/Hires-Big-Root-Beer-Extract/dp/B00JMJZWI0?th=1

http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-DELUXE-Brewing-Equipment/dp/B00AC55H24/

The equipment kit I started with is http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-DELUXE-Brewing-Equipment/dp/B00AC55H24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407445654&sr=8-1&keywords=brewers+best it is everything but the pot and the bottles to get started.
Still using everything in the kit 2 years later.

I used this for a hard root beer once. I used 2 TBSP/gal. A little goes a long way.