Frequently Asked Questions For The New Brewer

[dr_pepper]

Don't worry about drying them. Just shake as much out as you can before bottling.

As for secondary, there might be other opinions, but Im going to suggest that you dont worry about it at this stage of your brewing experience if youre doing ales. By all means get a second fermenter (Bunning for about $15, dont waste your money on one from elsewhere) because its handy to bulk prime in, or as you will soon discover, putting another beer down because you cant wait for the first one to finish

ok no worries

i've looked for those bunnings fermenters in 3 different bunnings in the last couple of weeks but had no luck..anyone seen them in sydney anywhere?

if i'm not using a secondary, then should i use finings, and if so when?

cheers

 

[Silo Ted]

i've looked for those bunnings fermenters in 3 different bunnings in the last couple of weeks but had no luck..anyone seen them in sydney anywhere?

Bunnings at Auburn/Lidcombe (not sure of the exact suburb) always has them. They have a red lid, if that helps you find them. They aren't sold strictly as fermenters, but water barrels. The come pre-drilled for a tap, and you can use glad wrap over the top instead of an airlock, or drill a hole and fit your own airlock and grommet.

Finings can be added after fermentation is complete. But again Im going to throw it out there and say that its not essential. If crystal clear beer is important to you then go for it. Many brewers dont bother. Your beer wont necessarily be muddy, just leave it for long enough or better still you can chill it right down for a week after fermentation to help drop out some of the yeasties.

 

[dr_pepper]

Bunnings at Auburn/Lidcombe (not sure of the exact suburb) always has them. They have a red lid, if that helps you find them. They aren't sold strictly as fermenters, but water barrels. The come pre-drilled for a tap, and you can use glad wrap over the top instead of an airlock, or drill a hole and fit your own airlock and grommet.

Finings can be added after fermentation is complete. But again Im going to throw it out there and say that its not essential. If crystal clear beer is important to you then go for it. Many brewers dont bother. Your beer wont necessarily be muddy, just leave it for long enough or better still you can chill it right down for a week after fermentation to help drop out some of the yeasties.

cool...bit out of the way but good to know. yeah i looked where the big water jerry can cube's are and they didn't have them...i tried alexandria, ashfield and one other i can't remember.

finings - ok fair enough. so with chilling, should i wait a week after fermentation has finished, then drop down to what temp? my wine fridge goes down to 5degC, so could prob manage 5 to say 8degC range. then how long would i leave it at that temp for before bottling?

thanks silo ted

 

[felten]

A secondary (IMO) is only useful for removing the yeast from the beer for extended aging, or aging on wood/hops/fruit.

If you're just going to be fermenting for a week, and then maybe CCing for a week you can do all that in the primary.

As for finings it depends on what problem you are trying to fix, and what fining you're going to use to fix it. There's a lot of information on the forums and elsewhere on gelatin, isinglass, and polyclar. The gelatine thread is here. My 2c, if I'm just trying to drop yeast, I CC the brew, If I have chill haze, I use polyclar >4 days before bottling.

Oh and bottling trees are awesome.

 

[dr_pepper]

A secondary (IMO) is only useful for removing the yeast from the beer for extended aging, or aging on wood/hops/fruit.

If you're just going to be fermenting for a week, and then maybe CCing for a week you can do all that in the primary.

As for finings it depends on what problem you are trying to fix, and what fining you're going to use to fix it. There's a lot of information on the forums and elsewhere on gelatin, isinglass, and polyclar. The gelatine thread is here. My 2c, if I'm just trying to drop yeast, I CC the brew, If I have chill haze, I use polyclar >4 days before bottling.

Oh and bottling trees are awesome.

fair enough...i've got a couple of fruit beer ideas for later down the track, so i'll look into it then

ok great thanks for the info - what is "chill haze" though?

bottling trees necessary or just make it easier to bottle?

 

[mkstalen]

1. considering buying a secondary fermenter. can someone explain the procedure involved? do i need some sort of tube setup to transfer, or do you just pour it into a 2nd fermenter?

2. what are the advantages of finings? when would i use them? any recommendations?

3. I'm using an ale yeast on the canadian blonde, but i have seen people still mentioning cold condition for ales..correct? if so, is it worth it, and what temp would i cold condition the secondary at and for how long?

4. i'm going to leave fermenting until hydrometer readings are the same for 3 days, once i've done that, do i leave for a few more days then transfer to secondary, or just go to secondary as soon as fermentation has finished?

i think thats it for now, thanks again for all the help

1. As someone else said you may not want to mess with using a secondary just yet but if you want to here's my procedure. Get your 2ndary fermenter/jerry can, get a food grade plastic/rubber tube which fits your fermenter tap. Raise primary up above height of 2ndary, place hose into 2ndary allowing it to coil a little on the bottom. Turn on tap in primary and allow to empty into 2ndary. You don't want to areate the wort at this point so try not to let it splash around any. Tip primary a little to get almost all the wort into the 2ndary, but leaving the yeast cake in the primary.
You can then leave it in the 2ndary for another couple of weeks before you bottle. Personally I only do this now to get the wort into my jerry can so I can fit it into my fridge for chilling prior to bottle/kegging. The chilling helps drop more of the yeast out of the wort and thus leaves less sediment in your bottles giving you clearer beer.
I've seen the "water barrel / fermenters" at my local Bunnings at Thornleigh.

2. Finings are used to drop more yeast to the bottom of your fermenter and make your beer clearer. You normally use them in the chilling stage of 2ndary a few days before you plan to bottle/keg your beer.

3. Chilling helps clear your beer. Personally I think it's worth it. Drop the temp down to 2-5 deg for a week or so. The first brew I used US-05 with I chilled in the primary and got a really pretty clear beer.

4. Good on the hydro readings, but try to check using ianh's spreadsheet what your FG should be so at least you know what you're aiming for. If it's stable at 1.020 for 3 days the yeast may have just gone to sleep and need a bit of a wake up to get you to your FG. If you're going to leave the 2ndary at fermenting temps for a week, then racking before it's completely finished is probably ok. Just make sure you get to FG before bottling.

Good luck.

 

[Silo Ted]

Oh and bottling trees are awesome.

Bottle trees are for pansies :lol:

 

[felten]

It's not necessary, but it sure is a hell of a lot easier... and you won't get yelled at for storing bottles on the dish rack in the kitchen

 

[dr_pepper]

1. As someone else said you may not want to mess with using a secondary just yet but if you want to here's my procedure. Get your 2ndary fermenter/jerry can, get a food grade plastic/rubber tube which fits your fermenter tap. Raise primary up above height of 2ndary, place hose into 2ndary allowing it to coil a little on the bottom. Turn on tap in primary and allow to empty into 2ndary. You don't want to areate the wort at this point so try not to let it splash around any. Tip primary a little to get almost all the wort into the 2ndary, but leaving the yeast cake in the primary.
You can then leave it in the 2ndary for another couple of weeks before you bottle. Personally I only do this now to get the wort into my jerry can so I can fit it into my fridge for chilling prior to bottle/kegging. The chilling helps drop more of the yeast out of the wort and thus leaves less sediment in your bottles giving you clearer beer.
I've seen the "water barrel / fermenters" at my local Bunnings at Thornleigh.

2. Finings are used to drop more yeast to the bottom of your fermenter and make your beer clearer. You normally use them in the chilling stage of 2ndary a few days before you plan to bottle/keg your beer.

3. Chilling helps clear your beer. Personally I think it's worth it. Drop the temp down to 2-5 deg for a week or so. The first brew I used US-05 with I chilled in the primary and got a really pretty clear beer.

4. Good on the hydro readings, but try to check using ianh's spreadsheet what your FG should be so at least you know what you're aiming for. If it's stable at 1.020 for 3 days the yeast may have just gone to sleep and need a bit of a wake up to get you to your FG. If you're going to leave the 2ndary at fermenting temps for a week, then racking before it's completely finished is probably ok. Just make sure you get to FG before bottling.

Good luck.

nice one thanks steinberg.

with chilling, does it need to be right down between 2-5deg, or will it be ok at say 5-8deg? do you put it into cubes simply so it fits into your normal fridge or is there any other reason? like i said, my wine fridge should be able to handle 5-8deg, so if thats suitable for CC, then i can just leave it in the primary can't i?

no worries, i have downloaded ian's spreadsheet and been meaning to check it out

cheers

 

[Silo Ted]

nice one thanks steinberg.

with chilling, does it need to be right down between 2-5deg, or will it be ok at say 5-8deg? do you put it into cubes simply so it fits into your normal fridge or is there any other reason? like i said, my wine fridge should be able to handle 5-8deg, so if thats suitable for CC, then i can just leave it in the primary can't i?

no worries, i have downloaded ian's spreadsheet and been meaning to check it out

cheers

Thats the thing about brewing, it doesn't need to be a lot of things. You could just bung it from the fermenter into bottles, add some carbonation drops and youre done. After the bottles have carbed, and the beer has aged sufficiently, you leave in the regular fridge for two days before drinking and it'll be pretty clear.

Or just put your primary fermenter in the wine fridge after fermenting, bung the temp down as low as you can, then bottle straight from that a few days later.

 

[dr_pepper]

Thats the thing about brewing, it doesn't need to be a lot of things. You could just bung it from the fermenter into bottles, add some carbonation drops and youre done. After the bottles have carbed, and the beer has aged sufficiently, you leave in the regular fridge for two days before drinking and it'll be pretty clear.

Or just put your primary fermenter in the wine fridge after fermenting, bung the temp down as low as you can, then bottle straight from that a few days later.

sweet...all good advice thanks guys

 

[Phreaker]

Hi guys,
first post.

i have read around a bit and am looking at doing ales.

but here is the thing i am up in mackay so the temp is very stable 26c every day and 22-24c at night.

i know alot of guys around here brew without coolers and wanted to see if 26c is still fine for ale yeast?
any tips for fermenting the higher temps?

at this stage i will be doing the first brew in Feb when the temps return to normal, at the moment it temp is aorund 28c and i know that would be too high to brew in, i guess i am just looking at keeping the overheads down initially to get a return on investment before forking out for the big stuff ;-)

thanks again boys.

 

[kenlock]

Hi guys,
first post.

i have read around a bit and am looking at doing ales.

but here is the thing i am up in mackay so the temp is very stable 26c every day and 22-24c at night.

i know alot of guys around here brew without coolers and wanted to see if 26c is still fine for ale yeast?
any tips for fermenting the higher temps?

at this stage i will be doing the first brew in Feb when the temps return to normal, at the moment it temp is aorund 28c and i know that would be too high to brew in, i guess i am just looking at keeping the overheads down initially to get a return on investment before forking out for the big stuff ;-)

thanks again boys.

You really don't want to be fermenting ales at 26c. You'll be very disappointed with the results. Go back to the first page of this thread and look at the cooling options. You may find you can do this with minimal or no outlay.

Edit: grammar

 

[shaunbrew]

gday all, could someone please tell me the ideal fermenting temperature for coopers kit and kilo draught, also does anyone know a kit and kilo that will have a similar taste to VB and the ideal ferment temp??????
cheers

shaun

 

[Bribie G]

The kit yeast is quite "forgiving" but best fermented as close to 20 as possible. For something similar to a VB in terms of colour, bitterness etc I'd tend to go for Morgans rather than Coopers (available from home brew shops but not Woolies) and try the Australian Draught. Another "improvement" would be to use Brew Enhancer 2 (a mix of light dried malt extract, dextrose and maltodextrin) as your "kilo" instead of just sugar.

Edit: also 20. If you can get it, try substituting the dried lager yeast Fermentis S-23 and this can be fermented at around 18 - this will give the beer a more "lagery" character, seeing as VB is actually a lager not an ale.

Cheers and welcome to the obsession . :icon_cheers:

ps there seem to be quite a few suppliers in the Dandenong, Narre Warren area etc. Local members should be able to advise.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hi guys,
first post.

i have read around a bit and am looking at doing ales.

but here is the thing i am up in mackay so the temp is very stable 26c every day and 22-24c at night.

i know alot of guys around here brew without coolers and wanted to see if 26c is still fine for ale yeast?
any tips for fermenting the higher temps?

at this stage i will be doing the first brew in Feb when the temps return to normal, at the moment it temp is aorund 28c and i know that would be too high to brew in, i guess i am just looking at keeping the overheads down initially to get a return on investment before forking out for the big stuff ;-)

thanks again boys.

I live in Brisbane, and the temps here have been consistently warm, even with the air con on in the house. I have ended up with 2 dud (AG) brews, so temp control in the warmer states is a must. You might end up with a yeast that will tolerate a limited high temp (I used Nottingham yeast, which killed me) or you might make metho flavoured malt water.

Research temp, yeast and the like. If you want cheap booze, then it won't matter. If you want cheap but nice beer, then BIAB AG is an option, though again research is vital.

Actually, in this hobby, research is vital no matter what you do. Even making cheap plonk.

Goomba

 

[earle]

Hi guys,
first post.

i have read around a bit and am looking at doing ales.

but here is the thing i am up in mackay so the temp is very stable 26c every day and 22-24c at night.

i know alot of guys around here brew without coolers and wanted to see if 26c is still fine for ale yeast?
any tips for fermenting the higher temps?

at this stage i will be doing the first brew in Feb when the temps return to normal, at the moment it temp is aorund 28c and i know that would be too high to brew in, i guess i am just looking at keeping the overheads down initially to get a return on investment before forking out for the big stuff ;-)

thanks again boys.

Hi Al

I'm just a bit further up the road in Prossie. One of the best things I did to improve the flavour of my brews was to invest in temperature control. $200 for an upright frost free freezer at auction and $30ish for a temp controller. As Mackay is substantially larger then here, I suspect you could pick up an old fridge or freezer for a lot less than that.

 

[shaunbrew]

The kit yeast is quite "forgiving" but best fermented as close to 20 as possible. For something similar to a VB in terms of colour, bitterness etc I'd tend to go for Morgans rather than Coopers (available from home brew shops but not Woolies) and try the Australian Draught. Another "improvement" would be to use Brew Enhancer 2 (a mix of light dried malt extract, dextrose and maltodextrin) as your "kilo" instead of just sugar.

Edit: also 20. If you can get it, try substituting the dried lager yeast Fermentis S-23 and this can be fermented at around 18 - this will give the beer a more "lagery" character, seeing as VB is actually a lager not an ale.

Cheers and welcome to the obsession . :icon_cheers:

ps there seem to be quite a few suppliers in the Dandenong, Narre Warren area etc. Local members should be able to advise.

:beerbang:
gday mate, cheers for the advise lots of help, will definatlt try that second person with good advise
it is a obsession already and doing me first brew tomorrow thanks pal :beerbang:

 

[Spork]

Hi all, n00bie here.
Did try some brewing 20-25 years ago, but too young, poor and impatient to have much success. Hopefully this time I can get it right. Starting to regret getting rid of my old 'fridge, but a replacement shouldn't be too expensive.

Couple of questions.
From what I've read here an old 'fridge with one of the Ebay temp regs is best, but I'd be looking at setting up in the garage, and it gets b. cold out there this time of year (I'm in Tassie) so I think at this stage heating will be more of an issue than cooling, and from what I've read a constant temperature is half the battle won. The heater belts - I take it they aren't thermostaticaly controlled. Also heard that an aquarium heater can be used. This seems a good way to go, as they have a built in thermostat. Bit of extra cleaning / sterilising though. What are your thoughts on this? If I stick with brewing I'd def. get an old fridge by the time the weather warns up.

Question 2: "Beginner mixes". Any suggestions on brands / recipes that are more idiot proof than others? I prefer ales, esp. english style, belgium tripels, IPA's and abbyists styles. Are the kits for these suitable for beginners? This one: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT has caught my eye. Am I being unrealistic though, if so, can you suggest a good, simple, tasty place to begin?

Thanks in advance. Great forum here, lots to learn, I think I'll be spending a fair bit of time here in the future.

 

[kelbygreen]

get a old fridge now you can hang a heating mat or put a light in there (I bought a ceramic heat globe they are made for reptiles but dont produce light only heat) so you can put heating in a fridge and its a really efficient way to do it as its already insulated. your temp control will have heating and cooling attached so they can both run at once, well not at the same time if it gets to cool the heater will kick in if it gets to hot the fridge will kick in.

Anything coopers is good not that I tried anything else I found its best to to get a kit you can add stuff to. The real ale was prob one of my fav steep a little grain add about 60% malt 40% dex and some hops you like the sound of and its a good drop. I have no tried and true recipes for kits as most was throw this and that in with no records lol If you liked a lager id go the coopers european with prob some saaz hops and buy some s23 ferment at 12-13c for 2 or so weeks. Cold condition for 3-5 weeks and it would be a stand out beer in my mind

 

[Fodder]

Hi all, n00bie here.
Did try some brewing 20-25 years ago, but too young, poor and impatient to have much success. Hopefully this time I can get it right. Starting to regret getting rid of my old 'fridge, but a replacement shouldn't be too expensive.

Couple of questions.
From what I've read here an old 'fridge with one of the Ebay temp regs is best, but I'd be looking at setting up in the garage, and it gets b. cold out there this time of year (I'm in Tassie) so I think at this stage heating will be more of an issue than cooling, and from what I've read a constant temperature is half the battle won. The heater belts - I take it they aren't thermostaticaly controlled. Also heard that an aquarium heater can be used. This seems a good way to go, as they have a built in thermostat. Bit of extra cleaning / sterilising though. What are your thoughts on this? If I stick with brewing I'd def. get an old fridge by the time the weather warns up.

Question 2: "Beginner mixes". Any suggestions on brands / recipes that are more idiot proof than others? I prefer ales, esp. english style, belgium tripels, IPA's and abbyists styles. Are the kits for these suitable for beginners? This one: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT has caught my eye. Am I being unrealistic though, if so, can you suggest a good, simple, tasty place to begin?

Thanks in advance. Great forum here, lots to learn, I think I'll be spending a fair bit of time here in the future.

Hi Spork,

Welcome to the circus, we're all a bit beer mad in here... :beerbang:

As Kelby G mentioned, you can get temp controllers that will regulate both heating and cooling in one little package. I'm not too sure how to set them up as I've not got one myself, but have looked at a few that offer both functions and it would seem the way to go if you're going to invest in one (as I am close to doing myself).

With the beer kit you're looking at, I cant say I'm familar with it...but based on its contents (cut and paste from site: 'Recipe also includes incl 2.5kg malt, honey, crushed black grain, Goldings & Hallertau hops') you are going to need a fairly good sized stock pot in order to steep the grains and boil the hops (a big household cooking pot may just do the job for the time being).

I would hazard a guess that you will need to steep the grains in hot (not boiling) water for x amount of time, rinse the grains with more hot water, then bring that whole lot to the boil to then start adding hops at pre-set times. After that, you'll probably want to cool it all down and add it to your fermentor with the rest of the ingredients, top up to 19L/21L/23L (?) and pitch yeast.

Its not out of reach for a beginner, but certainly not level 1 either, and it may take some time for a 1st go. If you plan ahead and take your time, you should be fine. I'd give it a go and see what you think. If its a pain in the arse, then dont bother again, if its a breeze, then your sweet!

Personally, I would take a look in the recipeDB on this forum http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...utocom=recipedb

On the right, under 'Method' select 'Kit & Kilo' or 'Extract' and have a browse to see what takes your fancy. Once you've an idea what sort of recipes you might like to make, head down to your local Home Brew store and see how much it costs to put it all together. I reckon you'll find it'll be as cheap if not less that what that ebay item is...

Good luck and let us know how you get on :icon_cheers:

 

[felten]

The STC-1000 controllers you can find on eBay that a lot of people are using can control both heating and cooling options at the same time. A fridge with it's great insulation is just as good for storing your FV's in whether you're heating or cooling. Personally I use a light bulb plugged into a fridgemate in my fridge for heating, an immersible heater just sounds like another possible infection point.

The brewcraft kits are probably pretty easy for a beginner, but the quality of their ingredients, especially hops, might be questionable. Inputting the same ingredients into grain and grape it works out to be about the same price ($48 without the honey), but if you can buy in bulk from a decent HBS it's a lot cheaper.

edit: forgot to plug this as a beginners recipe http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=502, this one is pretty popular as well http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=867. There is massive threads dedicated to both those recipes that will be able to help you out.

 

[waggastew]

A couple of Kits & Bits recipes that may fit your preferences and have been successful for me:

1. A simple IPA, hops of any sort will do (I use Cascade but you could easily go UK e.g. Goldings/Fuggles). Very easy to make but turns out really well.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=44280

2. My first attempt at a Belgian Dubbel, yummo! Best if you can get a liquid yeast though

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=53194

 

[Spork]

Wow. There is so much more to home brewing than I imagined. Think I better do some more reading / research before starting my first brew. It seems I've found the right place to do that.
Sounds like the kit I linked might be a big ask for a beginner, might go with something simpler, and 1/3 the price, from my local brewing supply shop. The recipes linked above look like they might be a more realistic first attempt. One day though...

Another question, re: water. I'd imagine that "good" water is crucuial for great beer? I'm in Launceston (Blackstone Heights for those that know the town) and sometimes our water has a bit of a taste to it. What are my options? Will brewing remove / cover any odd tastes in the water? Boiling it? Perhaps invest in a water filter? Buy bottled water (I have NEVER paid good $$$ for water...) or just go for a drive to a catchment area and "harvest" some "wild water"?

 

[kelbygreen]

you could boil it I tried this with a few brews but to boil and cool 23lts of water is a pain. is the taste chlorine or like a metal taste? I find the water here tastes a bit metallic but find it good to brew with I dont think you will have a problem but if you think it may be one down the track them boil 23lts and try that.

 

[waggastew]

For the moment stick with the stuff that comes out of the tap. Its cleaned up courtesy of your local council and any problems (high chlorine/chloroamine) will not be a big deal in your first 20 brews. When you have everything else under control and feeling brave do a search for 'water chemistry'/'water thread'.

 

[Fodder]

The STC-1000 controllers you can find on eBay that a lot of people are using can control both heating and cooling options at the same time. A fridge with it's great insulation is just as good for storing your FV's in whether you're heating or cooling. Personally I use a light bulb plugged into a fridgemate in my fridge for heating, an immersible heater just sounds like another possible infection point.

The brewcraft kits are probably pretty easy for a beginner, but the quality of their ingredients, especially hops, might be questionable. Inputting the same ingredients into grain and grape it works out to be about the same price ($48 without the honey), but if you can buy in bulk from a decent HBS it's a lot cheaper.

edit: forgot to plug this as a beginners recipe http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=502, this one is pretty popular as well http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=867. There is massive threads dedicated to both those recipes that will be able to help you out.

+1 for Centenarillo Ale by Neill (the second link). Had a couple last night that have been in the bottle for 1 month and they are tasting fantastic. My mistake was under carbing them...(1st time bulk priming)

 

[Spork]

The boss has given her blessing, I'm allowed to have a brew cabinet! I told her about the ebay thermostats to run a 'fridge or freezer at 18-20c (I like ales) and how it wouldn't cost much to run because you're not trying to chill it to 4c. She said I can use our chest freezer, and buy an upright freezer for our food.
It's a start. If I can fit 2 fermenters and 2 batches in, I'd be satisfied. Even 1 fermenter and 2 batches might almost do. Can always supplement the home brew with some decent commercial stuff. Generally don't like Boags, but do like their Wizard Smith English style Ale.

 

[bignath]

The boss has given her blessing, I'm allowed to have a brew cabinet! I told her about the ebay thermostats to run a 'fridge or freezer at 18-20c (I like ales) and how it wouldn't cost much to run because you're not trying to chill it to 4c. She said I can use our chest freezer, and buy an upright freezer for our food.

Sounds like a top "mrs spork" there mate.

Mine's pretty good too actually, nowadays she just walks past me on the computer and says sarcastically:

"beer buddies?"

to which i sheepily reply:

"uh,,,,,, yep"

good luck with your brews mate and welcome to the obsession

nath

 

[Spork]

OK, just ordered the STX 1000 temperature controller.
Need to get a freezer for Mrs Spork, or a cheap 2nd hand fridge / freezer for my fermenter.
Starting from scratch. Thinking this kit http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT + some PET bottles and of course the actual ingredients are about all I need to get started?
What else would you suggest I should get before I begin? I want my first attempt to go smoothly, so I want enough gear to make it fairly simple, without spending $ hundreds. I'm thinking a "bottling wand" and maybe a bottle washer, although I prob. won't need the washer until my 2nd brew. What other items would you lot not be without?