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ozdevil
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Welcome to AHB
a good coopers kit to start you off equipment wise , it will have everything to get you started
then Build your equipment up from there as you advance .
also remember be thorough with your cleaning and sanitization
also get John Palmers "How To Brew" this book is like a bible of brewing it will take you from extract brewing to All grain brewing
a good coopers kit to start you off equipment wise , it will have everything to get you started
then Build your equipment up from there as you advance .
also remember be thorough with your cleaning and sanitization
also get John Palmers "How To Brew" this book is like a bible of brewing it will take you from extract brewing to All grain brewing
I'm a bit biased as I wanted to get to all grain brewing as quickly as possible so I did one kit, a handful of extract brews then brew in a bag with grain. There is a lot of discussion out there around the relative merits of kit beers vs extract vs all grain but the general consensus is that that the quality of end product increases in that order on average. If you just want to do kit beers a starter pack from a number of online stores will get you going.
For me - I spent a lot of money in the long run trying to save money early on when I wasn't sure if this was a hobby I was going to carry on doing. It's a bit of a catch 22, you don't want to spend too much if you drop the hobby, but there are a bunch of things that make life much easier with a bit more money down up front. So if you do want to go the all grain route (and if I was to start it all over again) I would probably recommend an all in one like a robobrew for $450.
$450 seems like a lot but in context to do it with individual pieces of equipment:
50L pot - $100
Immersions Chiller - Small and slow one for $50, better, faster one for $109 when I got frustrated with the cooling time.
Bags - $20 on cheap ones that broke, $25 on one that has lasted me for dozens of brews.
Mesh basket - $110
Gas Burner - $70 on small one, $90 on bigger one, $125 on a high pressure beast that cut heating time in half. Sold the other two to recoup 50% of those costs.
No-weld tap for pot - around $70
Total cost there is well over $450 and if you decide that you don't want to carry on with brewing you can on-sell a system like that more easily than individual components like I have.
My 2 cents.
For me - I spent a lot of money in the long run trying to save money early on when I wasn't sure if this was a hobby I was going to carry on doing. It's a bit of a catch 22, you don't want to spend too much if you drop the hobby, but there are a bunch of things that make life much easier with a bit more money down up front. So if you do want to go the all grain route (and if I was to start it all over again) I would probably recommend an all in one like a robobrew for $450.
$450 seems like a lot but in context to do it with individual pieces of equipment:
50L pot - $100
Immersions Chiller - Small and slow one for $50, better, faster one for $109 when I got frustrated with the cooling time.
Bags - $20 on cheap ones that broke, $25 on one that has lasted me for dozens of brews.
Mesh basket - $110
Gas Burner - $70 on small one, $90 on bigger one, $125 on a high pressure beast that cut heating time in half. Sold the other two to recoup 50% of those costs.
No-weld tap for pot - around $70
Total cost there is well over $450 and if you decide that you don't want to carry on with brewing you can on-sell a system like that more easily than individual components like I have.
My 2 cents.
I think so based on a bit of reading online - they are more geared around all-grain but will easily adapt to extract. With extract you're basically cutting out the step where you extract the sugar from the grain (Mashing). You just boil the extract with the hops as per the recipe without the mashing step, which that system is definitely capable of doing for you.
For extract a regular setup is a bit cheaper but not that much as you are only cutting out the bag/basket (vs brew in a bag like I do):
Pot $100
Hop spider $35
Burner $125 for a good one, $99 for that takes about 50% longer.
No-chill cube - Approx $20
Optional:
Immersion Chiller: $109
Siphon to transfer wort to fermenter/no chill cube $25-35. Or you can just pour though a funnel with care.
+ All the other gear you need to brew kits anyway. Fermenter etc.
Some of the other brewers here who have experience with the all-in-one systems can maybe add to what I've said here but it's still a pretty near run thing to put together a bunch of gear for extract brews vs an all-in-one system (or equivalent).
arthurwade215
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I am a retiring Brewer, I have a lot of equipment that I wish to give away, I live in Torquay 3228 anyone interested please contact me.
Thanks heaps for the offer it’s extremely kind of you but I’m in WA might be a bit far for me
I disagree with Narapoia. My philosophy is to keep my bets low until I decide whether I'm going to continue with a hobby and I learn enough to know what I actually need and am knowledgeable enough to weigh up the alternatives. That goes for all sorts of hobbies, not just home brewing. If you were a golfing beginner would you go out and buy a $2000 set of golf clubs? Gumtree and eBay are littered with equipment for all kinds of hobbies that are hardly used or completely brand new, typically secondhand items in good condition go for 50% of new price. It's a lot less painful to lose $50 on a $100 kit than $225 on a $450 purchase. However in your case I don't recommend buying secondhand I'd just buy a new Cooper's DIY Brew Kit.
Currently Coopers are offering that kit for $99 as a Father's Day special - $20 off - as is Big W.
https://www.diybeer.com/au/coopers-diy-beer-brew-kit.htmlhttps://www.bigw.com.au/product/coopers-diy-beer-brew-kit/p/730573Coopers recently changed the packaging style from the one shown on the Big W website to the garish style on DIYBeer. Don't worry, it's the same kit.
For that price you get everything you need to make your first brew except Pink Brewery Wash and sanitiser (very important!!). If you buy secondhand you'll pay $50-60 and the can of Lager beer extract ($17) Brew Enhancer 2 ($10) and carbonation drops ($4) will most likely be gone, as well as possibly being short a couple of PET bottles. And if you subsequently decide home brewing is not for you then you can sell it on Gumtree for $50-60 and be only $50 out of pocket. Or nothing at all if you consider the amount you saved on the beer you brewed.
It's worth signing up for the Coopers Club (free!) as you get monthly offers of the Beer of the Month kit and free shipping on orders of brewing ingredients that week. They also have a friendly forum that includes recipes for different beers you can make with Coopers cans.
A couple of traps for new players: DO NOT buy the Craft Brew Kit or the Brew Box shown on the Big W website. The Craft Brew Kit fermenter only holds 8.5 Litres vs the 23 Litres of the full size kit. You can brew an 8.5L batch in a 23L vessel but not vice versa. It also only comes with 11 bottles vs 30 in the full kit. The full kit is more versatile as you go forward with brewing. The Brew Box at $75
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/coopers-diy-beer-brew-box/p/822127may appear cheaper but comes without brewing supplies ($31) or bottles (2x$18=$36) so is actually not a good choice for a first-time brewer. It's really aimed at an established Brewer who just needs a second fermenter.
Hope this helps.
Currently Coopers are offering that kit for $99 as a Father's Day special - $20 off - as is Big W.
https://www.diybeer.com/au/coopers-diy-beer-brew-kit.htmlhttps://www.bigw.com.au/product/coopers-diy-beer-brew-kit/p/730573Coopers recently changed the packaging style from the one shown on the Big W website to the garish style on DIYBeer. Don't worry, it's the same kit.
For that price you get everything you need to make your first brew except Pink Brewery Wash and sanitiser (very important!!). If you buy secondhand you'll pay $50-60 and the can of Lager beer extract ($17) Brew Enhancer 2 ($10) and carbonation drops ($4) will most likely be gone, as well as possibly being short a couple of PET bottles. And if you subsequently decide home brewing is not for you then you can sell it on Gumtree for $50-60 and be only $50 out of pocket. Or nothing at all if you consider the amount you saved on the beer you brewed.
It's worth signing up for the Coopers Club (free!) as you get monthly offers of the Beer of the Month kit and free shipping on orders of brewing ingredients that week. They also have a friendly forum that includes recipes for different beers you can make with Coopers cans.
A couple of traps for new players: DO NOT buy the Craft Brew Kit or the Brew Box shown on the Big W website. The Craft Brew Kit fermenter only holds 8.5 Litres vs the 23 Litres of the full size kit. You can brew an 8.5L batch in a 23L vessel but not vice versa. It also only comes with 11 bottles vs 30 in the full kit. The full kit is more versatile as you go forward with brewing. The Brew Box at $75
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/coopers-diy-beer-brew-box/p/822127may appear cheaper but comes without brewing supplies ($31) or bottles (2x$18=$36) so is actually not a good choice for a first-time brewer. It's really aimed at an established Brewer who just needs a second fermenter.
Hope this helps.
If you mean home brew kit like fermenter and bottling gear, it's probably easier and cheaper to grab that as a kit bundled together.
If you mean the whole hog, I'd be inclined to agree with @Stuart99. Have a crack at fermenting and packaging first. You'll still need all that gear later on. Try the Coopers, or other kits, or even try a fresh wort kit.
From there it's probably easier to assess if you want to go all in and do the whole process yourself.
Your local home brew shop may run brew demo days that could give you a bit more of an idea. YouTube is good too.
If you mean the whole hog, I'd be inclined to agree with @Stuart99. Have a crack at fermenting and packaging first. You'll still need all that gear later on. Try the Coopers, or other kits, or even try a fresh wort kit.
From there it's probably easier to assess if you want to go all in and do the whole process yourself.
Your local home brew shop may run brew demo days that could give you a bit more of an idea. YouTube is good too.
Thanks heaps that’s a lot to think about and lots of valid points. Cheers and happy brewing
Thanks mate I have been smashing YouTube to learn as much as I can
Ballaratguy
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For sure - I did caveat with saying I was biased towards getting to AG quickly - should have been clearer that yeah to get started and do a few kits you don't need any equipment beyond a starter kit, all of which you will use if you do want to go into other methods.
If you want to do extract or AG - that's when my advice would come into play.
To be honest I appreciate all the advice it gives me things to think about. I am definitely going to do some extract brews first but the idea of AG does interest me. Just have to see if I enjoy the hobby. Thanks again for all the advice
Longneckkaos
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May I welcome you to the forum? I see you have posted the same in another thread. Thanks for joining.
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