Brewing Equipment in Hand

By scot in Home Brewing on Friday, September 11th, 2009

Brewing equipment is essential if you want to brew beer. That simple.

How do you know which kit is right for you? How do you know if you like brewing? Why should I buy the best kit if I don’t like it or am I not good at it? Glass or plastic carboys? Which type of yeast? Do I need a yeast starter? Will it help my brew to do a starter? What is the best way to sanitize? Which type of beer to brew? What is going to go wrong? What is going to go right? What will I forget? Where do I really look for the best information?

These are all questions I have asked over the past several months as I have stepped into the world of brewing beer. No, I haven’t brewed yet. I am much to anal to jump into something. nike cortez Everything has to be calculated and planned, checked and re-checked, then, and only then, will I throw all caution to the wind. 😉

I recently scored my brewing kit for a total of $0. Yes, that is right. My brothers-in-law tried some 12 years ago or so to brew beer. They only tried once, didn’t like it, so they quit and the equipment has been in my mother-in-laws basement for the duration.

A lot of the stuff is filthy to say the least. There are white marks inside the carboys from not being cleaned. The clear plastic hose to syphon beer into the bottles was never cleaned and is all sticky. If I am painting the picture correctly, everything is dirty. I have done an initial cleaning of the equipment but I have to figure out if some stuff is salvageable and if there are some missing parts. Even if there aren’t, I realize this is the one time my wife will allow me to purchase brewing equipment. I have to make use of this situation to its fullest.

I hope to continue my brewing education via a brewing book I have, listening to pod casts, and lurking in brewing forums. If all goes well, I plan on entering the fermented brotherhood sometime in October. Enjoy!