New to Brewing!

Hello Everyone,

I was contemplating brewing beer for a while now. But work and other stuff always got in the way. Finally decided to pull the trigger on a brewing kit as a Christmas gift for myself. I looked up some reviews and some sites. Looks like the northern brewer kit is rated very highly. So I decided on getting that.

But my question is, do I need some extra stuff to get which do not come with the kit? Thanks!

Need? Probably not.  Will eventually want?  Probably! 


Much depends upon what came with your kit.  I would first recommend investing in a book by John Palmer entitled "How to Brew."  There is an early version of it available on-line at www.howtobrew.com, but I very much recommend getting the latest print version.  The book walks you through all the things you need and might need (and will want), from beginning brewing up to more advanced methods.

Oh, and welcome to the obsession!

Greetings hell_strom.

I agree with Oginme.  In fact, I was brewing in my kitchen for about a year and my brews always sucked.  So I decided to buy the book by John Palmer,  How To Brew, and it changed my entire approach.  I was doing everything wrong.  Now I'm brewing beer I'm proud of.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

I looked up Amazon. Looks like the updated version is coming on June 1, 2017. Well i guess i can make do with the old 2006 version, beer hasn't change much in the last decade (I hope)!

Looks like most of the the Norther Brewer kits don't have bottles, so plan to get some bottles. 

Focus on using the cleaning and sanitizing agents.  Dish soap is not good enough and rinsing old bottles is not either.  Bottles and equipment must be cleaned as if you are packaging something for someone with no immune system.  Luckily the kits comes with a cleaner.  It doesn't have a sanitizer.  Pick up come StarSan, follow the instructions closely and rise everything with it. 

One thing no one tells you is how dry your hand will be from all the cleaning.   

Awesome! Thanks for the tip! I will throw that in along with the bottles as well!

Charlie Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing is also a decent starter book. It keeps things simple (maybe too simple) but for a time (for those us who started homebrewing before the days of the Web) it was really the only resource.

I think the axiom of "quality over quantity" applies greatly in homebrewing. Part of that is how you brew (planning and patience go a long way), but it also applies to equipment. I would say my best equipment upgrade was a good conical fermenter. While you will find varying advice on this, one conical - due to its design - can basically substitute for your primary and secondary (i.e. two) carboys or buckets. I also moved on from bottling to kegging and forced carbonating pretty early. It can be game changer. One thing that can help price wise is to do split (2.5 gallon) batches - smaller/cheaper equipment and a lot easier to clean and manage (a 3.5 gallon fermenter vs 14.5 gallon one is no contest).

WELCOME!!!!!!! Regarding books, one that I picked up on a lark and ended up using for years was Brewing For Dummies. Great read and reference. Has many levels in it, depending on your interest and ability.
The other thing I would strongly suggest...Have patience and make sure to get real familiar with this program. It is absolutely the best reference guide, once you get your "beer legs" And this group is outstanding for information!
Have a blast and have a homebrew!

Hi there.

For the foreign ones where do you recommend looking for brewing kits?

I have taken your advice and ordered the 2017 version for "How To Brew", by John Palmer from Amazon. I used a parcel forwarding company called shipw.com to send it to my country, because international shipping was not available on the Amazon website. 

Thank you!

depends on the country.
i would suggest you Google Homebrew Shops xxx [where xxx is the country or city you live in] and hopefully there is something local.

you can also start by going to local breweries and asking around if you prefer feet to web searches.

you can also Google home brew clubs, there may be some in your area, and that is an immediate way to meet people, learn, and watch...as well as gain taste testers for your beer.

Hell_Strom, welcome to the club. In brewing you create a sugar-laced liquid that is ideal for yeast to thrive OR for bacteria to thrive. In many cases it's a race against time to see who "wins." Using StarSan or other sanitizer is key to creating an environment that is safe for our pal yeast to go swimming. There are three words in this arena, "Clean" meaning, "Yep, I don't see any dirt." Sanitary, meaning no nasty critters are living in it. Sterilized, meaning it is both "Clean" "Sanitary" and beyond. As a brewer you are concerned with Clean, first, then Sanitary always. StarSan can't sanitize anything that is dirty. Brad has a great v-blog with the head of StarSan on the differences. The web has a wealth of information on how to do it. The basic brewing books are available on the web, too. In the end, your first couple of beers may be "meh" but it's a start. Then you'll hit one that you really like and it's all over.