So, after looking at the Mr. Beer kit online a realizing that I'd be better off getting a more complete kit, I took the plunge.
The kit includes:
In addition, I purchase a ingredient kit:
Weizenbier Partial Mash
My first question is how big of a kettle should I get? I live in an apartment so I can't have a turkey fryer or something that runs propane. It's gotta be something that can fit on my stove top (gas). I was looking at a restaurant supply store and thought about getting a 24qt winware stock pot but wasn't sure if this would do the job. The dude at the homebrew shop said brew 3 gallons in the kettle and the add water to the fermentation bucket to bring up to 5 gallons (depending on kettle size).
My second question is that the hops come in a vacuum sealed bag as pellets. Do those just dissolve in the wort or do they need to be in a bag? I'm thinking they dissolve but I want to be sure.
The directions say to steep the grains in 2 qts of water at 152 degrees for 60 minutes and then rinse them with 4 qts of 170 degree water. What does the rinsing do and is using a colander OK for this step?
Lastly, is there anything else I'll need? I'm a bit nervous as this is my first brew and from what I understand, most people start with all extract kits. The dude at the homebrew shop advised me to start with partial mash/steeping specialty grains. From what I've seen, doesn't seem too hard. So I'll relax and have a microbrew until I get my homebrew in the pipeline.
Thanks!
The kit includes:
- 6.5 gal ferm. bucket
- 6.5 gal bottling bucket w/ spigot
- 3 piece air lock
- bottle capper
- 144 bottle caps
- hydrometer
- hydrometer testing jar
- floating thermometer
- adhesive thermometer
- beer thief
- large muslin bag
- 4' food-grade siphon tube
- auto siphone racking cane
- bottle filler
- bottle brush
- 4oz iodophor sanitizer
- tube clamp
In addition, I purchase a ingredient kit:
Weizenbier Partial Mash
- 1.75 - Wheat Malt
- 3.3 lbs unhopped wheat malt extract
- 2lbs extra light dry malt extract
- 1oz hallertau hops
- Wyeast german wheat (liquid yeast)
- 3/4 cup dextrose
My first question is how big of a kettle should I get? I live in an apartment so I can't have a turkey fryer or something that runs propane. It's gotta be something that can fit on my stove top (gas). I was looking at a restaurant supply store and thought about getting a 24qt winware stock pot but wasn't sure if this would do the job. The dude at the homebrew shop said brew 3 gallons in the kettle and the add water to the fermentation bucket to bring up to 5 gallons (depending on kettle size).
My second question is that the hops come in a vacuum sealed bag as pellets. Do those just dissolve in the wort or do they need to be in a bag? I'm thinking they dissolve but I want to be sure.
The directions say to steep the grains in 2 qts of water at 152 degrees for 60 minutes and then rinse them with 4 qts of 170 degree water. What does the rinsing do and is using a colander OK for this step?
Lastly, is there anything else I'll need? I'm a bit nervous as this is my first brew and from what I understand, most people start with all extract kits. The dude at the homebrew shop advised me to start with partial mash/steeping specialty grains. From what I've seen, doesn't seem too hard. So I'll relax and have a microbrew until I get my homebrew in the pipeline.
Thanks!