New Michigan brewer

[PhiKappaGarage]

Hi everyone.

My name is Bryan and I have been wanting to get into Home Brewing for about 4 years now. My buddies and I decided this is the year. Im still a Student at Central Michigan University and Married with a son. the rest of the group is married with kids as well so we are saving up for everything.

Im going to be running our home brewing adventure and im pretty excited about it. From looking over the forum I definitely feel like I should start with extract or extract with some specialty grains first. My friends call our group "Phi Kappa Garage" as a Joke fraternity because we all became friends smoking cigars and hanging out in my garage.

Right now I am collecting all the materials im going to need. so far Ive got about 60 bottles, a capper, some caps and three 5 gallon buckets that are "food grade" but only one lid that is gasketed. There is a homebrew store around but its about a 30 min drive across town.

Im wondering if i can get the tubing i will need at a hardware store? Also because I cant find any 6.5 gallon buckets will i still be ok if i just use a blowoff tube for the first few days then go to an airlock, or just stay with the blowoff tube? what is the downside of that?

Ive been lurking around for about a week now and im very glad to be part of this community.

 

[Parker36]

Welcome aboard. You should be able to get the tubing at a hardware store. As for the bucket, you really should have some extra room in there. The fermentation process involves making kind of a foam/head (called krausen) which sits on top of you beer. If you are doing a five gallon batch in a five gallon primary bucket, all that stuff will get blown out. I suggest either finding a larger bucket or brewing a smaller batch.

 

[Richabt]

+1 on what Parker said. I buy most of my tubing at either Home Depot or Lowes.

As far as your buckets go, you could split your 5 gallon batch into two buckets leaving you with plenty of headspace for the krausen. I am also a big fan of blowoff tubes early on.

Cheers!

 

[mmb]

Midland, Freeland or Saginaw? I assume Cork and Ale is the LHBS that is "across town." I still stop by there when I'm in town. Moved 80 miles north about 6 years ago now. Go Timberwolves!

Welcome aboard.. Feel free to PM or ask questions if you want to talk to someone "local" and check out the Michigan Mashers group on HBT BrewSpace.

http://groups.homebrewtalk.com/Michigan_Mashers

 

[PhiKappaGarage]

thanks for the information!
I live in Lansing now and commute up to Mt. pleasant. the only LHBS that I know of is the Red Salamander in Grand Ledge. i will have to find out more info on Cork and Ale though, because im up there frequently.

I have another question. I found a 6 gal. bucket, with a gasket lid that has had nothing in it ever. what size gasket will i need for an airlock?

 

[mmb]

1/2" hole grommet

You should be able to pick those up at most online places and maybe at your Local HBS.

 

[Homercidal]

Hey! I've been to the new Mountain Town Station brewery location and the guy behind the bar noticed my White Labs T-shirt and asked if I homebrew. He said he was a homebrewer as well. You might be able to find a few ingredients if you get to know them. He mentioned wanting to make a homebrew club too.

I'm guessing that MBC is the place you get your stuff "across town"? Things beer?

Well, good luck! It's a very enjoyable hobby. Especially when you can share the experience with someone who wants to learn it too and can appreciate good beer. Maybe we can hook up for a brewday sometime.

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[Mustangj]

Welcome!!

 

[hopvine]

Hi everyone.

My name is Bryan and I have been wanting to get into Home Brewing for about 4 years now. My buddies and I decided this is the year. Im still a Student at Central Michigan University and Married with a son. the rest of the group is married with kids as well so we are saving up for everything.

Im going to be running our home brewing adventure and im pretty excited about it. From looking over the forum I definitely feel like I should start with extract or extract with some specialty grains first. My friends call our group "Phi Kappa Garage" as a Joke fraternity because we all became friends smoking cigars and hanging out in my garage.

Right now I am collecting all the materials im going to need. so far Ive got about 60 bottles, a capper, some caps and three 5 gallon buckets that are "food grade" but only one lid that is gasketed. There is a homebrew store around but its about a 30 min drive across town.

Im wondering if i can get the tubing i will need at a hardware store? Also because I cant find any 6.5 gallon buckets will i still be ok if i just use a blowoff tube for the first few days then go to an airlock, or just stay with the blowoff tube? what is the downside of that?

Ive been lurking around for about a week now and im very glad to be part of this community.

You (or your buddies) should take a look at Northern Brewer's Deluxe Starter Kit. It's what I started with, and I couldn't be happier. It comes with just about everything you'll need, and as your technique gets more advanced you wont replace anything, just add on to it.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html

At $157 - $174, it sure beats driving all over town to get the pieces and parts you need from 5 different stores.

 

[Jim Karr]

Welcome, new Michigan Brewer!

 

[RogerK]

Hi from the Mt Pleasant Alma area! (actually Riverdale, but if I said that, most people would go HUH?)