Day 1: What We Used

Tom and I got started by first glancing through The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, which was helpful. Then we went to Hop City in Midtown and picked up a starter kit, which included most of the equipment we would need and the ingredients for said starter beer, which is a pale ale akin to Sierra Nevada. Hence, our first experience with brewing beer is based solely on the techniques and ingredients provided by this specific starter kit.

Equipment

• 20 quart (5 gallon) stainless steel cooking pot (not included in kit)
• Large spoon
• Mesh filter bag (for steeping malt grains)
• Iodine solution (for sanitizing)
• Plastic 5 gallon bucket w/ lid (for first stage of fermenting)
• Airlock w/ cap and gasket (goes in hole on top of bucket to let fumes escape but keep outside air out)
• Thermometer (we used a floating one and an instant-read)
• Glass liquid measuring cup (for blooming the yeast) (not included in kit)
• Turkey Baster (not included in kit)
• Hydrometer and test cylinder (measures gravity/density of liquid to tell you what the alcohol content is)

Ingredients

• 5 gallons + 1 gallon of bottled spring water
• 1 lb. Caramel malt (cracked whole malt grain for steeping)
• 6 lb. Dried malt extract (powdered malt for dissolving)
• 2 oz. Cascade pellet hops (divided into 1 oz., 1/4 oz., and 3/4 oz.)
• 11 g. Brewing yeast