Equipment questions

[Simzter]

So, I made a visit to my local home brew shop today. It was a strange experience, I wanted good advice and felt a bit rushed and be-wildered.

I left with the following:
A 23litre fermenting bucket
Some hose (guessing this is the syphon)
A sample beaker and a hydrometer
Stick on thermometer
2 bags of sugar, 1 I think is for conditioning/carbonating

Some cleaner and sanitizer (until I open the bucket I have no idea what he’s actually sold me)

A lager brew kit - presumably a malt extract

I tried to have a conversation about if I needed a kettle etc but was told that’s not how it’s done anymore.

I asked if I needed an airlock - he said these aren’t necessary it’s fine to brew with the lid loosely fitted.

All in all it wasn’t a great experience but I won’t be deterred!

I plan to brew into Corny Kegs and carbonate. I’ll be placing an order - Brew2Bottle seem to have good prices.

Can anyone chime in on wether or not I have been given good advice, if the bits and pieces I’ve been sold will hold up for a lager brew and if I’m missing anything essential?

Maybe slightly off topic, I’ve just seen the Fermentasaurus. Anybody had any experience with this and is it a worthwhile buy?

 

[Banbeer]

Your lucky you have a local HBS as loads of us don't anymore but usually it's a nice experience when browsing a HBS as I remember.
You seem to have the basic kit but no stirring paddle/spoon mentioned. When using the cleaner rinse off everything thoroughly first and same with the sanitiser (unless no rinse of course).
I can recommend Brew2Bottle for their cornies as I had one delivered yesterday from them.

 

[terrym]

This might help matching equipment, beer kit and process, at least as a starter
Basic beginners guide to brewing your own beer from a kit - The HomeBrew Forum
And my advice is to brew a kit or two to get to understand what you are doing, before you decide what you want to do next, so you can make an informed choice. There are umpteen ways to brew beer, but only a handful that ideally fit in to your personal circumstances, although some can lead on into others at a later stage.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

So, I made a visit to my local home brew shop today. It was a strange experience, I wanted good advice and felt a bit rushed and be-wildered.

I left with the following:
A 23litre fermenting bucket
Some hose (guessing this is the syphon)
A sample beaker and a hydrometer
Stick on thermometer
2 bags of sugar, 1 I think is for conditioning/carbonating

Some cleaner and sanitizer (until I open the bucket I have no idea what he’s actually sold me)

A lager brew kit - presumably a malt extract

I tried to have a conversation about if I needed a kettle etc but was told that’s not how it’s done anymore.

I asked if I needed an airlock - he said these aren’t necessary it’s fine to brew with the lid loosely fitted.

All in all it wasn’t a great experience but I won’t be deterred!

I plan to brew into Corny Kegs and carbonate. I’ll be placing an order - Brew2Bottle seem to have good prices.

Can anyone chime in on wether or not I have been given good advice, if the bits and pieces I’ve been sold will hold up for a lager brew and if I’m missing anything essential?

Maybe slightly off topic, I’ve just seen the Fermentasaurus. Anybody had any experience with this and is it a worthwhile buy?

I have a fermentsaurus and a fermzilla. They are by far the best thing that's happened to my beer since I started. I love them. The fermzilla 27l being the favourite. Fermenting under pressure, serving directly from it and being able to collect and re use yeast and dryhop is awesome.

My little boy.

 

[Simzter]

He has a little cardigan on

The guy was out of stock of spoons.

I’m probably going to go for the Fermentasaurus - I watched some online reviews and it looks great.

 

[Banbeer]

The guy was out of stock of spoons.

You will need one, I'd advise on a paddle as it mixes better than a spoon. IMO

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

He has a little cardigan on

The guy was out of stock of spoons.

I’m probably going to go for the Fermentasaurus - I watched some online reviews and it looks great.

There are two three things that make me like the fermzilla better.
1. It's to big, 35 liters when you're making 20liter something batches is a lot of head space. It's wastes more co2.
2. It's hard to clean. The hole is to small and the body to long.
3. The seal is harder to achieve. I have to use keg lube and sometimes that's no enough. Its a loose o-ring seal that you put on the hole and tighten with the second lid.

What I do like.
The collecting bottle. It's very easy to use, also not as big as the fermzilla.

Something to think about before buying.

 

[Session]

I have a fermentsaurus View attachment 26744

My little boy.

Nice jumper!

 

[Session]

The good thing about the gear you bought @Simzter is it will be useful with almost any future set up, and the kit will be a great way to test the water and get used to fermentation processes. If you find you like it and want to take a step up there are lots of other things you could consider in the future to augment your current set up.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Nice jumper!

Thanks, it's Barry's favourite