homebrew gifts

[757Hokie83]

So my sister's bf has decided to get into homebrewing, i pointed him towards a good start up, and he ordered The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Papazian...

had i been thinking, i wouldnt have told him to get the book, then my Christmas shopping would have been one step easier...

any good homebrew gift ideas?

 

[wartyOne]

So my sister's bf has decided to get into homebrewing, i pointed him towards a good start up, and he ordered The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Papazian...

had i been thinking, i wouldnt have told him to get the book, then my Christmas shopping would have been one step easier...

any good homebrew gift ideas?

Price range?

 

[757Hokie83]

um...probably going to try to not go over $40-50. I was thinking an ingredient kit, but he just brewed his first batch last night. So that would just be sitting around for a while.

There are a ton of good brewing books, so i could just go for a different book. And i was thinking maybe one of those bottle washers that you hook up to your sink. I know when i bottle that is one of my favorite gadgets, cuts down a lot of time cleaning

 

[Cobrabit]

Haven't gotten the bottle washer yet, but I also use 1L PET bottles and rinse them out immediately after emptying them, so it's not that many to rinse and not that difficult. You could always get him another carboy so he could have more than one aging at a time. That is of course if you think he'll catch the bug and will continue to brew into the future. With the longer fermentation beers I'm looking to make, an extra carboy is always a plus. And with that extra carboy, you could always get him an ingredient kit when future gift giving occassions arise.

You could also look into getting him a few of the little things that don't always come in a starter kit, such as an auto siphon, carboy hauler, carboy drying stands, bottle drying stands, etc.

It's also nice to have some DME and dry brewer's yeast around the house in the chances you want to add a little extra ABV or if the yeast you ordered with a kit is fermenting sluggishly and needs a booster to help prevent unwanted bugs getting a hold in the wort.

 

[757Hokie83]

yeah, he tends to be a little wishy washy with these type things, so before going for an extra carboy i want to make sure he's going to keep it up. Handles and haulers are good and the drying stands...i think he got a siphon with his kit, i need to talk to my sis and see what exactly came with his set up

thanks for the ideas

 

[Sleepy T]

Hey 757. Morebeer has some nice items and the layout is easy enough to find things in your price range.

2012 Holiday Gift Guide | MoreBeer

 

[Gatorchip]

Gotta get him some equipment.

flask for yeast starters
Glass carboy carrier and dryer
One of those things you stick on a drill to clean the inside of a carboy
O2 for ariation
a nice capper
for $50 maybe you can find him a 15 gal keg to cut
propane burner

 

[wartyOne]

Haven't gotten the bottle washer yet, but I also use 1L PET bottles and rinse them out immediately after emptying them, so it's not that many to rinse and not that difficult. You could always get him another carboy so he could have more than one aging at a time. That is of course if you think he'll catch the bug and will continue to brew into the future. With the longer fermentation beers I'm looking to make, an extra carboy is always a plus. And with that extra carboy, you could always get him an ingredient kit when future gift giving occassions arise.

You could also look into getting him a few of the little things that don't always come in a starter kit, such as an auto siphon, carboy hauler, carboy drying stands, bottle drying stands, etc.

It's also nice to have some DME and dry brewer's yeast around the house in the chances you want to add a little extra ABV or if the yeast you ordered with a kit is fermenting sluggishly and needs a booster to help prevent unwanted bugs getting a hold in the wort.

Everyone should be doing Yeast Starters on every batch. Not ridiculing if you don't. But a single smack pack isn't enough yeast for a five gallon batch. Every five gallon batch needs a Yeast Starter.

 

[wartyOne]

um...probably going to try to not go over $40-50. I was thinking an ingredient kit, but he just brewed his first batch last night. So that would just be sitting around for a while.

There are a ton of good brewing books, so i could just go for a different book. And i was thinking maybe one of those bottle washers that you hook up to your sink. I know when i bottle that is one of my favorite gadgets, cuts down a lot of time cleaning

There's a ton of misinformation in those books.

If you want to go the book route, try this: Brewing: Michael J. Lewis, Tom W. Young: Amazon.com: Kindle Store. It's a bit higher pricewise than what you want, but this is the authority on brewing. It's chemistry and algebra intensive, but so is brewing. This will put you in the realm of professional, and will absolutely improve your homebrewing capability.

 

[wartyOne]

And if you don't want to go with a book, I'd go with a recipe. If he just got into brewing, equipment might not be the best way to go. He's likely still exploring, and wouldn't be able to immediately process the equipment upgrade.

 

[Sleepy T]

Everyone should be doing Yeast Starters on every batch. Not ridiculing if you don't. But a single smack pack isn't enough yeast for a five gallon batch. Every five gallon batch needs a Yeast Starter.

Just ordered a 2L flask along with the Analog Temperature Controller and Hurricane Burner. I know you have said it here before (and everywhere else I have read) says that the fastest and easiest way to improve your beer is to have a very healthy yeast count. I have found several links to building a stir plate for $20-$30..those bastards are like $80-$100 brand new!

 

[wartyOne]

Just ordered a 2L flask along with the Analog Temperature Controller and Hurricane Burner. I know you have said it here before (and everywhere else I have read) says that the fastest and easiest way to improve your beer is to have a very healthy yeast count. I have found several links to building a stir plate for $20-$30..those bastards are like $80-$100 brand new!

Stir plates are sweet. I could watch those things for hours.