Beer Brewing Equipment - Getting Started

Before I head out to the brewing store to look at equipment (and ask the salesman a ton of questions), I've decided to do a bit of online research. While there are many many outlets for beer brewing equipment, I have to start with one and just jump in.

The site I'm going to check out first is Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply. The beer brewing equipment section is broken down nicely into sections so I can get a handle on what all is needed. One thing I can say from the beginning is "no starter kits, plastic buckets or bottles". I'm sure there are lots of people that have been doing this for some time that use the kits and plastic, which is just fine for them, but I just can't do it. Scratches in the plastic that can harbor germs bothers me as well as the idea of chemicals from the plastic itself seeping into the beer (I heard talk about that on news radio just this week). Not to mention just the idea of beer in plastic bugs me. I may get into this more at a later date to explain, but at this point I'm not even going to look at plastic brewing tools, equipment and containers. This means a much higher expense to get the first Knickerbocker brew into the bottle, but I can live with that.

Here is the list I will begin to review:
- Boiling Equipment
- Straining & Filtering Equipment
- Wort Chillers
- All Grain Brewing Equipment
- Testing & Measuring Tools
- Fermentation Equipment
- Racking Equipment
- Bottling Equipment
- Beer Bottles
- Draft Beer Equipment
- Cleaning Utensils
- Cleaning & Sanitizing Solutions

Rebirth of Knickerbocker Beer

For years I've thought someone should revive Knickerbocker Beer. Yet there is no movement or reason to do such a thing. That is of course unless your last name just happens to be Knickerbocker, you just happen to like beer and you just happen to think it would be a cool thing to do. I find myself in this very predicament.

So I finally made up my mind. I'm going to make beer. Now I know there is a fascination about Knickerbocker Beer to some and there are plenty of collectibles. For those of you that would love to go to the corner store and purchase a six pack of Knickerbocker Beer...keep your pants on. I have absolutely no idea if I will ever be able to accomplish that. On the other hand, you never know, word could get out and funds could be acquired. But for now that will remain a fantasy, my intent is to learn how to make a great tasting beer, make it available to friends and family and to share the process of creating a great beer with all of you who are interested. Oh and of course to name it "Knickerbocker Beer", that is rather the point.

But wait a minute! Did I say "learn how to make"? That's right, learn. I have never made beer or worked in the business. The only qualifications I can claim are that I'm an entrepreneur, I like beer and I'm a methodical tenacious son of a gun when I want to get something done right... Enough said.

So the adventure begins here and now. On this site you will be able to read about the rebirth of a beer. I will be starting at the very beginning, learning, evaluating and sharing information about the equipment, recipes and the whole process.

Next I'll be off to the home brewing store to start evaluating the best equipment for the job.

Stay tuned.