Material and preparation...(Brew Kit)

Since we didn't start this blog prior to brewing our first batch I will start over from when this all started. My wonderful girlfriend Erika, bought me a homebrew kit for christmas this last year (2010). She bought me the True Brew Gold Homebrewing Kit. The following is a picture of the kit with a description of everything included;

Kit Includes:

- True Brew Handbook and Kit Instructions

- 7.8 Gallon Fermenting Bucket (for primary fermenting)

- 1 Lid Drilled & Grommet

- True Brew Rack and Fill Kit

- 6 Gallon Glass Carboy (for secondary fermenting)

- Fermometer Fermentation Thermometer

- Small Buon Vino Drilled Stopper

- Hydrometer

- Bottling Spigot

- Emily Double Lever Capper

- 3-piece Airlock

- Bottle Brush
- C-Brite Sanitizer 8-Pack

This kit is great for beginning brewers. It has literally everything you need other than a large boiling pot, sanitizing bucket, stirring tools, bottles, and caps. As for the research prior to brewing, the True Brew Brewer's handbook was alright, but the the key to my knowledge was reading John J. Palmer's Book "How to Brew". This book was a huge resource for me in not just telling me what to do in the brewing process, but why it was suppose to be done and the different ways each step can be done. I would suggest each person who is thinking about starting to home brew go out and purchase this book prior to even buying the kit or materials needed to brew. The cover of the book is shown below.