how much did your first batch cost?

[DrDually]

So are those the only games in town? Southeast la northwest oc I mean.

There is also morebeer in Riverside (and online)
http://morebeer.com/search/103658

And O'Shaes in south OC
http://www.osheabrewing.com/

True, Riverside is 45 miles for me and O'Sheas is over priced
I would much rather buy local from Eric

[maltbarley]

It doesn't get much cheaper than this: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/for/2192569384.html

Don't over-think this too much. You just need to try brewing and then see if it's for you.

Concerning Craigslist, I use it for buying and selling regularly. I ignore the scammers, laugh at the lowballers, and do business with the honest folk. It's that simple.

[lexuschris]

Great advice all...

I also agree to keep it simple & cheap for your first couple of batches. Keep it fun... then you'll start to see what you want to upgrade or expand to next!

When I started in '92, my starter kit was $65 and included the ingredients for the 1st batch. I'm sure it would be more now... but it was basically:
1 5-gal bucket fermenter
1 5-gal bottling bucket
1 hydrometer
1 fermentation lock w/stopper
1 bottle brush
1 racking cane & 5' of tubing
1 hand capper
1 bag of bottle caps
1 5# bucket of liquid malt extract
some hops
packet of yeast
priming sugar
2 page instructions

I got some used bottles from the local sushi bar, borrowed my mom's chili pot, used a bleach solution to sanitize everything (not recommended BTW), and used the kitchen's gas stove top & sink.

I made beer. Simple, lackluster beer. But it was a good start! Aside for adding a stainless brew kettle, I used most of that equipment for like 10 years. You'll have plenty of time for nifty upgrades later...

Good luck!
--LexusChris

[bwarbiany]

So are those the only games in town? Southeast la northwest oc I mean.

There is also morebeer in Riverside (and online)
http://morebeer.com/search/103658

And O'Shaes in south OC
http://www.osheabrewing.com/

True, Riverside is 45 miles for me and O'Sheas is over priced
I would much rather buy local from Eric

O'Shea is ridiculous expensive. I live in Laguna Hills (minutes from O'Shea), and I buy no more than specialty grain, *occasionally* hops, and yeast from them. Everything else I *must* buy bulk, Addison/Morebeer if I'm anywhere near those places, or mail order (note - morebeer has the free shipping on most orders over $59).

I can't see how O'Shea gets away with what they charge, especially since homebrew stuff isn't (as far as I can tell) their main revenue source. They seem to make a lot of money off kegs and specialty beer, so I don't understand how they can actually move homebrew product at the prices they charge.

[nico soze]

My Craigslist experience is limited to trying to buy used cars furniture and rent a house. I have yet to find someone who owns the item they're advertising.

[nico soze]

I guess its different when you're talking about such a niche product.

[backyard brewer]

My Craigslist experience is limited to trying to buy used cars furniture and rent a house. I have yet to find someone who owns the item they're advertising.

I tried to sell a sofa on CL. I did own it. I had only 1 real contact. I did have 4 very thoughtful people that wanted to buy it sight unseen. They just needed my contact info so they could mail me a "certified cashiers check" right away. They would even pay me more than I was asking to hold it for them. Oh, and they would need to send the extra money in the chasiers check to pay the movers when they got here to pick it up; so all I needed to do was cash the check and pay the movers their share when they got here....

I ended up giving the sofa to someone who needed it more than me. The real buyer didn't come through until I'd commited it already.

[JonW]

I just picked up another kegerator off CL last night!
A Beverage Air BM23 - it holds 4 cornies, has a great circulation fan and tower cooling!!

Other than a couple of flakes who never showed on things I was selling, I've been pretty lucky with it.

[nico soze]

i tried to rent a house, but every single lister had recently moved to west Africa, so they couldn't show Me the inside, but if I mailed them the deposit they'd mail me the keys. And don't worry about that for sale sign, and please don't call the number on the sign. When i wanted to buy a car, everyone selling cars had the title in someone else's name.

[JonGoku]

Very funny stuff. But really, I've not run across any bad apples on CL regarding brewing equipment. There are a few ppl who constantly spam for sale items on what is rumored to be sub par worksmanship (I can think of someone constantly trying to sell keggles from somewhere near Carlsbad). We did try to sell our car not too long ago and the below is the end part of one of the email communications I had with a potential buyer. I thought the buyers email was very creative and a nice change from the Nigerian refugee routine.

Hi there, Thank you for getting back to me.Can you assure me that i will not be disappointed with it. I'm ready to pay your asking price, i'm buying this for my Dad. But the issue is I'm a marine biologist and i am on sea right now. Due to my contract on the sea, there is strictly no call due to the lack of reception on the sea area. But I'm able to access my mail anytime as we will make use of wireless laptop.
My Mode of payment is via PayPal as as i don't have access to my bank account online, but i have it attached to my paypal account and this is why i insisted on using paypal to pay i will be responsible for all the pay pal fee/charges on this transaction and i will like you to get back to me with more pics if available, if you don't have an account with paypal, its pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log on to http://www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible. I have a mover that will be coming for the pick up once payment clears and they will be handling the title for me. So i look forward to hear from you soon. Happy New Year.

Many Thanks.

Hi, thanks for your interest, but unless we can deal locally I'd rather not. While I can assure you that you wouldn't be disappointed with the car, I'm not quite sure I can say the same in regards to your offer.

http://tinyurl.com/34gtl2k

Thanks anyways

[brianc]

So I think ill stick with retailers for now. Besides, I get to meet people and ask questions that way. Google maps only shows a few spots in my area. I've been to Addison to Meet eric, but stein fillers is NEVER open, and I don't think zymurguy really exists. There is no building at that address.

Zymurgy still exists... in spirit at least. Actually BrianC on these boards was the owner/operator, however due to business reasons they closed there doors a few years ago. He still is an active homebrewer though and has some of the biggest baddest equipment in our club. He is also always free with advice and may very likely pipe in sometime.

Sorry I'm late to the party on this one. I thought I removed the Google map listing some time ago. I'll have to double check again. I closed the shop well over two years ago. While I have a couple of ideas to do with the name, homebrew supplies will not be one of them. Sorry you found the address and thought it still existed.

[nico soze]

No biggie. It was a,little frustrating to drive back and forth over that bridge at 6 o clock . I was cursing you at the time. But that'd why I'm on doing all this. Homework. Im sure it'll improve the final product

[Andysam]

Hey dude, if you are still looking for equipment, I am selling all of mine. I need the money. I have listed the items in the classifieds section, but really have LOTS more then what is posted right now.

[nico soze]

I wanted to wait until I got my taxes back to buy, but depending on price, I may have to rethink.

[nico soze]

I use this site on my phone, and can't find a classified section. Hit me up at thebeav421@gmail.com