Do you want to brew malt extract batches or use all grain? I ask because if you like hefeweizens you could just buy a bag of malted wheat from a maltster like Weyermann. You could also buy the necessary hops in bulk, 1lb that is, and should keep you well supplied with hefeweizen.
My advise is get a brew pot bigger than you think you'll need. If you're doing extract get at least a 10 gal pot that way you can do full fermentor volume boils for better hop usage and better flavor. Then if you're doing all grain I'd suggest a 15 gal pot. That will give you expansion room for the future, trust me. I first bought a 4 gal aluminum for stove top boils. Then I bought a 10gal pot and decided I wanted a 15 gal pot. Now I'm looking at putting my purse down and getting myself a 25gal pot hahaha. That will be a fully customized pot for my specific application and brewing style which of course means I cannot buy off any site. Plus if I could it'd run me $700 I'm guessing.
When it comes to fermentors I'm partial to better bottle fermentors. You can drop them and they bounce instead of shatter. They are just as if not more impermeable to oxygen when combined with their carboy bung and a good air lock. My sour beers in better bottles never get a snotty looking film because that film is a reaction to oxygen, and my better bottles never get them. Not like other fermentors. Glass are fine I just find them to be heavy, slippery when wet, and I'm scared to death to drop one.
My advise is get a brew pot bigger than you think you'll need. If you're doing extract get at least a 10 gal pot that way you can do full fermentor volume boils for better hop usage and better flavor. Then if you're doing all grain I'd suggest a 15 gal pot. That will give you expansion room for the future, trust me. I first bought a 4 gal aluminum for stove top boils. Then I bought a 10gal pot and decided I wanted a 15 gal pot. Now I'm looking at putting my purse down and getting myself a 25gal pot hahaha. That will be a fully customized pot for my specific application and brewing style which of course means I cannot buy off any site. Plus if I could it'd run me $700 I'm guessing.
When it comes to fermentors I'm partial to better bottle fermentors. You can drop them and they bounce instead of shatter. They are just as if not more impermeable to oxygen when combined with their carboy bung and a good air lock. My sour beers in better bottles never get a snotty looking film because that film is a reaction to oxygen, and my better bottles never get them. Not like other fermentors. Glass are fine I just find them to be heavy, slippery when wet, and I'm scared to death to drop one.
