i guess the stuff isn't that expensive (maybe around $200) but to do it right (meaning without mrs sd wanting to kill you because you just dropped a carboy full of crap all over her carpet), you want a decent sized garage to work in.
I was shooting for an unfinished basement with a good floor drain. Would it smell up the house?
If you want to do it indoors, you prolly should do it electrically and will prolly need 240V outlets. It also costs a little more to do electric although I think it would pay off long run because electricity is cheaper than propane.
Total cost is hard to say, totally depends on what you want to do. Extract or All Grain? Willing to do stuff yourself? Gas or Electric? Those three things will narrow it down.
BTW, I'd suggest going all grain. I started out with extract and supposedly it shouldn't matter, in my experience and with talking to others, all grain typically comes out better. WIlling to bet that extract is what most people tried when they didn't like it, not to mention the brewer probably kind of sucked.
ok, say electric and all grain. how much?
I'm gonna assume you're not incompetent with tools. There are many ways to skin this cat, but this will do. This is also pretty close to what I use.
2 x 15.5 gallon kegs. Usually can find some on CL for $25-50 each. You would turn it into a "keggle". Google it to see what I mean. A cutoff wheel makes it pretty easy.
1 cooler for mash tun (I use 70 qt Coleman like this one.
http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/mashtun.html I use a manifold instead of the strainer he uses. ) I think it's like $35 or something.
1 fermenter. I use the 13 gallon vittles vault here.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23730&catid=818&clickid=searchresults It's HDPE plastic and supposedly air-tight. Mine isn't air tight though, but still works and lets me ferment 10 gallon batches. 'Bout $40.
Then it depends on if you want to keg or bottle. I prefer kegging, but bottling requires less equipment. I'll assume you keg.
X amount of cornelius or "corny" kegs (old soda kegs). Go with ball lock. Usually you can get them around $25-30 each. They each hold 5 gallons.
Old fridge for kegerator. Dunno say $50 off CL, more depending on how nice you want it.
Faucet for kegerator ~$35 each if you get a nice stainless forward sealing faucet like a perlick or vent-a-matic.
Toss in another $50 for valves hoses, etc.
Look for a CO2 container, 5# minimum, on CL. I got a 20# for $35.
Regulator, $50 or so, not sure got mine as a gift.
Turkey fryer. About $35 used.
So that's about $500 total. You can always go cheaper and still do just as good. For instance, if you never want to do 10 gallon batches, you can find a used big aluminum pot instead of a stainless keg. Then you would use a smaller cooler. You could also bottle and use bottles you save from the liquor store. Just buy a capper.
