Tw0fish

Recipes 

Kind of a discouraging trip to the LHBS (well, one of them) today.

I've brewed in a Mister Beer, helped a buddy with a batch of partial mash and have made cider and mead in gallon batches. I think I'm ready to step it up - I wanna do bigger kits, but beer AND wine. I've accumulated most of the stuff that comes in the Brewer Brewerson's Beginner Brewer Kit, so I figured I'd just go get some better bottles or a set of buckets and let that be that. While I should have anticipated the upsell, I was basically told that I couldn't just buy a larger set of vessels to make everything, and should a) buy both or b) pick one.

Is this so, brethren of the HBT? Do I have to choose? Can't I do 5 gallons of beer primary in my 6 gallon wine secondary?

If you were in my position, how would you do it?

__________________
-Jordan
Young Heathens Brewing
"You guys just wanna get bombed and run around yelling yarr we're vikings!"

lumpher

Recipes 

i do both beer and wine in 5, 6.5, and 7.8 gallon buckets and carboys. it's better to do wine in glass, as it'll stain plastic but won't hurt anything, but it all works, my friend

__________________
-

on tap - Prestidigitation Porter, Centennial Blonde, Blueberry Hefe
Kegged - Sangria, Cherry Wit, Hard Lemonade, AIIPA
Primary - APA
Lagering -
Casked -
On Deck - Hefeweizen, Jamil's Dark Mild, Cream of 3 Crops Cream Ale

janivar123

Recipes 

I have heard many times that you need to separate everything plastic between beer and wine

I dont know but i think it might be obsolete after starsan became common practice

__________________
Nothing too interesting yet
deamonale
A work in progress just like my beer

Airplanedoc

Recipes 

I make both beer and wine with my equipment.

Red wines will stain the plastic stuff better bottles and buckets, but it is in there for a long time.

I interchange my equipment all the time.

Tw0fish

Recipes 

Thanks for the quick replies, gents!

I've heard plastics can take on the hops oils, and I have also heard that better bottles don't have that problem. Worst case, I'll be classy and do it all in glass

Now beer kits round hereabouts come in 5-gallon size, and wines in 6 gallon size.. so what would you recommend for primary and secondary sizes? This is where crazy homebrew store lady got me all turned over, talking about headspace and whatnot.

__________________
-Jordan
Young Heathens Brewing
"You guys just wanna get bombed and run around yelling yarr we're vikings!"

Airplanedoc

Recipes 

Headspace is not a problem with beer. Just go with the 6 gal carboys.

RM-MN

Recipes 

You can do a 6 gallon batch of wine in the 6+ gallon fermenter because you don't get the krausen from wine. Beer does krausen and you need somewhere for that to go so you only get to do a 5 gallon batch or it will foam all over (sometime it still will). A 5+ gallon batch of beer will also fill about 2 cases of bottles so that is a plus for it too.

Tw0fish

Recipes 

I don't mean to flog dead horses but- wine doesn't krausen? Or, it doesn't significantly krausen?

I see now that it's going to be a question of what's appropriate for the 6g wine kit, as the beer will go happily in whatever so long as it (better bottle/glass) isn't permeable to all the funky hop bits.

__________________
-Jordan
Young Heathens Brewing
"You guys just wanna get bombed and run around yelling yarr we're vikings!"

wooda2008

Recipes 

Wines form a cap during the primary, but you leave that behind when you rack to the secondary. Wine needs to breathe for a couple of days, and you can't get that in a carboy.

ThreeBrothersBrewery

Recipes 

We have both 5 and 6 gallon better bottles and brew make and make wine. We bought a 7.5 gallon bucket to do the wines but have used it for several batches of beer as well when we got more than expected with no ill effects so far.