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jaywarren

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Eland
Questions before I start. Can you make your beer from step one to finish with just one 6 gallon glass carboy? Do I need a primary and secondarily carboy or is it just easier to have two?

I need to order tools to make beer but what to get just what I need to start before I start getting things to make it easier.

Is there a link to a check list of all supply's and ingredients needed to make beer anywhere?

Thanks Jared
 
You could just go with a kit that has an ale pale & a better bottle,besides all the other stuff they include that you'll need. Some even let you pick out the beer kit you want included. Easier to buy the kit & not burn out more neurons trying to figure it out.
Secondaries aren't used as much as they used to be with many brewers. Except for oaking,adding fruit,etc. I even dry hop in primary. Less racking of the beer means less chance of oxidation. But some still use secondaries for piece of mind. Others think they get it clearer,some like doing more with their beer processing. Are they mad scientists,or did they like playing with their food as a kid? lolz.
 
Are there kits out there with glass only carboys? If I can I would like to stay away from plastic.
 
Plastic is great if you don't wait to clean is such that you have to use a scrubbie on it.. I bought the Coopers DIY kit at Amazon.. as did my son. Comes with everything except the sanitizer for the first run.
 
Glass is great and it is what I use. That being said, plastic does not contribute flavours to the beer, if treated well it will last a long time and it is cheaper.

Best: go to your local supplier and buy there. They will also be a wealth of information.

B
 
I don't have a local supplier, it 10 min drive just to get milk lol. Going to have to order on-line. As a general rule I don't like plastic but its good to know it wont hurt taste if I need to.
 
Then make sure you do a quick search of the suppliers you're considering just to make sure everyone is reasonably happy with them. Better service and delivery of goods is better than cheaper goods with no delivery/crappy service.

B

EDIT: I know this is stating the obvious, but ...
 
Since you're in WI,just order from Midwestsupplies.com. They use Fed-Ex as well. Really quick too. Excellent products,good customer service as well!
 
you can use a single 6 gallon carboy.. i have four 6 gallon better bottles that i use and i never secondary.. just be sure for the first couple days to use a blowoff tube instead of a regular airlock to be sure that the vigorous part of the fermentation doesn't blow off a bit
 
Where do you live? There are several places in WI that are worth a drive to get what you need, although ordering online is great. NorthernBrewer.com is fast, and shipping is reasonable.

You can use a 6 gallon carboy, but it's a tight fit for a 5 gallon batch since krausen will form on the fermenting beer, and you risk it coming out through the top. I'd prefer a 6.5 gallon carboy if you have one.

Otherwise, you only need some basic stuff in any "beginner's kit", like this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/starter-kits/basic-starter-kit.html They all come with a bucket, but you don't have to use it if you're against plastic. I always use those "ale pails" because they are light and unbreakable, but many others like glass.

For a great beer recipe kit, I've used a number of them similar to these: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits

I bought most of my recipe ingredients/kits from austinhomebrew.com because they have a greater variety and many "clone" kits of beers I like. But the ones from Northernbrewer.com are great, too, if you want to only pay shipping once!
 
If your going to just brew one beer at a time (not start another until you've bottled the current one), then I think a single glass carboy is fine. If you wish to apply secondary fermentation to your recipe, just siphon it out into a sanitized bucket, clean your carboy out, and siphon it back in. I keep keep four glass carboys as secondary containers, and I use a MiniBrew 7 gal conical as a primary. I am quite happy with this set up.
 
Thank for the links, I am In a town called Eland. Its 30 min drive east of Wausau.

Ah. You definitely are not near a place to shop! There is a place in Steven's Point that has a good selection, and one in Appleton that is really nice. I believe Bernie Brewer (from here on the forum, that of course isn't his real name!) shops at the store in Steven's Point.

I order almost all of my stuff online, since I'm even further from civilization that you are! :D
 
I just called the Point shop. I am going to have him price me a starter kit with glass carboys.

That is not to bad of a drive, my son just turned 16 and he needs 30 hrs of drive time. I can kill to birds with one stone, So its a win win! Thanks for the help. Jared
 
If you do go plastic 6.5 bucket (what I use), just soak it in oxyclean overnight and it should be nice and clean in the morning with 2 hot water rinses. Quick shot of Star San + drain and you're ready for storage. Another shot of Star San right before use and it's clean. You don't want to use a brush or anything abrasive on plastic though, that's the advantage of glass.

Sounds like you have a great Local brew shop; so good find. In the future, I would include Northern Brewer in your pricing search. The $8 shipping for an entire order makes it very price competitive.
 
There is no reason you can't create good beer with a single 6 gallon glass fermenter, but the time will soon come when you may want to brew another batch and your fermenter is tied up.

I would honestly save the money spent on a secondary vessel and put it toward a kettle capable of handling a full wort boil. I think newer brewers don't realize the importance of full wort boils, and start investing in a lot of toys forgetting about the most important part of a brew house; the kettle.

On tap: B-1 Bomber IPA, CA Steam, Belgian Wit, Blonde Ale, American Stout, German Heffewitzen, Irish Red Ale. In primary: British Pub Ale
 
The only thing I would caution against is that glass breaks and you'll have to move/lift it while its full. If you go with glass, I'd spend the extra few $$ for a carrier for it. That would really suck to have it slip. MANY people use it, but just remember to be a little more careful with it.
 
What do you think of this kit for the price?

*Advanced Brewing Equipment Kit ($162.36):*

This kit includes all of the following items:

6.5 gallon glass fermenter, floating thermometer, 5 gallon glass fermenter,
stopper, one step cleaner/sanitizer, 2 "S" shaped airlocks, dual purpose
hydrometer, carboy brush, capper, gross of gold crowns, liquid crystal
thermometer, bottle filler, 5/16 auto siphon w/ 5 ft. of racking hose, 6.5
gallon bottling bucket and lid, 5 gallon orange carboy handle, 6.5 gallon
orange carboy handle, beer brush, 28" rounded head spoon, and one bottling
spigot.
 
Glass carboys are great if you love heavy, slippery things that sever arteries or appendages or worse...;)

Seriously though, I love my Better Bottles. I can see no reason to use glass instead. Buckets would be fine but I like to watch what is happening.
 
What do you think of this kit for the price?

*Advanced Brewing Equipment Kit ($162.36):*

This kit includes all of the following items:

6.5 gallon glass fermenter, floating thermometer, 5 gallon glass fermenter,
stopper, one step cleaner/sanitizer, 2 "S" shaped airlocks, dual purpose
hydrometer, carboy brush, capper, gross of gold crowns, liquid crystal
thermometer, bottle filler, 5/16 auto siphon w/ 5 ft. of racking hose, 6.5
gallon bottling bucket and lid, 5 gallon orange carboy handle, 6.5 gallon
orange carboy handle, beer brush, 28" rounded head spoon, and one bottling
spigot.

Compare it to Northern Brewer's deluxe kit. They are about the same price.
It has a good DVD to show the process. Funnel, blow off hose, beer thief for gravity samples, fermometers for the carboys, and they are now including Starsan sanitizer and PBW cleaner. It seems more complete.

I got it and love it. I opted for Better Bottles (lighter and unbreakable) and now add 6 gallon BBs and use them for either primary or secondary. I see no reason to have both 5's and 6's.
 
I would not go with glass. It absolutely does the job and has the advantage of being able to use a bottle brush.

But, it is SO much heavier, so much more slippery. It doesn't stand up to extreme heat well, you have to be FAR more careful with it (I mean super careful), and it's just overall a PITA when compared to a better bottle.

I have a glass carboy that I don't ever use anymore (unless I'm jammed up). I started just like you saying "I only want to use glass." I wish somebody had steered me straight to begin with. I could have bought 2 BB for the cost of a glass carboy!
 
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