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joepez

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I am currently brewing on a small scale, one gallon batches... I have been having pretty good success and have managed to hone my skills thus far.

I am looking to start moving into five gallon batches, can you guys suggest any good and reliable kits?
 
Are you looking for recipe kits or equipment kits? All you really need for a 5 gallon kit is

6.5 Gallon Bucket/lid for airlock/blowoff tube
5 Gallon Bottling Bucket (I made my one gallon bucket, can easily be done for a 5 gallon bucket)
Hydrometer
Sanitizer and Cleaner (PBW and Starsan... they are really not expensive and they work wonders)
Big ol Pot (I started with a 5gallon so I cannot do full boils, I am looking into a 9 gallon here soon)

Now this is just the bare knuckles assuming you have everything else you already need for beer making. If you want to skip the hassle of going through all this

http://www.homebrewing.org/Beginning-Homebrew-Kit-Upgrade-2-_p_1692.html

I started out making one gallon batches too, all custom made equipment (which really isnt hard to do) but got laz when it came to making more equipment and picked up this kit (well the cheapest version because I already had a large pot and instead of using a better bottle for a secondary I have a 5 gallon oak barrel. I would leave my beer in a primary for 3-4 weeks though instead of a secondary. Just personal prefferance unless its a big bold high gravity beer or braggot)
 
I like Northern Brewer's Deluxe kit over the Brewer's Best one.

Also, stretch is missing racking equipment. You'll need tubing, a racking cane (probably an autosiphon). You should aleady have a thermometer.

For bottling: a bottle wand, and a capper.

You should probably get a fermometer for your fermenter. You should check out the plastic vs glass debate and pick your fermentation chamber, you'll eventually buy more to increase your capacity.
 
I have the bottling equip, I guess I am looking for an all inclusive brewing equipment kit to start brewing bigger batches
 
I was assuming he already had racking equipment since he does one gallon batches however if you dont, you need it and I agree with ludomonster about the autosiphon unless you really like the taste of green beer (which I kinda do)

As for when it comes to the fermentation chamber I currently hold nothing on that. My basement stays at a constant 70F for summer so its a little hot for some yeast but it hasnt failed me yet. I am probably going to invest in a big tote full of water and put frozen water bottles in it every morning. So you can go fancy or you can go shmancy depending on your budget. I am cleaning up my one gallon equipment however to start experimenting with lagers by putting them in my basement fridge.

Joe, what I would really suggest for getting your first equipment kit is look into all your options. Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer, Morebeer, Adventures in Homebrewing, Austin Homebrew supply, you name it. Youre going to find that each kit is very similarly priced and you get about the same stuff packaged under different names. Certain people like one brand versus the other but it all does the same thing. You just have to decide what you want to start with. If you have the extra money go with a full blown kit that will either allow you to keg or do all grain batches. If you dont, I have seen kits for as low as $70 that will get the job done.
 
There was a Midwest Supplies starter kit groupon available, not sure if it still is though. Pretty sweet deal, $137 worth of equipment and ingredients for $64. First kit I bought when I started.

EDIT: It is still available, http://www.groupon.com/r/uu38722941, check it out here.
Comes with fermenting and bottling buckets, 6.5 gallons, racking cane, bottling wand, bottle caps, bottle capper, airlock, choice of Irish Red, Irish Stout or Autumn Amber Ale kits, plus an additional $25 gift certificate.
 
I did some research and purchased a conical fermenter along with a kegerator kit. Is it possible to carbonate the keg without chilling it? I live in an apartment and don't have the room for a fridge.
 
Joepez now youve got me drooling over the conical, is it the 6.5gal?

As for your keg question, if you naturally carbonate in the keg yes you can. Co2 gets into the beer faster and more efficently in the cold when you force carb (that smy understanding hence the need for cold) but if you naturally carb you do it a little warm. I would still purge the tank of any O2 though before you let it sit (not hard to do) then viola give it some time to carb up then you can chill and serve. However if your going to have a kegerator you can use that to chill your keg.
 
Yes you can force carb at room temps. You have to adjust your CO2 supply pressure to the keg of beer based on the room temp. This is because CO2 is more readily absorbed at lower temps. There are convenient charts for this to help you achieve the desired volume of CO2 in your beer based on temperature. I've linked a table below:

http://brewery.org/library/CO2charts.html

Once you move it to your kegerator, you must again adjust your pressure based on temp inside and desired serving pressure.
 

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