Some questions from a first time brewer

I just bought a True Brew wine kit like this http://www.fermentationtrap.com/1603.html

I got a better deal (75$) at our homebrew shop in Tioga County. I bought a Vino del Vida Gewurztraminer kit too. I am also going to give beer a try. I had him order me a True Beer Belgium Ale kit. I'm doing kits until I have a better understanding of the process.

• Is it okay to use the same equipment for both beer and wine?
• What other equipment (Someone gave me a capper) do I need to crossover from wine to beer?
• Should I follow the ingredient kit directions or should I do some things differently?

Thanks for the help

Following the directions all depends on how good they are to begin with. Some kits have very good directions.

As for using the same equipment... if you're using glass to ferment in, then it shouldn't be a problem. With plastic, some of that wine smell might be hard to remove from the bucket. You'll probably need a little bigger bucket for beer also. With a 5 gallon batch, you'll need at least a 6-6.5 gallon bucket. Other than that, I'm not sure. I'm not a big wine maker, so someone else will probably fill you in.

I use the same equipment and not had a problem with carry over smells or stains. I give everything a good soak with Oxyclean Free after every use so my plastic is very pristine. For long time bulk aging of wine (after fermentation), a glass carboy is pretty important. For initial fermentation, a bucket is fine.

The instruction with the wine kits I've used have been very good. Some wine kits are made to be consumed early and some require longer aging. For the most part I keep the the instructions exactly with the exception of some of the timing. After the first racking and particularly after stabilizing, I usual leave it longer than the instructions say as there is no need to rush to bottle. Wine making is a perfect hobby for the procrastinator.