Equipmnt or first time brewing

[sleuthey]

Hi All

I am completely new to this game and was wonderig if I could have some advice before I go and buy the equipment!

1) Does the primary fermentation bucket need to have a air lock in the top like you put in a wine demejon or can you get away without one?

2) Does the secondary fermentation barrel/bottles need to have the above aswell?

3) What is the advantage of having a pressurised barrel with a CO2 cylinder and again is this really necessary for a beginer to have?

4) When removing the beer from the bucket after the first week, and placing it into a barrel or bottles, do you need to add dextrose to help the left over yeaste carbonate the beer?

5) What is the best household cleaning fluid to use, would something like domestos bleach do?

6) Finally I have listed the equipment I intend to buy and was wondering if I had forgotten anything??

- Large saucepans (to achieve sanitation)
- Fermentation bucket with lid (for primary fermentation)
- Syphon tube
- Barrel / Keg (for secondary fermentation and storage)


Many thanks in advance!

Sleuthey

 

[Cheesefood]

Hi All

I am completely new to this game and was wonderig if I could have some advice before I go and buy the equipment!

Sure, welcome aboard!

1) Does the primary fermentation bucket need to have a air lock in the top like you put in a wine demejon or can you get away without one?

Yes you need an air lock, otherwise you'll flip your lid (literally). You need a way to allow the pressure to escape.

2) Does the secondary fermentation barrel/bottles need to have the above aswell?

Yes. There will still be some activity.

3) What is the advantage of having a pressurised barrel with a CO2 cylinder and again is this really necessary for a beginer to have?

A who for the what? Are you talking about kegging it?

4) When removing the beer from the bucket after the first week, and placing it into a barrel or bottles, do you need to add dextrose to help the left over yeaste carbonate the beer?

You don't bottle after the first week. Follow this schedule:
1 week in the primary
2 weeks in the secondary
3 weeks in the bottle
You should use dry malt extract or corn syrup.

5) What is the best household cleaning fluid to use, would something like domestos bleach do?

Purists will condemn bleach, but most of us have used it in a pinch with no problems. Be conservative with it - one cap full for 5 gallons is a generally accepted amount. Rinse after you dump.

6) Finally I have listed the equipment I intend to buy and was wondering if I had forgotten anything??

- Large saucepans (to achieve sanitation)
- Fermentation bucket with lid (for primary fermentation)
- Syphon tube
- Barrel / Keg (for secondary fermentation and storage)

Kettle to boil everything in, long-handled spoon for stiring, racking cane (recommended) to transfer, bottling bucket (bucket with a spigot on the bottom - if you're bottling). And plenty, plenty, plenty of cleaning supplies. Oh, by the way, have fun fishing out the gromet!

 

[Walker]

You don't bottle after the first week. Follow this schedule:
1 week in the primary
2 weeks in the secondary
3 weeks in the bottle

If you don't want to use the secondary, you can do 2 weeks in the fermenter and go straight to bottles. My first half dozen batches or so were done this way and they were great. They were a bit cloudy, but tasted just dandy.

-walker

 

[sleuthey]

Thankyou, that helps

 

[ajf]

Domestos and syphon? I guess you come from the UK.

If that is correct, then I believe that bleach is the only sanitizer that you can get. Works fine if you don't use too much, and rinse well after sanitizing.

You can either bottle beer, or put it in a pressure barrel. If you use the pressure barrel, you need CO2 to help eject the beer, and to keep air out of the barrel. In either case, you need dextrose AKA glucose AKA corn sugar to carbonate unless you like flat beer.

-a.

 

[Mr Bigins]

I don't know why people would brew their beer in plastic. Do you drink/pour your beer from plastic bottles? I don't.

If you're bottling, you'll need bottle caps and a capping tool.


Edit: I bought my 2 Kettles on sale at Kohls over 10 years ago for $10 each. The brew store had the same ones for $25 each.

 

[Fatabbot]

I don't know why people would brew their beer in plastic. Do you drink/pour your beer from plastic bottles? I don't.

If you're bottling, you'll need bottle caps and a capping tool.

 

[Mr Bigins]

And your point is?

 

[sleuthey]

Hi yes I am from the UK

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Im still a little confused...I wasnt intending on storing my final produce in plastic bottles, I was intending on storing it in a plastic 5 gollon barrel, is this suitable do you think?

If so, can you put it into the barrel after primary fermentation, allow secondry fermentation to pass by and leave it in there till you drink it?

Thanks in advance (try not to laugh to much)

 

[Fatabbot]

And your point is?

The smiley wasn't obvious enough?

 

[Mr Bigins]

Hi yes I am from the UK

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Im still a little confused...I wasnt intending on storing my final produce in plastic bottles, I was intending on storing it in a plastic 5 gollon barrel, is this suitable do you think?

If so, can you put it into the barrel after primary fermentation, allow secondry fermentation to pass by and leave it in there till you drink it?

Thanks in advance (try not to laugh to much)

You'll never catch me doing that. I have a plastic bootling bucket, but now that I keg, my beer never comes in contact with plastic. I have 3 - 5 gallon glass carboys.

Then I use the third one to transfer to secondary, clean and sanitize the dirty carboy and transfer the 2nd brew into secondary with that. Those tubes are called blowoff tubes and you want to use those at first until fermentation calms down a bit before removing them and replacing with air lock's. The bucket is 3/4 filled with water and you want the tubes to be submerged.

 

[Walker]

I don't know why people would brew their beer in plastic. Do you drink/pour your beer from plastic bottles? I don't.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with brewing in plastic. Many people prefer it for lots of legitimate reasons. Just because you DON'T like it doesn't mean it's not worth using.

We don't take kindly to people around here that say things like "You're not a real brewer if..."

-walker

 

[Cheesefood]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with brewing in plastic. Many people prefer it for lots of legitimate reasons. Just because you DON'T like it doesn't mean it's not worth using.

We don't take kindly to people around here that say things like "You're not a real brewer if..."

-walker

Yeah, you're not a real brewer if you say stuff like that.

Whoops.

 

[pbowler]

no not suitable.

Store it in glass.

if you don't want to handle 55 12oz bottles than think about upsizing.

16oz
22oz
40 oz
Half Gallon
Full gallon growler

keep in mind your gonna have to drink what you open.

 

[ajf]

I was intending on storing it in a plastic 5 gollon barrel, is this suitable do you think?

If so, can you put it into the barrel after primary fermentation, allow secondry fermentation to pass by and leave it in there till you drink it?

Thanks in advance (try not to laugh to much)

I used to use the 5g pressure barrels, and they are great providing you don't keep the beer in them for longer than a couple of months.

My reason for saying this is that most plastics are supposed to allow the transfer of oxygen through the plastic, and into the beer. If this really does happen, it is not good as it will impart off flavours into the beer.
I never had 5g of beer in plastic that lasted that long

If you have a barrel that has a float connected to the outlet, so it draws the beer from the top of the barrel instead of the bottom, you can probably make do without a secondary fermenter. If the barrel doesn't have the float, then the secondary is very necessary. Even if you do have a float, I would recommend a secondary as it results in clearer, better tasting beer.

Whatever, if you want a continuous supply, you will need at least two barrels as the beer needs to settle for a couple of weeks before it's ready for drinking.

Good luck

-a.

 

[Mr Bigins]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with brewing in plastic. Many people prefer it for lots of legitimate reasons. Just because you DON'T like it doesn't mean it's not worth using.

We don't take kindly to people around here that say things like "You're not a real brewer if..."

-walker

And where EXACTLY did I say that?


I know Dave Berg the president of the Minnesota Brewer's association who got the law passed in Minnesota for brew pub's to sell 1 gallon grawlers, and I tell you this. He NEVER stores his beer in plastic at Bandana's Brew Pub in Mankato MN where he's the Master Brewer.

No intelligent brewer stores their beer in plastic, plastic is porus, glass/metal is not.

 

[Walker]

And where EXACTLY did I say that?


I know Dave Berg the president of the Minnesota Brewer's association who got the law passed in Minnesota for brew pub's to sell 1 gallon grawlers, and I tell you this. He NEVER stores his beer in plastic at Bandana's Brew Pub in Mankato MN where he's the Master Brewer.

No intelligent brewer stores their beer in plastic, plastic is porus, glass/metal is not.

-walker