Racking cane, do I need one?

[avillax]

Hello, I've been reading about the racking cane all over and realized my brewing equipment doesn't include one, I've also seen other kits that don't include it.

I see the fermentation bucket has a valve as well as the bottling bottle has one, is that the reason?

This is the brewing equipment I bought:

https://www.brouwland.com/en/our-pr.../d/brewferm-starter-s-kit-deluxe#.VbQfG7Oqqko

And this video explains how to use it:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUu2_gGF4V4[/ame]

Why no racking cane?

 

[Cyclman]

Racking cane is for siphoning, if you have a spigot, no need.

I don't like spigots for fermenting vessels, at least plastic ones, too many nooks and crannies for stuff to grow in.

 

[m1k3]

I like spigots. Bought an auto siphon but never use it.

I agree the plastic spigot seems hard to keep clean, but I replace them once a year just in case the starsan doesn't get everything really sanitary.

 

[avillax]

Nice, and one more question, does one always need secondary or I could just be bottling straight from the fermenter?

Pros, cons?

 

[jtratcliff]

You don't have to rack secondary unless you have a specific reason, e.g. bulk aging, adding fruit, seeking extra clearing, etc.

You don't necessarily need a bottling bucket, e.g. if you're kegging or bottle priming.

But priming each bottle individually is pain. It's much easier to add your priming sugar to a bottling bucket then rack to combine...

Stirring priming sugar directly into the primary fermenter kicks up too much trub that gets transferred to the bottle. IT's possible, just not ideal.

 

[Pappers_]

To second what JT said above - you don't need a secondary typically but you want to bottle from a bottling bucket, not primary.

 

[avillax]

Thanks for your replies, I love the friendly attitude in this forum, of course, great minds think alike! So maybe what I could add to this kit is plastic tubing/hose to connect it to the spigot and down to the bottom of the secondary just in case I want to use the secondary and avoid as much air contact but I guess I can even buy that in a pet store, correct?

So I'm very excited about this, I'm just waiting for my brew pot to arrive in the mail and I'll be all setup.

One question that might be unrelated to the topic, can you brew a Quadrupel such as Rochefort or Westvleteren even with this beginner kit that I bought? Or that would definitely require extra mandatory accessories? I mean, I would love to hear stories of people brewing great beers with the very basic.