Basic 5 gal. set-up?
- Thread starter Wilde
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
flars
Well-Known Member
Here is an HBT thread which should help you out.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/home-brewing-starter-kits-473917/
Any and all questions are welcome here.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/home-brewing-starter-kits-473917/
Any and all questions are welcome here.
You have many options. If you are unsure HOW you are going to want to brew, it makes it tough. If you do have some idea, then it's a bit easier, but there are still plenty of places and options to go with. Here is some of MY advice, take it for what it is:
If you KNOW you are going to do any LONG TERM aging (Like a couple of months or more) then a glass carboy may be the thing to get. Maybe even one of the newer Glass Big Mouth Bubblers. Glass is impermeable by oxygen, and it doesn't generally hold onto smells, so people use them for long term aging. If you aren't planning on bulk aging beer, then plastic is definitely an option instead. All of the plastic vessels for sale for brewing will be fine for a month or two of secondary without allowing enough oxygen into the beer to make a difference. You will transfer more O2 by being careless when racking, or not topping off, or not purging with CO2.
Now, if you don't secondary (a lot of people skip that part these days) it's no concern either way. Just make sure to get some kind of larger primary vessel, and a bottling bucket. For primary, I normally use a bucket, but I've been eyeing one of them new Plastic Big Mouth Bubblers lately. I got a 5 gallon for secondary for my birthday and it was awesome. It is as easy to clean as a bucket, but clear.
The downside to a bucket is that it's... oh well, I guess just that it's plastic, but I don't consider it a downside for the amount of time your beer is going to be in primary. Generally most beers will ferment for about 2 weeks. You might then drop the temp and cold crash for another week or two. The upside is they are cheap and really easy to clean. (But I actually prefer the BMB for that since they are clear you can REALLY see if there is any residue, and some plastic bucket lids have places that gunk can get into that are hard to clean.)
There is a this or that thread around here somewhere that compares the various different bits of equipment. It's worth checking out.
I highly recommend an autosiphon. They make racking COOLED wort and beer a snap.
A bench capper is a must-have for the serious homebrewer IMO. A wing capper is cheap and usually sufficient, but there are bottles that they don't do well on, and I've had one shatter a bottle (Well my daughter had it shatter) because it didn't quite match up to the bottle. A bench capper can cap almost any bottle.
You will need a fair amount of hose, Silicone for HOT liquids, Clear Plastic for COLD liquids. Find out what sizes you will need for the various parts in your kit and stock up on a few feet of each to have on hand. Having spare hose has saved me a few times now.
If you need a larger kettle, they usually come separate. I recommend a 10 gallon for 5 gallon batches, and a 15 gallon for 10 gallon batches. Give yourself plenty of headspace to prevent boilover and to facilitate the random slightly larger batch you might brew.
A chiller of some sort is also necessary. An IC is not expensive to buy or build and they got a lot going for them. They are easy to clean and care for, simple to use, and effective (Though often not quite as efficient as a Counterflow Chiller or Plate Chiller...) Another plus is that they leave behind the cold break and you can siphon the beer from the top and avoid a lot of that in the fermentor. With a CFC or PC you need a pump in order to be able to do that.
Most online and retail places will have a variety of kits prebuilt you can pick from. Which one you need depends on your personal preference. I recommend checking a few online stores out and seeing what they offer. Often just getting a visual is helpful in finding what will suit you.
Lastly, no matter which kit you get, plan on building a Swamp Cooler or some other form of fermentation temp control. If I had to choose between starting out with a fancy SS kettle and burner and no temp control, or a turkey fryer setup and a CL freezer with STC-1000 controller, I'd go with the STC-1000 no question. Besides sanitation, nothing helps you beer taste better than good fermentation temp control.
Cheers!
If you KNOW you are going to do any LONG TERM aging (Like a couple of months or more) then a glass carboy may be the thing to get. Maybe even one of the newer Glass Big Mouth Bubblers. Glass is impermeable by oxygen, and it doesn't generally hold onto smells, so people use them for long term aging. If you aren't planning on bulk aging beer, then plastic is definitely an option instead. All of the plastic vessels for sale for brewing will be fine for a month or two of secondary without allowing enough oxygen into the beer to make a difference. You will transfer more O2 by being careless when racking, or not topping off, or not purging with CO2.
Now, if you don't secondary (a lot of people skip that part these days) it's no concern either way. Just make sure to get some kind of larger primary vessel, and a bottling bucket. For primary, I normally use a bucket, but I've been eyeing one of them new Plastic Big Mouth Bubblers lately. I got a 5 gallon for secondary for my birthday and it was awesome. It is as easy to clean as a bucket, but clear.
The downside to a bucket is that it's... oh well, I guess just that it's plastic, but I don't consider it a downside for the amount of time your beer is going to be in primary. Generally most beers will ferment for about 2 weeks. You might then drop the temp and cold crash for another week or two. The upside is they are cheap and really easy to clean. (But I actually prefer the BMB for that since they are clear you can REALLY see if there is any residue, and some plastic bucket lids have places that gunk can get into that are hard to clean.)
There is a this or that thread around here somewhere that compares the various different bits of equipment. It's worth checking out.
I highly recommend an autosiphon. They make racking COOLED wort and beer a snap.
A bench capper is a must-have for the serious homebrewer IMO. A wing capper is cheap and usually sufficient, but there are bottles that they don't do well on, and I've had one shatter a bottle (Well my daughter had it shatter) because it didn't quite match up to the bottle. A bench capper can cap almost any bottle.
You will need a fair amount of hose, Silicone for HOT liquids, Clear Plastic for COLD liquids. Find out what sizes you will need for the various parts in your kit and stock up on a few feet of each to have on hand. Having spare hose has saved me a few times now.
If you need a larger kettle, they usually come separate. I recommend a 10 gallon for 5 gallon batches, and a 15 gallon for 10 gallon batches. Give yourself plenty of headspace to prevent boilover and to facilitate the random slightly larger batch you might brew.
A chiller of some sort is also necessary. An IC is not expensive to buy or build and they got a lot going for them. They are easy to clean and care for, simple to use, and effective (Though often not quite as efficient as a Counterflow Chiller or Plate Chiller...) Another plus is that they leave behind the cold break and you can siphon the beer from the top and avoid a lot of that in the fermentor. With a CFC or PC you need a pump in order to be able to do that.
Most online and retail places will have a variety of kits prebuilt you can pick from. Which one you need depends on your personal preference. I recommend checking a few online stores out and seeing what they offer. Often just getting a visual is helpful in finding what will suit you.
Lastly, no matter which kit you get, plan on building a Swamp Cooler or some other form of fermentation temp control. If I had to choose between starting out with a fancy SS kettle and burner and no temp control, or a turkey fryer setup and a CL freezer with STC-1000 controller, I'd go with the STC-1000 no question. Besides sanitation, nothing helps you beer taste better than good fermentation temp control.
Cheers!
Yes. Lots of choices. I get to rambling. Start with one or two important points and then I just start running on and on.
There really isn't a "wrong" system, just some that might make better sense for YOUR process.
There really isn't a "wrong" system, just some that might make better sense for YOUR process.
