Just about ready to upgrade, however ....

[Dev110]

I brewed the second half of my Oktoberfest the other day, and it's bottle-conditioning as we speak. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. So, I am about ready to take the training wheels off, and upgrade to a two-stage kit, but I have a few questions for the experts 'round these parts.

First, the difference between a one-stage and a two-stage is only that the second stage is conditioning, right? The brew conditions away from the sediment as opposed to in the bottle?

Second, I have read a few discussions here where people have purchased their kits on-line. I am really hesitant to order on-line, partly because you really never know what's going to show up until it does. I have found kits ranging from $90 (at Midwest, don't know if shipping is included) to $120 at a place local where I can walk in the store itself, Alternative Beverage .
For someone who doesn't yet really know what he is doing, what do you guys think? Same systems, different suppliers?

And btw, I think I'll keep the Mr Beer kit to always have a couple gallons in the hopper.

 

[duboman]

By two stage I will assume you are talking about the ability to have a primary fermentor and a secondary vessel?

The kits that you mentioned are the most widely used by Midwest, Northern brewer, Austin, Etc. These kits basically come with everything you need except a brew kettle, star san and lots of people use these basic kits to start with no issues. In addition, all these places have great customer support so if there is a problem with your order it is taken care of no problem.

Midwest will also offer a Groupon every now and then for like $65.00 including a recipe kit and it is definitely the cheapest option out there if you can find it. I have even heard of people calling them direct and asking about it and getting the special price.

 

[Dev110]

Yes - a primary, and a secondary. The ones I've seen use glass for secondary.

I probably will get the one from Midwest, it looks like a good package, and just about the same everywhere. My biggest issue is that I don't know what I don't know. I've been saving my Guiness bottles, though, and I read somewhere that the caps they sell may not fit? That'd be my luck.

Now I have to go get another case of beer.

 

[helibrewer]

Yes - a primary, and a secondary. The ones I've seen use glass for secondary.

I probably will get the one from Midwest, it looks like a good package, and just about the same everywhere. My biggest issue is that I don't know what I don't know. I've been saving my Guiness bottles, though, and I read somewhere that the caps they sell may not fit? That'd be my luck.

Now I have to go get another case of beer.

There have been many lengthy discussions on the need for a secondary fermentor and the concensus is generally that you do not unless you are adding a late fermenter like fruit or need to age on oak or dry hop. I rarely use one any more and just leave things in the pail for the duration (usually about a month in my case which includes a cold crashing period for clarity).

You could get a gross of caps at your local brew shop (LHBS) and see if they will work on your bottles before you toss them.

Time is your ally, don't rush things and base your decisions on gravity readings, not the calendar.

 

[duboman]

It's a great starter kit from Midwest. I will not get into the secondary or not or the glass or better bottle diatribes, you can search these threads on your own, do the research, read the opinions and decide yourself but in my opinion the secondary is a good thing to have in case you decide you want to.

In addition, if you are planning on sticking with the hobby a 10 gallon kettle is a good investment as well as an additional vessel for fermenting because soon enough you'll want another one

 

[Dev110]

This is why I feel like such an amateur - I only need the secondary on certain brews, so theoretically I can use both as primaries AT THE SAME TIME?

Just thinking about having 10 gallons of Irish Stout fermenting makes my eyes glossy.

(Insert Spongebob voice here) "Really? Reeeallly, reeeallly?"

 

[Pie_Man]

This is why I feel like such an amateur - I only need the secondary on certain brews, so theoretically I can use both as primaries AT THE SAME TIME?

Technically, yes. Although some kits come with a 5 gallon glass carboy which is only useful for secondary fermentation (which is only needed in certain situations), or slightly smaller batches like 3.5-4 gallons. Your carboy needs to have some head space for fermentation and the yeast. A 6+ gallon bottling bucket, which you can ferment in, and a 6.5 gallon carboy kit is what I would recommend. In my area, these equipment kits show up on craigslist fairly frequently. Just check the glass for any cracks.