New 2 Brew

[Hopfan]

Hi Everyone, I was the lucky recipient of a brewing kit that seems to have all the bells & whistles (2 glass carboys, bucket, hydrometer, thermometer, lots of bits & bobs). I have read several books on brewing and read thru lots of the forum discussions so I feel completely confused at this point. I am going to jump in on my first batch of ale this weekend and have 2 questions: 1- There is a plastic tube with a bend in it...thru process of elimination, I believe it is a racking tube, but want to be sure. How is this used? 2- the bucket has a spigot at the bottom. From all I have read, I want to avoid disturbing anything on the bottom so what would this be for? Bottling? Thanks for any advice you have.

 

[Brewno]

Hi Everyone, I was the lucky recipient of a brewing kit that seems to have all the bells & whistles (2 glass carboys, bucket, hydrometer, thermometer, lots of bits & bobs). I have read several books on brewing and read thru lots of the forum discussions so I feel completely confused at this point. I am going to jump in on my first batch of ale this weekend and have 2 questions: 1- There is a plastic tube with a bend in it...thru process of elimination, I believe it is a racking tube, but want to be sure. How is this used? 2- the bucket has a spigot at the bottom. From all I have read, I want to avoid disturbing anything on the bottom so what would this be for? Bottling? Thanks for any advice you have.

That may be the plunger section of the racking cane. Is there a fatter, straight tube with it that has a removable black tip at the closed end? The racking cane has a smaller tube/plunger type of apparatus that looks like a cane with a bend in the top. When you place it in the fatter tube and push it all the way in this will then be able to start suction in your carboy to siphon beer into your bottling bucket. It's a pump action just to get it going.

I cut a small section of tubing and I attach one end to the spigot and the other to my bottling wand, I then open the spigot and the bottling wand does the rest. It won't dispense beer until you touch the tip to the bottom of your bottle.




Tommy

 

[rdwj]

Hi Everyone, I was the lucky recipient of a brewing kit that seems to have all the bells & whistles (2 glass carboys, bucket, hydrometer, thermometer, lots of bits & bobs). I have read several books on brewing and read thru lots of the forum discussions so I feel completely confused at this point. I am going to jump in on my first batch of ale this weekend and have 2 questions: 1- There is a plastic tube with a bend in it...thru process of elimination, I believe it is a racking tube, but want to be sure. How is this used? 2- the bucket has a spigot at the bottom. From all I have read, I want to avoid disturbing anything on the bottom so what would this be for? Bottling? Thanks for any advice you have.

Ok, I'll give it a shot...

If you have 2 glass carboys, hopefully one is bigger than the other.

The big one is your primary. It's usually 6.5 gallons. The small one is your secondary - usually 5 gallons. The bucket is most likely a bottling bucket.

You're right; the thing with the bend is a racking cane. You're going to use it to siphon your beer to your secondary from the primary after a week. Then, after 2 weeks, you're going to use it again to move your beer to the bucket for bottling.

After your first couple of shots, if you like the hobby, I HIGHLY recommend an auto-siphon. It will make transfers much easier.

Good luck!

 

[Hopfan]

OK, thanks for the info guys. Yes, I do have a 6.5 and a 5 gal carboy. Now that I know how the racking cane works, I just may be dangereous.

 

[Brewno]

OK, thanks for the info guys. Yes, I do have a 6.5 and a 5 gal carboy. Now that I know how the racking cane works, I just may be dangereous.

Test it with water first. Better yet, sanitizer so you can kill two birds with one stone. Rack sanitized water from one bucket/carboy to another. Go nice and easy and practice racking gently without any splashing. Place the siphoning hose as flush on the bottom of the bottle bucket as possible.
TIP: watch out because once siphoning starts the end of the hose becomes like a dancing snake!!!

Tommy

 

[Hopfan]

Test it with water first. Better yet, sanitizer so you can kill two birds with one stone. Rack sanitized water from one bucket/carboy to another. Go nice and easy and practice racking gently without any splashing. Place the siphoning hose as flush on the bottom of the bottle bucket as possible.
TIP: watch out because once siphoning starts the end of the hose becomes like a dancing snake!!!

Tommy

Dancing snake indeed! Good idea on the practice run. I actually put some of my working braincells to work and came up with a solution. Since there were 2 canes in the gear I have, I used a small clamp to attach it to the 2nd bucket with the end just at the bottom. As long as I start the siphon gently, I get a nice smooth flow with little disturbance until the level is over the bottom of the cane. And to think, my high school algebra teacher said I'd never amount to much!

 

[Blender]

It sounds like you have it figured out but what are you brewing? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Exo]

The bucket is your bottling bucket. You attach a bottling tube to that spigot and after you've added your carbonation sugar solution then your beer your ready to bottle.