New to brewwing wanted to say hello.

[Fatabbot]

Thanks guys, so what about the mail order kits? I was thinking of getting the equipment kit from I think Midwest, they have alot of beer kits as well. Are they of good quality or would local be best?

Mail order is fine.

I get mine from Austinhomebrew.com. Fast shipping (free on orders over $60), good product and instructions (which are helpful to a newbie such as myself ).

 

[artfldodger]

not sure about midwest, I got the delux kit from austinhomebrew.com, good quality and it arrived 3 days after i placed the order (free shipping)

I've also heard good things about northernbrewer.com.

you can either go ahead an order an ingredient kit from either for your first brew or just get a kit that your LHBS reccomends.

edit: either way you go on the beer kit, I'd suggest buying the yeast from your LHBS and not using the yeast in the kit, or making a starter (but that just might be too many things to worry about on your first round of brewing)

 

[Wolf]

I guess my question is why? What are you doing that a basic kit won't do? Am I wrong to think I can use the bottle bucket as a secondary fermentor?

how about this setup? http://www.homebrewers.com/product/STARTERWFERMENTER

This has the carboy and a bottle bucket. I want to get something that will do what I want, the problem is I'm not sure what I want. haha. Well I want good tasting beer, I tend to prefer dark beers if that matters. I'd also like to try and make some strawberry beer at some point for my wife.

I also don't have a lot of spare room so in that way more basic is better.

I appreciate all your input as to what to start out with.

One thing about this kit that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that the 5 gallon secondary is a Better Bottle, meaning it's PET Plastic instead of glass. Some people don't trust them because they are plastic, though they are supposed to be as oxygen resistant as glass. For me I think they're great because they're light and unbreakable. If you do go with this kit you may want to ask if the Better Bottle can be upgraded to a ported Better Bottle with a spigot. That will make transferring to your bottling bucket easier, no siphoning required.

 

[rcbrew]

Midwest has treated me well. Their kits are good, have had real good success with them. The reason I chose them is not only pricing, but they are closer in terms of shipping than some, which, at this time of year means something to me. Less time in a hot UPS/FEXEX warehouse-truck the better.

 

[Todd]

One thing about this kit that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that the 5 gallon secondary is a Better Bottle, meaning it's PET Plastic instead of glass. Some people don't trust them because they are plastic, though they are supposed to be as oxygen resistant as glass. For me I think they're great because they're light and unbreakable. If you do go with this kit you may want to ask if the Better Bottle can be upgraded to a ported Better Bottle with a spigot. That will make transferring to your bottling bucket easier, no siphoning required.

I was also wondering about this, does everyone prefer glass? I like the unbreakable factor of the plastic if it still gives good results. They claim it does and it is not less expensive. Well not for us at least, I suppose it might cost them less.

 

[Brewsmith]

I use both. I still use 6.5 gal. plastic buckets for my primaries. They don't break, they're lighter, they have a handle, and they are easier to clean as long as you don't scratch it up. And my plastic buckets do have spigots. I use glass for my secondaries for all the reasons mentioned above. The short answer is it's just preferance.

 

[Wolf]

I was also wondering about this, does everyone prefer glass? I like the unbreakable factor of the plastic if it still gives good results. They claim it does and it is not less expensive. Well not for us at least, I suppose it might cost them less.

Personally I prefer the Better Bottles. The friend who got me into brewing is also swicthing to Better Bottles after a nasty gash on his ankle from a broken glass carboy.
Do a search on here for Better Bottles and you'll find a few debates.

 

[Spyk'd]

Ok, two quick answers:


The more complex a beer(wine,cider,mead) is, i.e. the more stuff you put into it or the higher the gravity, the longer you'll want it to condition to reach its full flavor potenital. That's why having a few(?) glass carboys around is a good thing; so you don't hold up your production.


I've used Midwest for about five years now and they've always been good to me. Shipping is super fast and they have a great selection of ingredients.


One quick question:

Have you thought about what you are doing with the batch when it's finished? Bottles or kegs, you'll need something!

 

[Todd]

Ok, two quick answers:


The more complex a beer(wine,cider,mead) is, i.e. the more stuff you put into it or the higher the gravity, the longer you'll want it to condition to reach its full flavor potenital. That's why having a few(?) glass carboys around is a good thing; so you don't hold up your production.


I've used Midwest for about five years now and they've always been good to me. Shipping is super fast and they have a great selection of ingredients.


One quick question:

Have you thought about what you are doing with the batch when it's finished? Bottles or kegs, you'll need something!

Thanks, I'm planning to bottle it. I'll have plenty of empties to reuse and at some point I would like the resealable bottles.

I'm not a huge drinker so I'm not that worried about a large quantity.

 

[Sephro]

Just a tip about re-using bottles.. Remember don't use clear bottles and if you can help it not green either. Brown is best. It keeps the light out that will "skunk" your beer the best of the 3.
Another thing. You can not use screw off bottles!
plan several hours removing the labels and cleaning the inside of the bottles! Soaking in the hottest water possible is the easiest way to remove the labels!

Once you have done this you will find yourself rinsing every bottle you use

 

[Todd]

Just a tip about re-using bottles.. Remember don't use clear bottles and if you can help it not green either. Brown is best. It keeps the light out that will "skunk" your beer the best of the 3.
Another thing. You can not use screw off bottles!
plan several hours removing the labels and cleaning the inside of the bottles! Soaking in the hottest water possible is the easiest way to remove the labels!

Once you have done this you will find yourself rinsing every bottle you use

Why can't I let the labels on? I already was aware of the rest but I didn't know I had to take the labels off???

 

[Sephro]

Why can't I let the labels on? I already was aware of the rest but I didn't know I had to take the labels off???

You don't HAVE to remove them.. I just do because it's cleaner IMO...
Plus you can re-use them over and over so why not spend the extra time now...

 

[Todd]

You don't HAVE to remove them.. I just do because it's cleaner IMO...
Plus you can re-use them over and over so why not spend the extra time now...

Good point, I guess after a couple washings they would look pretty nasty with half peeling labels.

 

[SpecialEd]

Hey welcome to bewing. I am fairly new too (2 batches) but have read quite a bit and there seem to be two main reasons why a glass carboy is superior to an ordinary bucket.
1. The glass is oxygen impermeable. Plastic will still let in a little air and possibly (very small chance) infection. This is also reinforced because the lid on the plastic bucket wont always form a great seal, not as good of a seal as a rubber stopper on a carboy anyway.
2. The glass carboy should be a 5 gallon (for a 5 gallon batch). This reduces headspace(air space) above the beer. This is important because after the major part of fermentation has completed extra oxygen could cause off-flavors. You want this headspace in the bucket because the foam build-up would otherwise shoot out of the airlock.
But remember that transferring it to the secondary (racking) also could introduce an infection. All that being said my Biology professor (aka the master brew guru) basically said that a secondry class carboy is always an option, but never a necessity, and probably the largest difference he has noticed is it just gives clearer beer. I use one and I like it. GOOD LUCK, happy brewing.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

You certainly can use your bottling bucket as a secondary. I did for years. One concern that I never see mentioned here is that the beer will fill up the spigot and thus run the risk of infection. Has anyone else heard of this? Williams brewing sells an invert tube backnut for your spigot that will remedy this if it is a concern for you.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/INVERT_TUBE_BACKNUT_P179.cfm

 

[veggiess]

Back to Midwest Supplies... they are my LHBS and their ingredient kits are top-notch. They have extract and all-grain kits, and they keep their stock pretty fresh. If anything sits too long they get rid of it. I think it would be very safe to order from them! :fro:

 

[Todd]

Well I finally made it to the lhbs and it is very well stocked. Also turns out they have a monthly home brew meeting which I'm going to try and attend. His prices seem pretty good.

I have another question. What does IPA mean?

 

[edost]

IPA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa_beer

 

[Todd]

IPA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa_beer

Thanks, that site is really cool.

 

[Nate]

Welcome... prepare to gain weight and be happy.

 

[Wolf]

Another thing. You can not use screw off bottles!

Thats not entirely true. I started out using almost all screw top bottles and now am at about 50/50. Screw top bottles can work, but you need to be a bit more careful when capping them. Over 4 completed, drank batches I have had about 6 total bottles that did not carbonate, and several of those I had capped crooked on the threads. If I had noticed I could have recapped them correctly. You would want to 'test-cap' a couple before filling them to see how well they clamp on, as not all screw-tops are created equal, some will NOT cap.

Ultimately non-twist tops are best, but some screwtops can be an option in a pinch.