Hello brewcommune

[JonGoku]

Ok, I have a large stock pot lined up to be borrowed, but it looks like i will be purchasing my own starter kit. Can you please give me your opinions on if I should go with a two bucket kit or a single bucket with a glass carboy to begin with? Both of the buckets in the "two bucket" kit at Steinfillers have taps which confused me as I thought this was only for the "bottleing bucket".

Thanks in advance.

[dhempy]

If it were me, I'd go for the bucket / carboy combo. I like glass carboys because they are inert when it comes to beer etc. and you can easily see what's going on with your beer. Clean 'em up easily with oxyclean. When you have carboys, an Easy Siphon is indispensable. Borrow one if you can for your first endeavor.

That said, having buckets can be handy too. The spigots are handy on both the bottling and fermenting buckets (the buckets are obviously interchangeable) . On the fermenting bucket, you can use the spigot without having to start a siphon for transferring to the other bucket for secondary. There are some here that prefer not to secondary and it is a matter of preference. At some point however, almost everybody will secondary one beer or another and learning how to rack properly is a skill that will serve you well.

Either way, you probably cannot go wrong. If the combo doesn't come with a length of tubing (say 4-5 feet or so), pick some up for racking. You'll want a length that will go from either the easy-siphon (or some other racking cane) to the bottom of your secondary (if you choose to secondary) so that the tubing end is immersed after the first quart or two is transferred. This will reduce aeration and lessen oxidation of your beer. You can also use it for bottling. Get the size that fits your siphon AND your spigots (short lengths of different sizes can be used as reducers as necessary)! Speaking of bottling, a bottling wand is something else to borrow if you can when the time comes.

Good luck.

Dan

[Rezzin]

If you want go with easy and cheap then stick to the buckets. I personally don't use buckets but I know some on this board do and they have no problems with them. The main drawback IMO is you don't get to see the action during fermentation

If you decide to go with a carboy, see if they will let you choose a Better Bottle instead (if using it for primary). I'm a big fan of these since they are about the same price, do the same thing, and are WAY WAY lighter. Lifting a 6.5g glass carboy filled with wort can be a scary thing. I like the 5g glass carboys for long term aging beers. The big advantage with glass is they are easy to clean with a brush and they last a lifetime if you don't drop em.

Like Dan said, don't forget to buy some tubing if using the buckets and/or autosiphon if you get a carboy. Get the 1/2" autosiphon if you go that route - it's MUCH easier than a racking cane.

Edit: Or you can use a racking cane and some tubing with those orange hoodies and one of those sterile filter things like this. I think Brad and Kevin use something like this to move their beers.

Decisions decisions - sorry if I made you more confused

[backyard brewer]

Carboys are nice for longer term aging but they are a little scary. If they break they tend to burst and there is usually a story a month on the various forums of "Well it finally happened to me" and nasty pictures with it. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use a carboy, just wrap it in filament packing tape if you do. Several bands of tape will hold the thing in one piece if it ever breaks.

The Better Bottle is a good suggestion.

[brahn]

I'd go with the buckets, although I only use the ones with spigots for bottling. That's just too many nooks and crannies for stuff to hide in. For your first several batches it should be fine and you'll always be able to use them for something.
I made the mistake of buying a couple of glass carboys and all they do is waste space. Compared to buckets, they're harder to clean, more dangerous, more expensive, and can't be stacked. Glass is better than a bucket for long-term (several month) aging, although a keg is even better for this purpose than glass. The better bottle at least gets you around the more dangerous part.

Brent

[dhempy]

Edit: Or you can use a racking cane and some tubing with those orange hoodies and one of those sterile filter things like this. I think Brad and Kevin use something like this to move their beers.

Count me in on this too. I love it. But I "push" my beer with CO2 (I think Brad does too) and unless Jon has a C02 source, this may be overkill. I typically put a big worm clamp on mine because it won't always stay down on the carboy neck and this creates a good seal. But I'm _VERY_ careful with my pressures. I've also got a 5lb CO2 tank specifically for this task (and powering my jockey box) that I can re-pressurize from my 20 lb tank.

Let us know how you fare Jon.

Dan

[brahn]

Being able to rack your beer under pressure with co2 is the one advantage that I've seen to using a carboy over buckets. I do wonder if it would be possible to do this with a bucket and a tight fitting lid, though...

[kevinham]

Like it has been said over and over, the carboy/bucket debate is all personal preference. I bought a couple buckets and a carboy with my kit, and now I use better bottles. I am trying to not have to use carboys anymore, they are heavy, and dangerous. I don't really have any reason for not using buckets, just prefer the better bottles. But go ahead and get a couple buckets anyways, if you don't use one to ferment I promise you will use it for something else. The only way to know what is best for you is to try them out.

If you are trying to start out cheap, I would just get buckets and try the carboys/better bottles later.

And an autosiphon or sterile siphon starter is totally worth it.

[bwarbiany]

Well, the only *real* answer is a stainless steel conical fermenter.

But, since I've been brewing three years and can't afford one of those yet, I suggest a plastic bucket for primary (I don't like the idea of them with spigots due to potential contamination), and if you are going to be doing beers that require longer-term aging, a 5-gallon glass carboy for secondary.

I currently do all my fermentation in a 20-gallon plastic wine fermenter (basically a garbage can), and have had good success (except for one batch where fruit flies got it... UGH!).

[JonGoku]

Thanks for all the good advise. I called and Steinfillers is closed today and I doubt I have time to go out to Riverside. I will think it over some more today and let you know which route I go. I'm thinking the cheaper and stackable route will get me in less trouble with the lady so I am leaning towards that, but damn, I'd really love to see whats going on during my first brew.

Cheers!

-Jon

[kevinham]

Thanks for all the good advise. I called and Steinfillers is closed today and I doubt I have time to go out to Riverside. I will think it over some more today and let you know which route I go. I'm thinking the cheaper and stackable route will get me in less trouble with the lady so I am leaning towards that route, although I'd really love to see whats going on during my first brew.

Cheers!

-Jon

I have a 6.5 gal glass carboy you can use for a bit if you want to try it out. Plus you are right, you gotta be able to watch your first batch ferment. PM me if you want to come pick it up.

[Rezzin]

Thanks for all the good advise. I called and Steinfillers is closed today and I doubt I have time to go out to Riverside. I will think it over some more today and let you know which route I go. I'm thinking the cheaper and stackable route will get me in less trouble with the lady so I am leaning towards that route, although I'd really love to see whats going on during my first brew.

Cheers!

-Jon

I have a 6.5 gal glass carboy you can use for a bit if you want to try it out. Plus you are right, you gotta be able to watch your first batch ferment. PM me if you want to come pick it up.

I'm hopefully brewing on New Years day (still not sure but leaning towards it) so if you're looking to a brew day using cheap equipment, you're more than welcome to stop by. I also have some gear you can borrow as long as you promise to return it when you're done

If you're interested - PM and let me know. I won't know if I can brew until the evening before though.

[JonGoku]

I'm hopefully brewing on New Years day (still not sure but leaning towards it) so if you're looking to a brew day using cheap equipment, you're more than welcome to stop by. I also have some gear you can borrow as long as you promise to return it when you're done

If you're interested - PM and let me know. I won't know if I can brew until the evening before though.

Hey Rezzin, thanks a lot for your, as well as numerous others on this forums', extensions of help and advise. I don't think there is much more that I would like to do then to go and join you for a brew session, but I have serious doubts I will have much free time on the first. My wife is Japanese and new years is a little more special for Asian cultures, so for me to go off and doing my own thing alone is a bit out of the question. To complicate things, my wife and I are expecting our first child about the second of February and so we are continuously going through alternating stages of panic and preparation which also tend to steal a lot of "hobby time".

Now is probably either the worst or best time for me to pick up a new hobby depending on how you look at it, but heck, I'm an optimist who's stein is always half full, so no dark thoughts.

[backyard brewer]

Congrats!

[dhempy]

Ditto: Congrats on your impending family expansion! Find out from Rezzin, Lars, Derrin, and Brew Captain (there are probably others too) about squeezing in brew time with new arrivals!

Dan