Brew kits and 1 or 5/6 gallon carboys?

[j_dogg972]

Hello!
New to HBT!...and new to homebrewing as well....
I just wanted to say hello and was hoping someone could help me with one of my many questions! I'll try to search for a lot of my answers but some I just can't seem to find. I'm trying to find a pefect brew kit that is top notch and that I can add on to it as my experience grows. First off, I can find the suppliers, but does anyone have any mandatory recommendations for my kit as far as brand or size? I was debating on purchasing 5 1gallon carboys or 1 5 or 6 gallon carboy. Is there any disadvantages? Obviously the advantage is that it's easier to handle and you could brew more than one large batch of one style, but I heard something about excessive oxygen in the smaller carboys.
I'll leave it at that before I get into any other questions! Thanks in advance!
Cheers!

 

[HopsMan]

The question is whether you want to spend a couple hours brewing a gallon sized kit, or a couple more hours added and brew 5 gallons? I wouldn't advise splitting a 5 gallon kit between multiple fermenting vessels until you start getting into the experimentation stage.

 

[hehawbrew]

Buy two 6.5 gal fermenters( plastic or glass). After your first brew, you will want to do a second.

Buy a ten gal pot or kettle to boil in.

Buy a turkey fryer to heat water/mash.

Buy a big igloo cool and make a mash tun.

Find two All Grain recipes.

Watch a lot of YouTube videos.

Brew with a friend. It's nice to have fun.

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[DArsenault]

As someone else who started recently, I would suggest going with 6 gallon fermenter and doing some 5 gallon recipes. If you want to experiment with smaller batches, all you need at that point is buy a 1 gallon fermenter(about 5 bucks) and you can use all your 5 gallon equipment and just make smaller batches.

The question is whether you want to spend a couple hours brewing a gallon sized kit, or a couple more hours added and brew 5 gallons? I wouldn't advise splitting a 5 gallon kit between multiple fermenting vessels until you start getting into the experimentation stage.

Actually I would bet it takes almost the exact same time to a 1 gallon or a 5 batch, if your talking both extract. The only difference I could see would be boil times, which should be minimal.

 

[BxBrewer]

You want a big enough pot to do full boils. You need to be able to boil at least 6 gal of water. Partial boils work too. Your going to need a bottling bucket and might as well get a bucket fermenter to start. You'll use them both even if you upgrade later. Start off small and slowly build on your kit.

 

[BxBrewer]

Buy two 6.5 gal fermenters( plastic or glass). After your first brew, you will want to do a second.

Buy a ten gal pot or kettle to boil in.

Buy a turkey fryer to heat water/mash.

Buy a big igloo cool and make a mash tun.

Find two All Grain recipes.

Watch a lot of YouTube videos.

Brew with a friend. It's nice to have fun.

Welcome to the addiction!

If he is new to home brewing what makes you think he is going strait to AG ?

 

[HopsMan]

As someone else who started recently, I would suggest going with 6 gallon fermenter and doing some 5 gallon recipes. If you want to experiment with smaller batches, all you need at that point is buy a 1 gallon fermenter(about 5 bucks) and you can use all your 5 gallon equipment and just make smaller batches.


Actually I would bet it takes almost the exact same time to a 1 gallon or a 5 batch, if your talking both extract. The only difference I could see would be boil times, which should be minimal.

It's certainly closer, the boil would be a bout the same, your big time difference would be cooling 1 gallon vs. five, and even that isn't going to amount to 2 hours difference. I was just trying to throw numbers out there without sparking a debate on the difference of times for different size batches. But yes, essentially, it's going to be dang close to the same amount of time.

 

[woozy]

Hello!
I was debating on purchasing 5 1gallon carboys or 1 5 or 6 gallon carboy. Is there any disadvantages?

If your batch size is going to be 5 gallons you are *not* going to want to split into separate fermentors.

If you are thinking that you'd like to do the occasional smaller or experimental batch then just get an extra 1 gallon carboy or two as well as your 5 gallon carboy. The equipment for both batch sizes are the same except for the carboys and bottling buckets.

Or if you think you you will very rarely or never do a five gallon batch get a fermentation bucket for just the special occasions.

But you absolutely will *not* want to split a five gallon batch into five fermentors.

but I heard something about excessive oxygen in the smaller carboys.

Never heard that one before.

 

[hehawbrew]

If he is new to home brewing what makes you think he is going strait to AG ?

I was trying to be sneaky and make him think there were no other options

I started with AG. Takes more time than extract, but I've never noticed the difference since its all I've done.

Isn't AG cheaper too? Some of the extract kits I've seen are like 50$

 

[RM-MN]

This kit has all that you need to start your brewing except for the boiling pot and bottles/caps. Notice that it has no carboys at all. It's what I started with and have continued to use for about 6 years, although I did add a couple more fermenter buckets. It can make excellent beer, or crappy beer depending on you and your ability.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html

I bought a carboy later and have used it 3 times. Buckets are so much safer, easier to clean, and have handles. You can even pour boiling hot wort into them without any issues.

 

[jeuentes]

Do your research and figure out what you want to brew. When I mean research I mean drink lots of commercial beers and figure out what you really like. I am doing both 5 and 2 gallon brews. If you want to get a recipe that you will enjoy then do 2 gallon batches. I use Mrbeer little brown kegs to ferment my small batches. I think everyone has brewed 5 gallons that didn't turn out just right. I am doing small batches to get the beers I want to brew dialed in. This way I don't have to drink a 5 gallon batch of a blueberry stout that tasted like a salty blueberry muffin or a blue moon clone that's like orange prison wine. You can brew good beers with extract kits. You can brew better beers tweaked to your liking with all grain. Also get some brewing software. Beersmith is pretty good. Ibrewmaster is also good but I don't have an ipad.
Plus find some one that brews in your area and see what they do. It will give ya an idea of the steps and the process they follow.