Yes, I knocked out a couple of batches of blueberry. Very, very good.

I've been doing a little reading on howtobrew.com. I have a decent idea of what I need to get started. But I'm trying to figure out something. The kits I'm looking at have one with a carboy and one without. The one with the carboy (has a few other things, as well) is about 30% more expensive. What is the benefit of a carboy?

oh trust me, i am an expert in the home brews. i make a cup like you wont believe. just ask me mate

bump

That sounds real good. Could you post your recipe, and any tips if you get time?
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The glass carboy will last forever with repeated scrubbing and cleansing.
The other kit must be using some kind of plastic bucket for a fermenter, right? That’s fine short term but the plastic will scratch with repeated cleaning and scratches can hide wild yeasts and bacteria that can spoil your beer.

:LOL: They’re not quite that bad. I started with a small Mr. Beer kit and made some acceptable tasting beers with it but IMO you’re not going to make beer that you will proudly hand a friend to taste until you grow beyond what Mr. Beer will do.

I assume then that the ones without a carboy just have a single fermenting bucket?

The carboy is for the secondary fermentation stage. You will siphon off the primary into the carboy, leaving all the crap (dead yeast, etc. called trub) that has settled to the bottom behind. There will still be live yeast, suspended in the wort to continue the fermentation process. Basically it helps you produce a clearer, less hazy beer and helps prevent some off flavors being introduced by sitting on the trub too long.

I would recommend getting the kit with the carboy.

Thanks, guys. :thumb:

I'm just curious of why would the plastic bucket scratch. Wouldn't you clean it with a dish rag and then sanitize it by rinsing with bleach mixture or sanitizing solution? At what point would it get scratched?

Is a P.E.T. carboy okay? Or would you guys recommend glass carboy?

Plastic is soft, even using a soft rag and being careful you will still eventually scuff the surface.
Glass is much harder, you can use an actual carboy brush to clean it.

Glass.
You could get tricky and plunk down the coin for a conical fermenter.
I’ve wanted one of these since I first saw them, just don’t brew enough to justify the cost.

http://morebeer.com/search/103794/be...Beer_Fermenter

http://www.marijuana-picture.com/gal...lver_pearl.jpg

Aint it pretty

I have a plastic one. It's fine. Do you plan on brewing a shit ton or like once every couple months.

One thing to either make or invest 40-50 bucks in is a wort chiller. The difference is taking an hour or so to cool the beer down vs. like 5 minutes. (you need to get your boiling beer down to 70 degrees ASAP)