Reddit reviews Anchor Hocking 2-Gallon Heritage Hill Glass Beverage Dispenser with Spigot, Set of 1

Here's the hardware I ended up with for a simple continuous brew setup. For me, two gallons is a lot for a batch brew mostly just handling the vessel. Good luck! You're mostly limited by your imagination here.

Beverage dispenser Target is supposed to carry it also, but I never found one in the store.

Stainless spigot

Rubber bands

Heater

Temp controller outlet

Adhesive thermometer

This is a good one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BWC0E42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just started making it myself. I got a SCOBY from Amazon and here's my general recipe:

1. 1 Gallon brewed tea (black is the easiest/cheapest to use, but I've used Roobios too)
   
2. 1 Cup sugar (I used refined white sugar - while technically not Paleo, it is the easiest for the SCOBY to digest)
   
3. 1 SCOBY
   
4. 1 Cup distilled white vinegar/previously brewed tea
   
   Boil the water. Once the water is boiling, add in the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the tea bags (I usually use 12 tea bags/Gallon) and brew to desired strength. I like mine strong, so I leave the tea bags in the pot until the tea is to room temperature. You can put it in the refrigerator if you want to cool it off quicker. This is very important since hot tea will kill your SCOBY.
   
   
   
   Sterilize your brew container by swishing some vinegar around or running it through the dishwasher on the hot cycle. I bought one of these to use as my brew container since it makes bottling into these bad boys easier. This is also very important since you don't want any "bad" bacteria to get into your controlled fermentation environment. Pour the tea into your brew container, add the vinegar/starter liquid, and add the SCOBY. From this point on, do not let the kombucha touch anything metal or any non-sterilized equipment. Cover your brew vessel with a clean dish cloth/coffee filter/paper towels and let sit 7-10 days, depending on how vinegar-y you like it.
   
   
   
   That's pretty much it. Just make sure everything is clean and sterile when handling the SCOBY and you will be fine. There are a bunch of recipes and how-to's out there as well, I've just summed them up in this post. Happy Brewing!
   
   
   
   Edit: spelling

This depends primarily on how much you want to brew and what style (batch vs continuous). The easiest first step would be to go with a glass gallon jug. If you want to go a little bigger, get a 2 gallon with a non metal spigot (plastic and stainless steel are ok). Spigots make it way easier to pour for 2F. Not sure it’s worth it for a 1 gallon jug but for sure for 2+ G.

Pakkon Wide Mouth Glass Mason Jar with PlasticLid/Ferment & Store Kombucha Tea or Kefir/Use for Canning, Storing, Pickling & Preserving Dishwasher Safe, Airtight Liner Seal, 1 gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012BAWVU8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sjiIAbZAY63RN

Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Glass Beverage Dispenser with Spigot, 2 Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWC0E42?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I use a 2 gallon glass jar, like this, fill it with sweet tea, and add kombucha. A scoby will form in week or so. Leave it alone for a couple of weeks, and that's really all there is to it for the first ferment. For the second ferment, I put it in 2 liter soda bottles and add what ever I'm using for flavor- really like raspberries. It will be nice and fizzy in a week or so.

Also, can I do the second ferment in the same container as the first? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BWC0E42/ref=ya_aw_oh_bia_dp?ie=UTF8&psc=1 this is what I bought, per the advice of some kombucha website online.

Amazon! There are plenty of options but this is the one I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_rIJxwbSZFN1VY



Very happy with it so far

Get two of [these(https://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-Heritage-Beverage-Dispenser/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1505181882&sr=8-3&keywords=2+gallon+glass+jar+with+spigot)] jars.

Get two gallon stock pot to brew your tea with sugar. Fill a jar with the sweet tea almost full leaving room for the gallon you are adding.
Wait about 7-10 days and then brew another two gallons of sweet tea. Pour half of the first ferment jar into the second empty glass jar and then split the two gallons of sweet tea between the two glass jars..
The first jar is your continuous brew jar. The second jar you may sweeten with whatever juices. I been doing Honeydew Jalapeño with great results. Bottle the second jar for a few days. I use growlers and honey jars and recycled beer bottles with a bottle capper.
In another 7-10 days you can repeat the process.

Regarding the tea, maybe get big beverage containers like this (http://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-Beverage-Dispenser-Heritage/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420985567&sr=8-2&keywords=glass+beverage+dispenser) and brew a whole bunch at once? You can probably just stick it in your fridge so it doesn't go bad and only have to brew it once every few days.

No, it had a plastic spigot I changed out for a stainless steel spigot. Got both items on Amazon.

Glass Beverage Dispenser

Spigot

Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Glass Beverage Dispenser with Spigot, 2 Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_siO5AbTBD97N9

I replaced the spigot with this guy:
Beverage Dispenser Replacement Spigot,Oak Leaf Stainless Steel Polished Finished, Dispenser Replacement Faucet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013FWX4HA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OjO5AbW7CJM7M

Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Glass Beverage Dispenser with Spigot, 2 Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f4uhAbF8X8STT

1 X Organic Kombucha Scoby - Live Culture by Scoby Kombucha https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZW8RP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.5uhAb83TMN5D

Unbleached Cheesecloth 9 Sq ft 100% Cotton Reusable-Great Filter or Strainer for Cheese/Kombucha scoby/Glass jar/Wine making https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M612PJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_j7uhAbFHCHX7S

Adhesive Temperature Strip https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079JZLP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i9uhAbJBGF75D

Red Baron Bottle Capper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D6KGTK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xbvhAbFY4CJN3

Beer Bottle Crown Caps - Oxygen Absorbing for Homebrew (Gold) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZSEH8VW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YcvhAbCE0836F

Bottles Free: Just start saving old beer bottles (not the twist on style bottle) submerge them in hot water for 5 min, labels peel right off.

Sanitizer: White Vinegar, I prefer Star san.

Prince of Peace Tea, Black, 100 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AP70BKC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_divhAbY9D73AP

With these products, you will be good to go and your volume is 2 gallons, so by the time your upgrading after your first batch. For me a 1 gallon container never cut it. With the capper you don’t have to worry about giving your friends a bottle of your Kombucha and never seeing your $4 swing cap bottle again. Just save old beer bottles or ask your friends for them.

To answer your question, the temps you listed are to low. For all brewing temperatures are very important. You want to keep your fermentation in the 70s. Here’s how you fix the problem without keeping your home heater on 24/7.

Round Kombucha Heater Kit for Continuous Brew Crocks & Dispensers. 10" Brewing & Fermentation Heat Mat, Works with any Ceramic, Glass, Stone or Porcelain Containers (10"-120VAC 7-Watts) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072S6XBQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1tvhAb04PYXBK

Enjoy... In the long run you will spend less by starting off with the right equipment.