Reddit reviews Home Brew Ohio Drilled Rubber Stopper, Carboy Bung (Pack of 3)

I'd look into something like this with this with this. So that's $11.50 plus shipping, which at worst would be a total of $20 for 640 ounces of hooch.

If you always keep your hooch at room temperature, you should be able to pour out about 60 oz into another bottle, drink that, then pour new juice on top of the four ounces of remaining old hooch, and the whole process should start over again. Keep on top of it, and you can perpetuate the whole fucking thing.

Before you pull the trigger on that, there's a groupon for a homebrew set:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gx-midwest-hydroponic-atlanta

It's the basic kit plus brewing ingredients, PLUS a $25 coupon. The kit you linked also includes:

-Carboy, if you really want to get it. Honestly, for a first batch, you can get by without one and just do a single stage fermentation, but it's recommended to get a secondary. My first batch was an extract that spent ~2 weeks in a primary then straight to bottles. Came out great. There's a good deal at Amazon right now on a 6 gallon glass carboy. Also add a bung and Airlock

-Bottles. Drink some beer, keep some bottles. If you want to buy them, get 48 for a 5 gallon batch (about $25) or go cheap and get some plastic PET bottles. Also a good option. See: every argument of plastic vs. glass for a comparison.

-Large stock pot. For a first extract, you won't need more than a 2 gallon boil, so you can get by with as small as 12 qts. A cheap 12 qt pot can get you started.

with that cap im using and the 2 piece its' right at 24", that cap goes inside a bit not like a typicaly bung
it's this style but don't beleive its this exaxt one. https://www.amazon.com/Drilled-Rubber-Stopper-Carboy-Bung/dp/B000E62PXA

Hope this helps,
>Mason Jar Mouth Diameters:
>
>Regular 2 3⁄8 in (60 mm)
>
>Wide 3 in (76 mm)

I'm not sure where to look for this size of rubber stopper, amazon isn't turning up much. The metal lids are very easy to cut. You could always make a hole in the lid to fit a regular stopper.

My puggle is afraid of garbage trucks. thanks for the contest

The plug is simlary to this but it is solid. http://www.amazon.com/Drilled-Rubber-Stopper-Carboy-Bung/dp/B000E62PXA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1374808952&sr=8-7&keywords=brewing+cork

It had just come off of it.

I've considered buying the e-z caps too. But then I realized it's essentially one of these airlocks with a convenient screw top attachment to fit on a standard 2 liter bottle and some yeast. If you're trying to go cheap, it might be worth putting together the few pieces necessary to DIY, add some rubber stoppers and a gallon jug of juice and you're pretty much good to go.

In fact, I might just buy all that stuff now...

Edit: It'd probably be cheaper at a local homebrew shop, none of these links I put in here actually come from Amazon so you can't get combined or Amazon Prime shipping. :(

Check craigslist first for carboys. I got 5 6.5 gallon glass carboys for 75 bucks last year. As far as the rest...don't spend a ton.

You want a large primary fermenter, I don't use the buckets because they're too small if you want to use a bunch of fruit for a melomel. You can get a very high quality 14 gallon lab quality HDPE container for 31 dollars drill a hole in it and put in a bung with a 0.25 psi ozone check valve. You never have to worry about your airlocks going dry!!

You want a large stainless steel spoon, no plastic one as they are flimsy and will bend. I think I paid 7 bucks for mine at my local brew place.

You want a carboy brush that you can attach to a drill. I bought mine locally 3 years ago (it's a cheap shitty one like this) and I still use it all the time and it hasn't had any problems.

For sanitization, go Iodophor, it's cheap and it doesn't foam like StarSan, making it easier to rinse out carboys after you buzz them with the brush on your pistol drill. Buy this locally, it's very cheap, and you don't use a lot (like 1 cap full for a carboy) so if you buy the 4 ounce bottle, it will probably last you a year or more. I brew probably 100 gallons a year, and the 16 ounce bottle I bought 3 years ago is still like 1/3 full.

And always go glass, fuck plastic carboys.

For chemicals, go to your local brew place and get some bulk potassium metabisulfite it's the same thing as in campden tablets but it's cheaper in loose form, and a 1/4 teaspoon works just fine in place of a tablet.

I also buy potassium sorbate, it works differently than sulfites to stop fermentation, I use both when I use chemicals at all. You should get this locally, shipping accounts for most of the amazon cost.

You will want an autosiphon, doing it with the racking cane can be kind of a pain in the ass when you're brewing alone. I use a vacuum pump, but don't put up the 200 bucks until you know this is a hobby you really like. Again, get this locally as it's bulky but light so you'll get it cheaper vs buying online.

I don't personally use yeast nutrient except for a very few specific high test (like over 20% ABV) meads. I use raisins, they provide tannins (so you don't have to buy that in loose form) they help to acidify the brew just a bit (so you don't have to buy acid blend) and they provide plenty of nutrient for your yeasties. I add like 1 cup of finely chopped grocery store brand raisins when I brew to each 5 gallons of primary fermentation. Toss these in with your initial water boil to sanitize them and help to break them down a bit for the yeast. You can't taste the raisin after the yeast is done with them, they marginally add some more sugar, but it's so little that I don't even bother to take this into consideration when calculating.

For corking...start with 20 ounce beer bottles and a crown capper. The reason I say this is those lever action corkers fucking blow, none of them are good, and you'll end up with mead all over the place. Until you're ready to invest in a Portuguese floor corker stick with oxygen absorbing crown caps and 20 ounce beer bottles (which you should also buy locally as shipping will kill you on these.) I still bottle all of my no chemical meads in 20 ounce beer bottles to prevent them from launching corks.

Lastly, ditch the hydrometer. Get a Refractometer that has both brix and specific gravity. You will lose less wort and you don't have to worry about accidentally dropping and shattering the thing (which always happens 5 minutes before you need it.) Hydrometers are SUPER fragile.