(photo by Midwest Brewing Supply)

I use Midewst Brewing Supply's Intermediate kit to brew most of my beverages

5 GALLON GLASS CARBOY 6.5 GALLON PLASTIC FERMENTER 6.5 GALLON BOTTLING BUCKET AND SPIGOT ONE STEP CLEANER RUBBER STOPPER AIRLOCK (KEEPS AIR OF THE FERMENTER) HYDROMETER (DETERMINES ALCOHOL CONTENT)

BOTTLE BRUSH CARBOY BRUSH TWIN LEVEL RED BARON BOTTLE CAPPER BOTTLE CAPS LIQUID CRYSTAL THERMOMETER BOTTLE FILLER RACKING TUBE WITH BUCKET CLIP SIPHON TUBING

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ADDITIONS/MODIFICATIONS

THERMOMETER

I use this simple indoor/outdoor thermometer to monitor the air tempereture as well as the temperature of the fermenting wort. Just run the probe through the airlock hole in the lid for the plastic fermenter, or drop it in the top of the carboy before you put the plug in. This method gives a much better idea of actual wort temperatures during fermentation than the stick-on 'fermometer' which reads the temperature of the OUTSIDE of the plastic pail... the MIN/MAX function is handy for tracking sudden temperature changes that could effect fermentation. I am currently building a computer based temp tracking system that will constantly monitor wort and air temperature, and graph the results in real-time on my Linux box.

 

One time use secondary/tertiary fermenters

I use sanitized half gallon, gallon, and 2.5 gallon spring water jugs for second and third stage fermenting of small batches of flavored meads, ciders, etc. This frees up my carboy, as some meads can take 3-4 MONTHS to ferment and who can wait that long to start another batch of brew? They are also great if you want to split up a batch of beer, mead, or cider and experiment with a gallon or so using different additives like fruits, sugars, etc. a standard carboy stopper and airlock will fit in the top of hal gallon and gallon jugs. For the 2.5 gallon self tap water jugs, yank the narrow part of the tap out, use the water to brew, then wrap a little electrical tape on the stem of an airlock and it will make an airtight seal. When fermentation of wine or still mead is complete, put the tap back in, turn it on it's side, let the fog settle and put it in the fridge. The tap is mounted above the sediment, so you can pour it just like a boxed wine.