New Brewers, Deluxe Beer Starter Kit from Northern Brewer

[Mob_Barley]

I know we had a lot of new brewers at the last meeting, and I saw this sale that looks pretty good. It's a pretty good deal for those interested...




Details:
"Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply offers the Deluxe Beer Starter Kit for $159.99. Coupon code "BrewNow" cuts it to $95.99. With $7.99 for shipping, that's $40 off and tied with our June mention as the lowest total price we could find. This ships with an introductory DVD and features 6- and 5-gallon carboys, funnel, blowoff hose, 144 bottle caps, and more."

Heck, the 6 and 5 gallon carboys are almost worth that...I may order me one.

[yeastmeister]

Just be aware, the image is misleading. It shows glass carboys, but the description here clearly states plastic many times.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/marketing-categories/landing/deluxe-beer-starter-kit-1.html

[Jerm]

Just be aware, the image is misleading. It shows glass carboys, but the description here clearly states plastic many times.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/marketing-categories/landing/deluxe-beer-starter-kit-1.html

Yes, they are non-ported better bottles. I have a ported bottle and love it.

[aleguy]

Plastic is almost as good as a wooden barrel if you want to make lambics!

[Jerm]

Plastic is almost as good as a wooden barrel if you want to make lambics!

The Better Bottles are just fine. They are lightweigt, cheap and unbreakable. You don't even have scrub them. A little warm waret and PBW will work great. The bottles are multi layered and Oxidation is not an issue. The inside layer is water phobic and therefore easy to clean. They do not stain even when used with iodophor.

The Better Bottles are great, much better than soft plastic buckets.

[aleguy]

The Better Bottles are great, much better than soft plastic buckets.

I have been using the same plastic bucket as a primary for nearly twenty years now. It has developed a very nice flora that creates a wonderful "house flavor" that makes my beer incredibly tasty. But I would not use ANY plastic after the primary. Unless it is metallized, it will allow oxygen into the beer.
This may not be an issue if you package and consume your beer quickly as staling takes time to develop to threshold levels even after the oxidation occurs. Myself, I only trust glass and stainless.