{"id":130,"date":"2025-12-27T02:32:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T09:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/?p=130"},"modified":"2025-12-27T02:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T09:32:07","slug":"bigger-better-more-importantly-tastier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/27\/bigger-better-more-importantly-tastier\/","title":{"rendered":"Bigger better .. more importantly Tastier!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Back .. and I’ve made some changes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upgrading the Fermentation Setup<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I reported last time that after some batches in the Brewdemon 2.5 gallon setup I went with a 6 gallon version. It worked for several monthes and q number of batches. Definitely recommend the upgrade in general. 5-6 gallon is still a handy size for personal use, but the kits are much cheaper \/ beer and the amount of effort is almost the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I did what I always do and started researching better options. Enter the Speidel 30L fermenter. This is the answer, or at least a good candidate for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s a German-made HDPE plastic fermenter with a screw on lids that actually seal easily. That right there is a massive upgrade. Being designed for the job, it has a wide opening that makes cleaning easily doable. ..and cleaning \/ sanitization is how the good stuff keeps coming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 liters is nearly 8 gallons which is enough room for 6 gallons about plus the necessary room to ferment. They make bigger and smaller ones, but this is my Goldilocks size for personal use. And cost isn’t too bad. I spent ~$70. With that Its only a little more than two of those bucket fermenters, but it comes with the accessories like lids, traps and stoppers, and it’s going to last way longer and <\/strong> work way<\/strong> better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if I were starting all over again today, I’d probably still grab the BrewDemon kit <\/a> (not an affiliate link) for all the accessories especially the bottles. But I’d definitely skip the bucket fermenters and go straight for a Speidel or something similar. It’s worth the little extra investment upfront to have every batch go smoother and come out better. Since brewing your own cuts the cost of beer down to about 1\/2 or less of what I see at stores just 1 kit pays me back for the fermenter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Brewing Adventures<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Still using the ingredient kits! My favorite so far has been an American Pale Wheat, it’s light and clean-tasting with just enough maltiness to have some real character. Actually, that’s the batch I was brewing for the first time when I was writing the previous post. Back then it was still in process and I was curious how it would turn out. Now we know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve hit a pretty steady rhythm with brewing now. I can comfortably make a batch in around 10 days from start to finish, brew day takes about 3-4 hours depending on the recipe, then it’s in the fermenter for about a week, maybe a bit more depending on how active the fermentation is and what my schedule looks like. Then bottling day is another couple hours of work. It takes longer to bottle ferment after that of course, usually another 2 weeks minimum before the carbonation is where I want it. But I’ve got some tricks for that now too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now: There’s actually cider in the fermenter. Trying out a Cherry Apple Cider from Brewer’s Best.

Turns out cider has some complications I hadn’t run into with beer yet. The fermentation behaves differently. But that’s a story for the next installment. Learning as I go. We’ll see how this one turns out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More later<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Still got more discoveries to share. But this is getting to be a decent read. Well make it a post for next time. More on CO2, cider, testing, sanitizing coming up. Remember, you can do this too!

Happy holidays as we head on into 2026 soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back .. and I’ve made some changes! Upgrading the Fermentation Setup I reported last time that after some batches in the Brewdemon 2.5 gallon setup I went with a 6 gallon version. It worked for several monthes and q number of batches. Definitely recommend the upgrade in general. 5-6 gallon is still a handy size…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brewing","category-uncategorized","tag-brewing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mystixa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}