Stop in for a cup of coffee

Ddaddy said
We need to talk about what is food grade and how to disinfect. Any new HDPE bucket will work and disinfecting is easy with isopropyl alcohol. HDPE is pretty much the same regardless of application and a good rinse with IPA will make them all the same. The only difference is what they use for the mold release for the plastic. Scrub it off with IPA while disinfecting and they are all the same.

Sugar is sugar as far as the yeast are concerned so no need to pay extra when plain white sugar will do just fine. Brewers sugar is just a high priced corn sugar that is primarily fructose instead of sucrose. The yeast just eat the fructose a little faster than sucrose, but in the end it is all the same to the yeast.

Yes the bucket I got was HDPE. I checked around a few places that had plastic buckets and they were either not HDPE or they weren't available in 6 or 7 gallon size. Most beer mixes are 5 gallons and you have to have extra space for expansion. I have read a lot about beer and spirit making and cleanliness is the key to a quality product. The two cleaners I purchased are recommended by most of the brewers I read about. The PBW is a cleaner for the fermenting equipment and the Star San is a concentrate that you spray on things like mixing spoons and whisks. It is very concentrated and the bottle makes like 100 gallons. Also the fermenting bucket is set up for a spigot, the lid seals well and has a hole and grommet for the airlock.

dukeboy_318 said
If you go to a feed mill, you can get the same exact stuff that is sold at high prices for pennies. Corn sugar. We mix it with our cattle feed from time to time. 8 bucks for a 50 pound bag

Yes, I'm sure I can find ingredients different places cheaper. I am still learning and thanks for the tip. Granulated sugar works too depending on what you are mixing. Cane sugar leaves a flavor that is ok with moonshine but not agreeable with beer. The sugar in beer is added into the bottle before it is corked to add carbonation not to add sweetness. As a example, there are folks on the distilling websites that have used sweet feed from the elevator because it has molasses in it. Good in theory but bad results. There are vitamines, minerals and sometimes growth stimulants in the feed that you don't want in your product. Untill I know what I am doing I think I will stick with the correct ingredients.

I don't mind paying a little extra to deal with a local business owner. I buy enough through the internet.