Lid on top of fermenting bucket

kc_lupo · 10-12-2006, 02:57 PM

Ok so as a few of you know I've been marking wine for a bit and this is my first journey over to beer. I'm planning on brewing my blvd wheat partial kit this weekend.

I have a bunch of food grade 5 gallon buckets. I went to my LHBS and bought a lid that had a predrilled hole and gourment for an airlock. Now I spoke to the person at the shop and they told me the lid does have to be snapped down on to the bucket. They said just put it on top of the bucket without snapping it on! Now I think this would no create a good seal! Wouldn't this allow air into my bucket? I asked them this and they said incase it over flows that it will come out the sides and not explode. They said they have made many batches and never had a problem with this method.

What do you guys do with bucket fermenters? I do not have any free carboys at the moment because of my wine and cyser.

Also how much headspace should I leave for foaming / kraeusen. I do not want SWMBO to kill me for making a sticky mess!

paul_beer · 10-12-2006, 03:48 PM

My bucket lid is designed to fit loose, it has a 1/8" gap all the way around and it works great for me so you should not have to worry about leaving it a little loose. I make sure not to primary for much more than a week just to be safe. That being said, if you bucket and lid make an air-tight seal, you should use it the way it was designed.

If you are brewing 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon bucket you are going to have trouble with the krausen being too high no matter what method you use. I typically have 4-6" of head in my bucket. If you do not want to spend the extra cash on a bigger bucket / carboy I think you will either have to use a blow-off hose or brew smaller volumes of beer. If you go the blow-off route, make sure the lid is on tight so the krausen won't leak out the side. Also make sure that the hose is of a large enough diameter that it won't plug up on you or you will have a blow-out.

Good Luck!
Paul

**TheJadedDog** · 10-12-2006, 04:11 PM

I use a 6.5 gallon bucket and always make sure I have a fairly tight seal. I'll bet the reason they told you to fit it on loosly is because your bucket is a bit small for a 5 gallon batch of beer. If it were me, I'd invest the extra 10 bucks in a bigger bucket, or invest even more in a glass carboy.

kc_lupo · 10-12-2006, 04:56 PM

Now I was thinking of making my 5 gallon kit with 4 gallons to give me a little extra head space and a higher ABV. But I think I'm going to get a blow off hose anyways just incase.

desiderata · 10-12-2006, 09:15 PM

You could also do an open fermentation, leaving the lid off completely. You just have to make sure to check it often, so you can rack it soon after it is finished fermenting, as that is when it has the greatest chance of contamination. Even with the 5 gallon bucket, you may have some overflow, so put towels down underneath the bucket.

If you decide to ferment with the lid on, but not sealed, then don't bother with the airlock, as the air will escape through the sides. And still use the towels.

DAAB · 10-12-2006, 09:57 PM

What desiderata doesnt mention (but I'm sure is perfectly aware of) is that the lid should be rested in place until the protective yeast head forms, it can then be removed if you prefer.
Its also important to skim to remove any airbourne debris, this is no bad thing as it leaves you with a cleaner slurry for use with your next batch.
Resting the lid in place during fermentation in the primary is perfectly acceptable though, during the period the escaping co2 tends to keep airbourne debris out. As i'm sure your aware the beer should be under airlock protection once its in the secondary.

desiderata · 10-12-2006, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAAB

...the lid should be rested in place until the protective yeast head forms, it can then be removed if you prefer.

Actually, I did not know this. I got my information from the Joy of Homebrewing (3rd edition) on pp. 38-39. Papazian did not mention this (in fact, he doesn't go into much detail on this), but it makes sense to me. Good call!

TREMBLE · 10-13-2006, 07:43 AM

All the brews I have made so far have been in a food grade bucket with a lid that I do not fully clip down. It has no airlock so would explode if I closed it down fully.
I learned this on my first attempt, thankfully I was so excited that I checked it every 5 mins and saw the lid and bucket swelling and thought to open the lid a bit!

boo boo · 10-13-2006, 09:43 AM

If you were sold a 5 gallon IMPERIAL bucket ie 23litres, then I wouldn't worry much about your headspace as you'll have enough.
I do 23 litre brews in a 6.5US gallon bucket and have plenty of headspace.
I also do primary with airlock firmly in place, sometimes with a blowoff tube just in case.
I have had blowoff only when I got greedy and went with more volume than the recipie called for. Usually I do 23 litre brews.

What Paul_beer said holds true.

Dave R · 10-13-2006, 01:58 PM

I use 5 gal buckets with a lid snapped down tight and a blowoff tube. I usually make 4.5 gal batches and have no trouble with blowoff.
I keep the lid tight because we have fruit flies down south here and they love my beer as much as I do.