i fermented an apple cider in a 5 gal water jug...i believe it was a #7...its possible that other plastic, besides #1 and #2, could leach some chemicals into your beer that could be dangerous. I did it because I needed a fermenter and i figured that one week in a water jug wouldnt produce anything that would hurt me. But i woulndt leave the beer in there for long. Ethanol is a different solvent than water so different chemicals will dissolve in ethanol better than water. At least thats my rationale. There are people in the inter-webs that use plastic water jugs all the time and swear by them as fermenters. Then there are people on HBT who would advise you to ALWAYS take the safe route and use food-grade plastic. The choice is yours. Good luck. Here's a wiki article on BPA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
-jefe-
You can still get some of the older bottles in #1 plastic, I have fermented in these and it works fine. The ones I use are literally identical to the better bottles except it has a blue tint to it.
I don't have experience myself, but according to recent 'Brew Strong' podcast both Jamil and Palmer state that fermenting in containers with square corners allows for dead spaces (poor circulation) during primary fermentation and *may* lead to off-flavors.
Edit: I guess I didn't read carefully enough I thought you were asking about jerry can water jugs...cubes.
Last edited by Chumley; 10-22-2009 at 07:37 PM.
Reason: misread original post
I use a 4 gallon water bottle from Sam's Club for Apfelwein it is #1 type plastic and was less than 5 bucks full of spring water (used it to make beer). It is thinner than a better bottle but it works and keeps my regular fermenters free to let my apfelwein age longer.
Another potential drawback, the bottles used by the water companies are slightly permiable to oxygen. Not a problem with a short fermentation, but over longish periods of time it could allow enough oxygen into fermentation to disturb the usual anaerobic (oxygen free) enviromnent created by the yeast.
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"We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
So, is it an absolute "bugaboo" to use a #7 plastic water jug as a secondary fermenter? Will I die/get/cancer/(most importantly) have beer that tastes like doo-doo if I use it instead of glass or a fermentation-specific vessel? I picked this particular vessel (#7 5 gallon plastic water jug) from a local water distributor for $7, and would like to use it if I could, but if it's seriously a health hazard then I will pass. But if it's just something that's "frowned upon" or not recommended, I would like to use it for fermentation instead of auditioning for the broadway production "Stomp."
I don't think there is much more to discuss. It's been debated to death already. Some people have no issues with using a #7 water bottle. I would not use one, but many people do. I would think that longer term would be worse, but beer and wine are acidic while water is not. Any "leaching" would probably occur faster in that environment. But how long would it take? I don't think anybody knows.
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Pros and Cons of fermenting in Plastic 5 Gallon Water Cooler Jugs?
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