Using Bottling Bucket to Ferment and Fermenting Bucket to Bottle?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

oneawesomeguy

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
19
Reaction score
0
I just watched the Alton Brown home brewing episode (see: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/alton-brown-homebrew-you-tube-46677/). He does so many things wrong, but one thing I thought was interesting was his choice (maybe not intentionally) to use the bottling bucket to ferment the beer. After fermentation, he transfered the beer using the spigot and tubing into the fermenting bucket and used the tubing along with a bottle filler to fill the bottles. All the sediment stayed on the bottom of the bottling bucket (Alton's fermenting bucket).

This process seemed easier to me than using an autosiphon and constantly moving it down into the wort, then using the spigot and tubing to fill each bottle (my current method). Is there any reason that I have never heard of somebody using Alton's method?
 
Funny, I just watched this for the first time tonight also.

I've thought about this in past, and not sure why it wouldn't work. I might just drill my fermenting bucket and add a spigot maybe 1.5 - 2" up from the bottom. This way I'll have spigots on both buckets. Just need to make sure to sanitize the spigot on the fermenter before racking, add a short lenght of tubing, and drain into priming sugar in the bottling bucket - same as would be done by siphoning.

Any reason this would be a bad idea?
 
Only negative I can think of is you run the risk of a poor seal and the spigot leaking when you're not around to notice it.
 
"let's face it, this is not a serving. THAT'S a serving."

"...you'll hear.. psssh psssh psssh. NO! not a driveby, exploding bottles."


if you tighten the spigot too much, it can leak (check for burrs too on bucket from holesaw). and you need to put a gallon of say starsan in and shake before using. but it works awesome... no racking, and trub is conveniently left behind. default "bottling" model is 1" on center from bottom.
 
default "bottling" model is 1" on center from bottom.

Yeah, that's where it is on my bottling bucket. I'm thinking just slight higher for the fermenter so it doesn't suck up the yeast. I can always tilt it a little to get more of the liquid if necessary.
 
After starting with a MR Beer, having a spigot on the fermenter seemed like the way to go.
I dip a cup of sanitizer over the spigot and mop the inside with a q-tip dipped in sanitizer before moving to a secondary or bottling bucket.
People have noted concerns about leaks but, if you are careful installing it ,it should be fine.
My fermenter sits in an unused bathtub so it doesn't cause concern for me.
 
hey, i really love good eats and Alton Brown because i enjoy thow he explains the science behind what is happening

thanks for bringing htis to my attention - i also think he really knows a lot (at least about cooking) some of his little tricks and tips he does just proves how long he has been around the ktichen.
 
As long as you take the spigot out and soak it in a bowl of sanitizer prior to each use, you're OK. Cover the outside with a clean baggie and rubberband while you're fermenting to keep it clean.
 
I don't know how good the seal is on regular bottling buckets. I think one of the concerns is that it may not be airtight and you'll get some air slipping into your beer as well as possibly infections. I'm not sure if the risks outweigh whatever benefits you are trying to get from this.

I think (and I may be wrong) you can buy better bottles have spigots on the bottles, and they may airtight, making them safe for fermenting.
 
I don't know how good the seal is on regular bottling buckets. I think one of the concerns is that it may not be airtight and you'll get some air slipping into your beer as well as possibly infections. I'm not sure if the risks outweigh whatever benefits you are trying to get from this.

I think (and I may be wrong) you can buy better bottles have spigots on the bottles, and they may airtight, making them safe for fermenting.


If it's not leaking beer out, it shouldn't be leaking air in.
 
Don't mean to threadjack or anything, but I had a question for everyone also about a technique Alton used in the show. Do many people use a 7lb bag of ice in the primary to cool the wort instead of a bath or chiller? I'm very new and have never heard/thought about doing this, but it seems like it would do the task with less wasted water. Just curious on opinions... thanks.
 
I have spigots on my fermentation and bottling buckets and they both work great, I have never had any problems. I use this with this and it works great. The inverted back-nut keeps the valve dry during fermentation so you don't have problems gunking up the valve.
 
My kit from Williamsbrewing came with a siphonless fermenting bucket. The spigot is approx 2 in off the bottom with a downturned elbow on the inside. It was only my first brew but I think that it worked very well to pull the beer off of the yeast layer with minimum debris transfer to the bottling bucket. As for decon of the spigot prior to transfer, I just used a cotton swab with sanitizer to clean the inside before transfer.
 
I have spigots on my fermentation and bottling buckets and they both work great, I have never had any problems. I use this with this and it works great. The inverted back-nut keeps the valve dry during fermentation so you don't have problems gunking up the valve.


I do this also, but rack with an autosiphon and silicone tubing into keg or bottling bucket. The spigot on the fermenter bucket certainly makes taking hydro samples a piece of cake.

In the long run, I believe that, so long as you carefully clean and sanitize the spigots, it's less of a risk of infection than prying the lid off a few extra times and sticking something into the beer to pull a sample.

I do keep a careful eye out for leaks. When I fill the bucket half way with StarSan, I watch the spigot closely for any drips.
 
Most brewers here in New Zealand use the bucket/spigot combo for fermenting, mainly due to the prohibitive cost of glass carboys.

I have never had any problems with leaks. I think most of the concern is unnecessary, and can be attributed to all those horror stories people hear about weldless kettle bulkheads. Rest assured, the plastic threads on fermenter spigots seem to form a much more reliable seal.

I don't cold crash, use a secondary, or strain my hops. To prevent trub from coming out with my beer, I simply leave a small block of wood under the side of the fermenter where the spigot is. Having the fermenter on this slight angle causes more of the trub to settle on the other side, while also raising the level of the spigot. I run a hose straight from the spigot to the bottling bucket, and have had no problems with excessive sediment in the bottles. If I'm kegging, the beer is usually completely clear after the first pour.

So, all in all, I say go ahead and skip all that cumbersome siphoning. Bottling bucket fermenters rule!
 
Likewise in Germany. Typical beginner setups include just one bucket with a spigot, which is used for primary fermentation and bottling straight from it. When extra fermenters are added, they're often HDPE fermenters with a spigot too, as those are widely available for cider making (see the large Speidel fermenter thread).

Can't complain. Haven't seen a reason yet why I would want a carboy.
 
Back
Top