switch to AG/PM, and fermenting small batches in large buckets

Ok, so I brewed my first batch probably 3 weeks ago, and unfortunately I didn't even think about the long time it would take to completely finish a huge beer. So, after obsessing and and generally going insane with wanting to brew more beer, I've decided to brew another batch this weekend and maybe another the weekend after.

I saw DeathBrewer's thread on stovetop AG and PM batches, so I've decided I'm going to have to try to completely make up my own recipe and do either an AG or PM batch this weekend. Does the fact that I've only brewed one beer and now I'm going to try this seem strange to anyone?

Second and more important question... I think I would like to brew rather small batches because they ferment out faster and I don't have as much beer to drink if I continually brew tons of beer. I found some 5 gal food grade Homer buckets from Home Depot for a good cheap price, and someone tested them out and said they were water tight, so I thought I would use them as fermenting buckets. Where can I get that black rubber seal that the air lock goes in on the lid (grommet?) And how big do I drill the hole? I also wondered, how small of a batch can I ferment in a 5 gal bucket? Would even a 1 gallon batch ferment well in this large of a bucket? Any problems with that?

No, it is not bad to want to start brewing more....it is an obsession.

I would suggest starting off with kits for the first few beers. I have done that and it has worked out great so far.

How small of a batch? I don't believe that it is good to ferment 1 gal in a 5 gal bucket, there is way to much extra air in the fermenter and increases chances of infection. I would do at least 2.5 gal (Yields about 30 bottles).

The size of the hole depends on the Airlock, they are all different sizes.

You can find the seal at a hardware store usually in the plumbling section. I had to replace mine and found one at Ace, which in fact, really is the place.

I think that this page should give the dimensions for rubber stoppers:
101 Rubber Stopper Sizes - www.101science.com

You'll want to drill a hole that's slightly smaller than the stopper, obviously, to make sure it doesn't go straight through.

If you want to do 1 gallon batches, you could always get a few smaller carboys or glass jugs.
NORTHERN BREWER: Fermenters and Accessories

I'm not sure how good it would be to ferment 1 gallon in a 5 gallon bucket. It seems like a lot of headspace. I'm sure it would eventually fill with CO2, but while you were waiting for the yeast to make that CO2, the beer would be exposed to a lot of oxygen.

Thanks for the help guys!

cdburg said:

I'm not sure how good it would be to ferment 1 gallon in a 5 gallon bucket. It seems like a lot of headspace. I'm sure it would eventually fill with CO2, but while you were waiting for the yeast to make that CO2, the beer would be exposed to a lot of oxygen.

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In regard to the oxygen issue, wouldn't this simply better aerate it while waiting to start fermentation? Do are suppose to shake the hell out of it and get it oxygenated when throwing in the yeast.

My sister has a biochem degree, and she said they once made root beer in a lab. They make it by fermenting it, but stopping fermentation before alcohol is produced. She said that is how it is carbonated.... it releases CO2 and they purposely stop fermentation before it creates alchohol. Sounds strange doesn't it?

The hole for the grommet is 1/2" diameter (on my bucket).
I don't think that smaller batches ferment out noticeably faster, and if you are going to do AG, it will take you 4 - 8 hours to produce a batch. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend 4 hours brewing 1g beer.
-a.

my first post was crap - so I edited it. it is still crap - but now it's edited.

I bought one homer bucket already, just as a sanitizing bucket. But then I found out it was food grade, and home depot had them on sale. so I think the bucket was about 2.5 dollars and the lid was probably 1.5 or something like that. I thought it was a pretty good deal

rtockst said:

Thanks for the help guys!



In regard to the oxygen issue, wouldn't this simply better aerate it while waiting to start fermentation? Do are suppose to shake the hell out of it and get it oxygenated when throwing in the yeast.

My sister has a biochem degree, and she said they once made root beer in a lab. They make it by fermenting it, but stopping fermentation before alcohol is produced. She said that is how it is carbonated.... it releases CO2 and they purposely stop fermentation before it creates alchohol. Sounds strange doesn't it?

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Doesn't sound strange. Actually alcohol is still produced, but the amount is so minimal that it is barely worth mention.

And I am not convinced that your fermentation is going to be any faster with a smaller batch. Certainly your aging time won't change any. Let us know how it works.

I did several 2 gallon batches when I started out, they really take just as long to make, condition and carb as a 5 gallon batch.

You can get food grade buckets with o-ring sealing lids (once used for icing) from your grocery store bakery, probably for free. I've made 4 fermentation buckets from these.

Bernie Brewer said:

And I am not convinced that your fermentation is going to be any faster with a smaller batch. Certainly your aging time won't change any. Let us know how it works.

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ifishsum said:

You can get food grade buckets with o-ring sealing lids (once used for icing) from your grocery store bakery, probably for free. I've made 4 fermentation buckets from these.

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I think I may have just thought this idea up because I've been reading about making yeast starters, and the way some people write about it makes it sound as though they finish fermenting faster. But maybe this isn't true at all. I would still like to try smaller batches at first though just to get the hang of it and not have 5 gal of sub par beer.

ifishsum, you mean a grocery store bakery such as Schnucks, or Dierbergs or something of that nature? I've no clue if you have those stores around you, but they are basically very large stores that do have a bakery section. What size were the buckets you found?

And one question, how do I get the smell of my previous beer out of my primary bucket?

rtockst - your LHBS should have grommets for an airlock (it is located a little south of 270 on 159, the guy behind the counter a few weeks back looked like he could use some company)

as for the smell, if you washed it out with some water and a soft towel, shaking some sanitiser around in it should remove any smell in my experience

I got mine from Albertson's, but any store that makes doughnuts should have these buckets, in fact they're usually happy to get rid of them. I've found 2 gallon, 3.5 gallon and 5 gallon ones. Normally I split my 5 gallon batches into two of the 3.5 gallon buckets, it makes them easier to carry with my bad back, and there's lots of room for krausen so I usually don't worry about blowoffs. I use a 1 1/4 hole saw in the lid, and use a stopper (#7 I think?) and airlock from the LHBS.

I spray mine out with hot water right after transferring the beer, sometimes use a soft sponge and then re-sanitize. Don't worry about the beer smell, I don't think you can get it out but it won't hurt anything. Just be careful not to scratch the inside of the bucket, that makes it hard to sanitize properly.

Awesome thanks for the help. I found one of those icing buckets from my grocery store just like you described, but it's 4.25 gal. A strange size, but it would work for a 3 gal batch or soemthing. I wanted to try a stove top all grain batch and sparging by using a large grain bag and just "tea bagging" the grains in sparge water. Maybe you've seen the thread DeathBrewer made on this? Anyway, I thought a 2.5 or 3 gallong batch would work for this size bucket and I thought I would be able to accomplish that on my stove top.

2.5-3 gallon batches will be fine in a 4-5 gallon bucket, as long as it is food-grade. i would not make smaller batches than that, it's not worth the time.

lighter GRAVITY beers will ferment faster, but 2.5 gal compared to 5 gal of the same gravity will NOT ferment faster.

if you want to push out some fast beer just to get started, make some light hefeweizens or breakfast stouts or something that is 3-4% ABV.

let me know if you need any recipe ideas.

DeathBrewer said:

2.5-3 gallon batches will be fine in a 4-5 gallon bucket, as long as it is food-grade. i would not make smaller batches than that, it's not worth the time.

lighter GRAVITY beers will ferment faster, but 2.5 gal compared to 5 gal of the same gravity will NOT ferment faster.

if you want to push out some fast beer just to get started, make some light hefeweizens or breakfast stouts or something that is 3-4% ABV.

let me know if you need any recipe ideas.

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Yes, thanks alot! I was actualy wanting to start out by making a Nut brown. I was messing around with beerformulator.com and had a 5 gal recipe which used

Pale Ale Malt 7.5 lb
Crystal (80L) 2 lb
Victory .25 lb
Special B .25 lb

and a target IBU of something around 24 using willamette(45 min) as bittering and cascade(5 min) for finishing.

Any thoughts on this? I know it turned out to be about a 1.05 OG and I picked a 1.012 FG, which I'm fine with. I've come to terms with the waiting... I'll just have to brew more beer! But any thoughts or suggestions? By the way I assumed a 65% conversion