Crazy question: Can I use an old milk jug as a fermenter?

So I decided I want to make a bunch of 1/2 gallon brews to experiment with different recipes. Can I use a plastic milk jug to do this (has anyone done this successfully)? If not, is there a cheap way to get 1 gallon glass jugs? Thanks.

You don't want to use an old plastic milk jug. Go smell one, if you want to find out why.

But, glass jugs are cheap! You can buy Carlo Rossi wine on sale for under $8, and use the wine for spaghetti sauce (the Burgundy isn't bad) and then buy a #6 stopper and airlock from a homebrew store.

I think some apple ciders still come in glass jugs, and do some other juices.

If you're making 1/2 gallon batches, you'll probably want a 1 gallon sized fermenter. A growler size (1/2 gallon) wouldn't be big enough to make the batch and give you any headroom for the krausen.

could you just go to home depot and buy an orange bucket for 3 bucks and a lid for another buck and drill a hole and stopper in the top? that is what I am doing for my first brew. it is apple cider. I hope it works

I love the Home Depot buckets but I don't know if I would ferment in it.

anyone know if they are food safe? they have a weird smell... and are very very thin


if they work, I am about to go buy 3 more primaries.

+1 on cheap 1 gallon wine jugs. If you don't want to make spagetti you can use the wine to make sangria. I make sangria with some fresh fruit and several hard liquors mixed in, and as long as the wine isn't vinegary most red wines make an OK base.

I think Yooper hit it on the head. Those are all great ideas!

so does that mean that the homedepot buckets are safe i have some apple cider that i started today. so I hope they are?? has anyone used these before?

looks like you will be the one to tell us

I'm fermenting in a 1 gallon milk jug. You need to clean it out really well, but so many OCD people brewing anyway, shouldn't be incremental to the scrubbing and sanitizing you do already. Make sure it fully dries after cleaning. Then come back to sanitize.

1) it's cheap/free/green
2) it fits in the fridge. I can do lagers in my fridge in 1 gallon batches if I turn the temp to the max. Those glass carboys like Carlo Rossi or Whole Foods apple cider don't work for me since it actually won't fit in my fridge - too tall. I tried.
3) you don't need a bubbler. Put the lid on all the way, and then unscrew a quarter turn. It works.
4) it's food safe. You drank the milk in there. Did the milk taste good? If your milk tasted like plastic, get rid of the bottle.

You don't want the light on it all the time. If your fridge is too cold it might ferment too slowly, so you'll need to move it onto the countertop overnight or something so that it still ferments. Put it back in the fridge during the day. No need to worry about the temp swings. It doesn't move that fasts since it's got so much thermal mass vs. surface area.