Crawlspace Aging with Plastic Buckets

I need to free up some glass carboys for new brews. Mead takes up a lot of glass real estate to age so I'm trying to find a cheap way to store mead for bulk aging. I also need something durable and easy to move, so I can store them in my crawl space, and rack them off each month.

Looking at previous posts about buckets as secondary fermentation vessels in the beer brewing section of this site, I've found that they scratch easily, have a lot of head space , and they allow oxygen permutation.

Question is this :

What kind of plastic is best? what kind of bucket? how do I convert it to secondary so its safe in a crawlspace? Airtight? AirLock? Where do I get them? Spigot or siphon? Should it even be a bucket?

Thanks,
DigDan

I'm far from a mead expert, but I've bulk aged a couple of meads and one batch of wine in PET water bottles. I think PET or PETE are the only safe plastics for bulk aging.

I like your crawlspace Idea...

I'm thinking I'll try to track down some 1/2 kegs...

Put it in a glass or PET carboy. Do not use a bucket for aging. Fill the carboy up into the neck to keep oxidizing at a minimum. Top off with water or honey water (or even marbles) if you have to. Rack off the lees every 2-3 months. As long as you have an airlock, the crawl space is OK...

how bout like the buckets with food safe plastic bags... there was a beer brewer who did it i cant remember who.

Cornies are great for aging just about anything and you can lay them on their sides in low spaces.

I can lay out some CO2 in the buckets/carboys with no problem. I just don't understand the PET or PETE plastic. Is it for oxygen barrier?

Why can't I use this :
http://www.mountainhomebrew.com/browseproducts/8-Gallon-Plastic-Fermenter.HTML

Those are OK for primary but are frowned upon for long term storage. Possibility of plastic leaching or O2 permeability. Also, they are easy to scratch and could harbor uglies!

Do they make PET buckets? or a cheaper alternative to Better Bottles?

If you can find recycling code #1 on a water cooler bottle that is essentially a better bottle, but most are not recycling code 1

digdan said:

Do they make PET buckets? or a cheaper alternative to Better Bottles?

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never seen a PET bucket.
and buckets still have too much headspace.

a better bottle is really the solution here. nobody said this hobby was cheap.

eww thats gross! Crawlspaces are infested with mold, fungus, dead mice, itchy insulation, and plumbing leaks. Oh unless they are conditioned! I hope that you have a conditioned crawl or else it will be very high in humidity and could be destroying your health without even knowing it... also if you own the home it is rotting away faster than the fallen dead tree in your back yard. It is a good idea though, crawls are like caves and hold a steady temperature of 58 degrees. Just dont hit your head on a joist while moving that heavy liquid container! Sorry just drank a founder breakfast stout and hopslam because i am low on homebrew. sucks

malkore said:

digdan said:

Do they make PET buckets? or a cheaper alternative to Better Bottles?

Click to expand...

never seen a PET bucket.
and buckets still have too much headspace.

a better bottle is really the solution here. nobody said this hobby was cheap.

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2 5-gallon PET water bottles, <$20.

Good find!

LastKnight said:

2 5-gallon PET water bottles, <$20.

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That would be what I suggested, malkore was saying he had never seen a PET Bucket, not a bottle.

Tusch said:

That would be what I suggested, malkore was saying he had never seen a PET Bucket, not a bottle.

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I should have edited my post a little better, I was specifically replying to "a better bottle is really the solution here. nobody said this hobby was cheap."

keep in mind that even though PET is relatively gas migration proof, it still allows more transfer than glass. That's why the Better Bottles are so thick-walled, and many of the PET water jugs available on the open market are nowhere near as thick. You run the risk of oxidation whenever you store your meads long-term in thin-walled plastic containers of any kind.

I'm not farmhouse fermenting in the crawlspace. I'm wanting to use it to bulk age meads and wines. Nothing should ever come in contact with the liquid, ever.

MrWhleDr said:

eww thats gross! Crawlspaces are infested with mold, fungus, dead mice, itchy insulation, and plumbing leaks. Oh unless they are conditioned! I hope that you have a conditioned crawl or else it will be very high in humidity and could be destroying your health without even knowing it... also if you own the home it is rotting away faster than the fallen dead tree in your back yard. It is a good idea though, crawls are like caves and hold a steady temperature of 58 degrees. Just dont hit your head on a joist while moving that heavy liquid container! Sorry just drank a founder breakfast stout and hopslam because i am low on homebrew. sucks

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Awesome!
I'm going to buy them and bulk age along side a glass carboy. Want to see if there is any noticeable differences or if its just brew myths

LastKnight said:

2 5-gallon PET water bottles, <$20.

Click to expand...

LastKnight said:

I should have edited my post a little better, I was specifically replying to "a better bottle is really the solution here. nobody said this hobby was cheap."

Click to expand...

Ahhhh should have read your quoted post more carefully, forgot he had said that.