Quick Fermenter Size Question

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dnye

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Hey guys, I'm looking into getting into wine and had a quick question. I have fermenting buckets for beer and they are I think 6.5 gallons. All the things I have read call for 8 gallon fermenters for a 6 gallon batch. Is it possible to to do 6 gallon batches in the beer fermentor or do I really need an 8 gallon bucket?

Thanks!
 
If you are doing red wines from crushed grapes you will get a "cap" of fruit that will rise up pretty high and you must punch it down. Can be a mess if the fermenter is not deep enough. If you are starting with juice I have found that there is no "kreusen" with wine (big layer of foam) as it ferments and so the headspace does not need to be as great as with beer.
 
+1 for Rob.

If you're not doing fresh fruit, say a concentrate, or juice based wine, you can go straight to a carboy. I've done all my fruit wines in a bucket that is labeled up to 5 gallons but I think it tops out at like 5.5 or 6. You just need to be rather vigilent about punching down the cap every 6 hours or so.
 
you may run into problems, you may not, it depends on how fast your fermentation is. I dont like to ferment in carboys because i like to stir my must while primary, you really should look into getting a 8 gallon bucket, they are only like 20 bucks including lid at my brew shop
 
Thanks for the replies guys!

Just as a follow up....you say I may run into problems. What kind of problems? Are we talking possible lid blow off or could this produce off flavors?

I'm probably just going to order a new bucket but was really trying to avoid it. What is the worst case senario if I use the smaller fermenter?

Thanks again!
 
I almost always put my fresh fruit in nylon bags inside the primary bucket. Then I put on the lid which has an airlock hole. If I put an airlock in it the bags float up, touch it and bubble fluid up and out to make a mess. Same thing if the hole is left empty. BUT if you stick like half a straw in the hole and put a cup on top of the straw to push down the bag it works without a hitch and then you can just pop it open once or twice a day and push down the bags and make sure they're getting equal action in the must.
 
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