Bonneville
Well-Known Member
My buckets were full, so I decided to use a carboy as a primary fermenter for the first time. I didn't really think about it much beforehand, but I ran into a few problems. I'm wondering if these are common and what the solutions are.
1) FUNNEL - After cooling the wort (via ice bath), I had a huge funnel to pour the wort into the carboy. However, there was a filter to catch hops and various other trub. The filter constantly clogged. When using a bucket, I always pour through a strainer with no problem, but the filter was only about 4" in diameter. After clogging 3 or 4 times, I just pulled it out and poured everything into the carboy. We will use the settle & secondary approach for clarity.
2) AERATION - Aeration with the bucket involved vigorous rocking. Tried the same thing with the carboy, but the rounded top allowed much less splashing. I didn't feel the wort + water was nearly as aerated as bucket brews.
3) AIR LOCK - So, after pitching the yeast and leaving it alone for 20 hours, I find that I now have an airlock full of beer. This is a fairly low gravity beer and a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon carboy. The top of the carboy seems to have less overall headspace than a brew-bucket and funnel the bubbles up and into the airlock. I used vodka in the airlock, so I now have beer in my vodka and worry that some vodka may have gotten into the beer somehow. (This is a dark beer, and the airlock is now a deep brown). When things calm down, should I replace the airlock contents or just wait until its safe to move to the secondary.
This is about my 20th batch and this one is cursed. Had 2 boilovers and all of the above fun.
One the plus side, it is kind of fun to be able to see a fermentation for the first time.
1) FUNNEL - After cooling the wort (via ice bath), I had a huge funnel to pour the wort into the carboy. However, there was a filter to catch hops and various other trub. The filter constantly clogged. When using a bucket, I always pour through a strainer with no problem, but the filter was only about 4" in diameter. After clogging 3 or 4 times, I just pulled it out and poured everything into the carboy. We will use the settle & secondary approach for clarity.
2) AERATION - Aeration with the bucket involved vigorous rocking. Tried the same thing with the carboy, but the rounded top allowed much less splashing. I didn't feel the wort + water was nearly as aerated as bucket brews.
3) AIR LOCK - So, after pitching the yeast and leaving it alone for 20 hours, I find that I now have an airlock full of beer. This is a fairly low gravity beer and a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon carboy. The top of the carboy seems to have less overall headspace than a brew-bucket and funnel the bubbles up and into the airlock. I used vodka in the airlock, so I now have beer in my vodka and worry that some vodka may have gotten into the beer somehow. (This is a dark beer, and the airlock is now a deep brown). When things calm down, should I replace the airlock contents or just wait until its safe to move to the secondary.
This is about my 20th batch and this one is cursed. Had 2 boilovers and all of the above fun.
One the plus side, it is kind of fun to be able to see a fermentation for the first time.