stoutaholic
Well-Known Member
There are two major critiques of using plastic buckets as secondary fermenters:
1. They are oxygen permeable
2. They have a large amount of headspace.
I've had a hard time verifying that #1 is actually an issue. It seems unlikely to me that the amount of oxygen that could permeate an HDPE bucket would have any significant effect on beer. I've read that more air probably gets into the beer through the rubber stopper than through the sides of the bucket. However, I can't seem to find any scientific information regarding whether there is a measurable oxidative effect of keeping beer in an HDPE bucket for an extended period of time. Does anyone know of a definitive resource that can answer this question?
As for the second critique, the headspace can be negated by sparging with CO2. I CO2 sparge my glass carboys anyway, so this disadvantage of buckets wouldn't even be an issue for me.
I have always used glass carboys for both primary and secondary fermentation, but am thinking of switching completely to HDPE buckets with a spigot installed, because:
1. They make transfers much easier (no siphoning if a spigot is installed in the bucket)
2. They allow easy removal of krausen, since the lid can be removed.
3. A bucket with a spigot would allow you to takes samples of the beer for tasting/hydrometer readings without exposing the beer to oxygen or a wine theif.
4. They are much easier to clean
And, really, if I am using a non-abrasive wash-rag to clean the buckets, I don't see how they are likely to get scratches. I HAVE scratched my glass carboys with the side of my carboy brush, though.
1. They are oxygen permeable
2. They have a large amount of headspace.
I've had a hard time verifying that #1 is actually an issue. It seems unlikely to me that the amount of oxygen that could permeate an HDPE bucket would have any significant effect on beer. I've read that more air probably gets into the beer through the rubber stopper than through the sides of the bucket. However, I can't seem to find any scientific information regarding whether there is a measurable oxidative effect of keeping beer in an HDPE bucket for an extended period of time. Does anyone know of a definitive resource that can answer this question?
As for the second critique, the headspace can be negated by sparging with CO2. I CO2 sparge my glass carboys anyway, so this disadvantage of buckets wouldn't even be an issue for me.
I have always used glass carboys for both primary and secondary fermentation, but am thinking of switching completely to HDPE buckets with a spigot installed, because:
1. They make transfers much easier (no siphoning if a spigot is installed in the bucket)
2. They allow easy removal of krausen, since the lid can be removed.
3. A bucket with a spigot would allow you to takes samples of the beer for tasting/hydrometer readings without exposing the beer to oxygen or a wine theif.
4. They are much easier to clean
And, really, if I am using a non-abrasive wash-rag to clean the buckets, I don't see how they are likely to get scratches. I HAVE scratched my glass carboys with the side of my carboy brush, though.