I am in possession of several food grade stainless steel 55 gallon drums. I want to do a massive batch of traditional, and should have no problem fermenting in one of them. I figure I can do 46 gallons in the barrel as to leave enough headspace for it to do its thing. All that is fine and dandy.
My question (I didn't find anything searching the forums) is about secondary and aging. When I transfer to secondary (another drum) and tertiary there will be a massive amount of headspace left in the barrel. This is much too much to simply fill with water. I also don't want to have to make a barrel and a half fill us to fill up secondary.
Hit me with your suggestions!
My thoughts at the moment are:
-Finding something to drop in the drum, much like the glass marble method. (what would it be? Big risk infection, as well as a hassle)
-Topping up the remainder of space with more honey and water in secondary. (walking away with close to 52-53 gallons instead of 46) (this would up my ABV, and may blow the airlock, maybe?)
I'm open to anything.
My question (I didn't find anything searching the forums) is about secondary and aging. When I transfer to secondary (another drum) and tertiary there will be a massive amount of headspace left in the barrel. This is much too much to simply fill with water. I also don't want to have to make a barrel and a half fill us to fill up secondary.
Hit me with your suggestions!
My thoughts at the moment are:
-Finding something to drop in the drum, much like the glass marble method. (what would it be? Big risk infection, as well as a hassle)
-Topping up the remainder of space with more honey and water in secondary. (walking away with close to 52-53 gallons instead of 46) (this would up my ABV, and may blow the airlock, maybe?)
I'm open to anything.