I hate carboys.

I do, I hate them. They're a pain to move. A pain to clean. And you can't strip your yeast from them!

So, does anyone use anything different? I'd love to find some stainless steel containers and rig up something.

Any ideas?

Buckets work just as well as carboys..are easier to handle, safer, and have been used for beer brewing for decades.....

BUCKETS, BUCKETS, OR FREAKING BUCKETS.

Easy to clean, non breakable, easy to harvest or re-use yeast in.

Is there any apprehension because of the permeability of plastic vs glass/stainless? I would love a stainless bucket.

Thoughts on plastic?

SnakeAnthony6375 said:

And you can't strip your yeast from them!

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https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/


I like the comfort of seeing the first few days activity and knowing that fermentation is starting without pulling a lid off a bucket.
But, if you just want something easy to deal with buckets are great.

Oh god...not that old chestnut....It doesn't matter whether it's a bucket and glass carboy, better bottle or water jug these days. They ALL ferment beer...The whole glass vs plastic debate is idiocy and so 20th century...Now Mega breweries bottle their precious beer in plastic bottles, (and have for over a decade) so do you think truly they would risk their good name and multi billions of dollars if they had issues with modern plastics these days? Especially since the BPE banning a couple years back, modern plastics are just as good as glass these days. And prolly were even back in "the day" but the glass carboy manufactures, facing loss of sales to MUCH cheaper buckets and plastic carboys decided to say otherwise and we decided to buy into it....Heck look at the "aquatainers" that no chill brewers use these days...plastic jerry cans.

You have co2 protecting your beer, so there's really no worries.

Use what works for you!!

While I have a couple of buckets that I use mostly for sour beers, I am all about Better Bottles, but ultimately it comes down to personal preference.

What Revvy is saying is:
No, for homebrew purposes, plastic, glass, or stainless are all suitable. Just make sure you invest in a proper food grade bucket that hasn't had something like pickles or rootbeer syrup in it.

I don't need to see the first few days or any fermentation for that matter.

All I need is the air lock and patience.

Seal it and forget it.

Nothing you see will help in any way. If anything it will freak you out and result in yet another "is my beer phucked?" thread that didn't need to be started.

I use cornies. Stainless, easy to clean, and I don't have to have another piece of gear clogging up my apartment.

B

All of my beer is fermented in plastic buckets... they are cheap and they work very well and are easy to clean. I have a few 4 gallon PET water bottles that I use primarily for cider making and I have a 5 gallon Better Bottle that has been used exactly 0 times. I was going to use it for secondaries, but since that has kinda gone by the wayside, I will use it for bulk aging of barleywines, etc.
As Revvy said, this argument no longer applies. Use what works for you.

ive switched to using all carboys... i had a scratched bucket that cost me a few batches of beer. i love being able to scrub them and not worrying about scratches. to carry mine i use a milk crate. to get yeast i wash with previously boiled water and use a siphon. they are a pain in the ass but i wouldnt have it any other way.

Yeah, I've had a carboy and used it to make an awesome batch of mead but I typically use a bucket for initial fermentation. They're much cheaper, and most importantly extremely easy to transport! If I had the money though, I'd buy another carboy right away. They're almost $60 here, it's crazy! @Fatguy-littlecoat, what do you store that yeast in after you siphon it out?

fatguy-littlecoat said:

ive switched to using all carboys... i had a scratched bucket that cost me a few batches of beer. i love being able to scrub them and not worrying about scratches. to carry mine i use a milk crate. to get yeast i wash with previously boiled water and use a siphon. they are a pain in the ass but i wouldnt have it any other way.

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OH CHRIST!! to live in the world that you do.

I have used my PLASTIC primary for 89 batches INCLUDING today's.


Scratches? OH PLENTY!!! do they matter? NOt much. WTF???

Sorry. I will NEVER primary in glass EVER again.

I will never secondary in glass EVER.

I am SO concerned about plastic and what is food safe and oxy permeable, etc.

Glass is elegant and what I drink water and beer from. I will never ferment in glass again.

what about blowoff when fermenting in a bucket ? There have been plenty of times I've been really glad that I have a blowoff tube instead of an airlock

cheezydemon3 said:

OH CHRIST!! to live in the world that you do.

I have used my PLASTIC primary for 89 batches INCLUDING today's.


Scratches? OH PLENTY!!! do they matter? NOt much. WTF???

Sorry. I will NEVER primary in glass EVER again.

I will never secondary in glass EVER.

I am SO concerned about plastic and what is food safe and oxy permeable, etc.

Glass is elegant and what I drink water and beer from. I will never ferment in glass again.

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May I suggest Midol?

wildwest450 said:

May I suggest Midol?

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80 mg a day muther phucker.

Sorry, druck posting.

I use carboys ONLY because I got a big supply of them dirt cheap ( I bought 30 0r so 6.5 gallon ones for 3 bucks each kept 15 and sold or gave a few away) If I had buckets that cheap I'd use buckets. I put em in milk crates and have no issues SO FAR.

cheezydemon3 said:

80 mg a day muther phucker.

Sorry, druck posting.

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Cheezy, I think I really like you.

*ducks down* I only use carboys.

I have carboys and buckets. I love the buckets, but how do you make a blow-off using a bucket?

+1 Corny keg, pick your size 1, 2.5, 3, 5,10, 15 gallon...

easy to clean, easy to transfer - don't need no stinkin glass or plastic

BriarwoodBrewer said:

I have carboys and buckets. I love the buckets, but how do you make a blow-off using a bucket?

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Revvy originally posted this picture and I thought it was easier looking at this rather then trying to type out an explanation. I hope this helps.

madipop said:

what about blowoff when fermenting in a bucket ? There have been plenty of times I've been really glad that I have a blowoff tube instead of an airlock

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Buckets hold about 6 1/2 gallons compared to a 5 1/2 gallon carboy. I have never had a batch come close to making it to the lid of the bucket let alone out the airlock. If it is a concern of yours you can get an even bigger bucket for nearly the same price.

That being said I seem to always secondary in a carboy. Maybe it is the traditionalist in me. I also carry all my carboys in a milk crate for safety after my buddy dropped his wet carboy twice on the same brew day. The first time it survived but the second time we were not so lucky.

AugustDerleth said:

Yeah, I've had a carboy and used it to make an awesome batch of mead but I typically use a bucket for initial fermentation. They're much cheaper, and most importantly extremely easy to transport! If I had the money though, I'd buy another carboy right away. They're almost $60 here, it's crazy! @Fatguy-littlecoat, what do you store that yeast in after you siphon it out?

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i siphon the yeast to canning jars...

wood7588 said:

Buckets hold about 6 1/2 gallons compared to a 5 1/2 gallon carboy..

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i have 6.5 gallon carboys for primary and 5 gallon for secondary.

i use glass carboys simply because they look nicer in my apt. I don't have the hide everything in the closet to keep the place from looking like a paint supply store with buckets. That's about the only reason.

I usually use buckets for primary and carboys for secondary. Mostly because there's a lot less head room in a carboy for oxygen to hide. That's not an issue during primary fermentation of course. That being said, I've been considering NOT racking to secondary for moderate to lower gravity, non-lager beers. Say, ales that finish in less than 2 weeks, 3 weeks max. I've read A LOT of brewers do it that way with no noticeable negative effects.

As previously mentioned, milk crates work well to move carboys around. I like those carboy handles as well. I have one on each of my carboys.

A lot of folks love the Better Bottle carboys, though I don't own any. As far as the plastic vs glass argument, I say either work fine when handled properly, so to each their own...

I secondary in a better bottle, just because I have it. It is partly the whole deadly shards of glass thing, but it is also the shape. To primary in a better bottle would SUCK as well.

AND....(down revvy, down boy, I'm getting to it!) I only secondary when I am too lazy to bottle but I want to BREW and reuse the yeast, not because it will clarify or improve the beer.

Well, you all have sold me. I have two glass carboys but as I expand my brewery I am using buckets!

Are you all using the larger buckets that I can buy at my LHBS or just five gallon like I can get for free at Walmart?

I would go with at least a 6 gallon. here's a good link for cheap buckets ~> http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23470&catid=752

Thanks for the link!

What size drill bit do you guys use to drill lid. Do you add a grommet or just insert airlock into the hole you drilled.

Thanks

I have drilled my lids to accept a standard carboy bung instead of a grommet. There is less chance I will lose a bung than a little grommet. Just one less thing to have to worry about.

I love my glass carboy, but it has sat in a dark corner of the closet empty for the longest time. sankys/cornys all the way! :rockin:

Buckets, carboys, barrels, drums, cornies, sankes, whiskey jugs, Orange juice jars, growlers, mason jars, they all work and all have their place, I've used them all and will continue to use whatever I have to in order to ferment my favorite beverages. In other words, I don't think it matters.

wood7588 said:

I have drilled my lids to accept a standard carboy bung instead of a grommet. There is less chance I will lose a bung than a little grommet. Just one less thing to have to worry about.

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thats an awesome tip - you can probably peek in and see whats going on too

flipfloptan said:

What size drill bit do you guys use to drill lid. Do you add a grommet or just insert airlock into the hole you drilled.

Thanks

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Drill your hole the size of the airlock stem. No bung, no grommet, tight fit.

I just like having carboys. I like opening up my chest freezer and seeing four beautiful glass giants doing their thing. Cleaning them is not that hard, but to each his own.

I also love stainless steel, but conical s are a bit out of my price range... I've been thinking about a sankey...

I hate the Cowboys, too...I'm a Bills fan.

Wait you said carboys, didn't you? My bad.

wood7588 said:

I have drilled my lids to accept a standard carboy bung instead of a grommet. There is less chance I will lose a bung than a little grommet. Just one less thing to have to worry about.

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Damn good tip right there (IMHO). This, boys and girls, is why I read the HBT forums.

Thanks Wood!