Cheap 1 Gallon "Carboy"s

I'm curious about what the limits are on what I can use to ferment? I know most plastics aren't the best idea for contamination issues, with the exception of Better Bottles.

I'm just getting into brewing, mead actually, and I'm trying to figure out what size bottles I can get. I had the idea of making, for example, a 5 gallon batch of basic cyser in a 6.5 Gallon carboy or bucket. After the first ferment, I could split it into 5 1 gallon carboys and add different fruits/spices/additives to get 5 different mead's out of one batch.

So, to the point, what works as 1 gallon carboys? Could I use those large jugs that gallons of wine are sold in? Any other ideas for cheap alternatives to something manufactured specifically to be a carboy, and thus 100% more expensive? Luckily bungs and airlocks are cheap, it's just the bottles I'm trying to work out.

Thanks!

The one gallon jugs that wine come in (or Whole Foods brand Apple Juice) work perfectly. They're the same kind you can buy at a homebrew store.

I use 2 of the Rossi jug wine bottles (wine is AWFUL). The ones I have are 4L and allow enough head space for krausen on small batch cider and mead. 1 gallon beer batches need a blow off hose... or brew less than a gallon

For one gallon bathes of mead, cider, or wine, I use a two gallon plastic bucket fermentor then transfer into a 1 gallon growler/glass jug. Fermtech makes a mini auto-siphon specifically for use with those small batches and any home brew shop you go to that carries products from LD Carlson or Crosby & Baker should have or be able to get 2 gallon bucket fermentors. The 1gal growlers and 2gal buckets should be $4-$5 each at your lhbs.

I usually make 1.25 - 1.5gal of wine/cider/mead at a time to keep my growler as full as possible for conditioning and have had good results with my 1 gallon test batches.

starrfish said:

I use 2 of the Rossi jug wine bottles (wine is AWFUL). The ones I have are 4L and allow enough head space for krausen on small batch cider and mead. 1 gallon beer batches need a blow off hose... or brew less than a gallon

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Yep, me too! I have a ton of Carlo Rossi wine jugs. A #6 rubber bung fits in them well, and then I have a few 1.5L wine bottles to use as "top up" mead/wine. I don't know the size of those stoppers, but they have them at homebrew stores. A #6 stopper also fits in growlers from a brewery, and in other gallon and half gallon jugs, as well.

If you buy the wine cheap, the burgundy is good in spaghetti sauce.

You can also use a big pickle jar, although you will have to wash the lid A LOT before it finally loses the pickle aroma. They aren't quite 1 gallon more like 3/4 or so I think.


I have gotten a bunch of smaller 1-2 gallon buckets for free from local food-related businesses just by asking for them. A little oxyclean and starsan and they are ready to go.

Oh, that's right! A grocery store deli gave me a bunch of buckets that previously held frosting and peanut butter. Food grade, three gallon sized, with a lid. I just had to wash them out and they make great primaries!

Yooper said:

Yep, me too! I have a ton of Carlo Rossi wine jugs. A #6 rubber bung fits in them well, and then I have a few 1.5L wine bottles to use as "top up" mead/wine. I don't know the size of those stoppers, but they have them at homebrew stores. A #6 stopper also fits in growlers from a brewery, and in other gallon and half gallon jugs, as well.

If you buy the wine cheap, the burgundy is good in spaghetti sauce.

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That's what I use too. The wine's not something most people would call a "fine" wine, but it makes perfectly acceptable sangria for parties, and that's how I got my wine jugs.