Best bucket for 3 gallon batches

[brewprint]

I think I'm going to start brewing 3 gallon batches instead of the normal 5.

What size bucket are you fermenting in? The normal 6.5 gallon bucket?

TIA

 

[lowtones84]

I do 4 gallon batches in the normal bucket, and have done 3 with no issue. However, I do mostly low gravity beers and they don't sit in there for more than 7-10 days typically. There are 5 gallon "big mouth bubblers" and carboys that might work better if you're planning on using that as your batch size for the foreseeable future.

 

[aprichman]

I do 4 gallon batches in the normal bucket, and have done 3 with no issue. However, I do mostly low gravity beers and they don't sit in there for more than 7-10 days typically. There are 5 gallon "big mouth bubblers" and carboys that might work better if you're planning on using that as your batch size for the foreseeable future.

I'd recommend a 5 gallon PET carboy over the big mouth bubbler. I've had nothing but trouble with mine. Can't get it to seal and it creates a vacuum at the airlock that tries to suck the liquid from the airlock (I use starsan) into my beer

 

[z-bob]

I've been using a 4 gallon water bottle (thin PET carboy) for 3 gallon batches.

 

[lowtones84]

Cool, good to know! usplastic.com also has a lot of options, you just might have to e-mail with questions as to which are the right grade and "food safe."

 

[fleabagmatt]

I went to the bakery up the street, they gave me a stash of 3 gallon frosting buckets (They actually hold closer to 5 filled to the top, so a great size for 2.5 to 3 gallon batches) for free. I got lids with them, which I could have drilled out to fit an air lock, but the standard bucket lids from the homebrew store fit them fine.

 

[sumbrewindude]

4 and 5gal watercooler bottles (PET1 only).

4gal for dry yeast, 5gal for liquid. Hoping to move to stainless here this year.

 

[brewprint]

I think I'll check the bakery!

Another question that I have:

When doing a 3 gallon recipe do you just take a 5 gallon recipe and divide it by 5 and then multiply it by 3? Or is there some other crazy formula kind of like the more water you boil with the more IBUs?

 

[brewprint]

I went to the bakery up the street, they gave me a stash of 3 gallon frosting buckets (They actually hold closer to 5 filled to the top, so a great size for 2.5 to 3 gallon batches) for free. I got lids with them, which I could have drilled out to fit an air lock, but the standard bucket lids from the homebrew store fit them fine.

I just talked to a friend I know that cleans a grocery store at night. She's going to have the bakery set aside 2 of the frosting buckets and lids for me!

 

[rodwha]

I have several bakery buckets from icing that I can do 5.25 gal batches and 1.75 gal batches in.

I took them out back and sprayed them with the hose trying to get rid of the majority of the leftover icing. I did this with them all prior to running them through the dishwasher. A week or so later I found the grass dead in that area!

 

[mfgann]

I would think 5 gallon plastic carboys would be just about right for a 3 gallon batch. The CO2 is heavier than the oxygen and will 'blanket' over the top of the beer, but I'd say it would easily purge the oxygen out the airlock during fermentation.

 

[Weezy]

I routinely do 2.5 or 3 gallon batches into a 3 gal better bottle with rotating racking arm, 3 gallon glass carboy, 5 gal cornies, and a brewdemon:
https://www.brewdemon.com/equipment...tion-equipment/conical-fermenting-system.html

I really like the Brew Demon. It says 2 gallon but it has a marking for 2.5 gallon and I ferment 2.5+/- in it from 3 gal bathes. I top crop out of it, dry hop in it, and they did a nice job of placing the spigot above the trub line.

Cornies are the shizz tho. Dump hot (no chill), seal it and throw it in a tub of ice water (or the pool in summer, or a snow bank in winter).

 

[aprichman]

I think I'll check the bakery!

Another question that I have:

When doing a 3 gallon recipe do you just take a 5 gallon recipe and divide it by 5 and then multiply it by 3? Or is there some other crazy formula kind of like the more water you boil with the more IBUs?

Yup, just multiply all ingredients by (3/5)

 

[fleabagmatt]

I just talked to a friend I know that cleans a grocery store at night. She's going to have the bakery set aside 2 of the frosting buckets and lids for me!

I went to a bunch of grocery stores and asked first, most all of them wanted to sell me the buckets for $5 or $10 apiece. The Mexican bakery up the street had a stack of the 3 and 5 gallon buckets they let me pick from for free.

I soaked them overnight to soften the hardened frosting and they cleaned right up.

 

[mfgann]

I thought I was being clever a while back and bought a couple of the Firehouse Sub shop pickle buckets for a couple of bucks each. It turns out the pickle smell is REALLY hard to get out. I've been using them as overnight soaking buckets to get labels off bottles for a while, and still catch a whiff of dill pickle off them. No way I'd want to use them as fermenters yet. I'm holding out hope though... Just a few more PBW bottle soaks and maybe...

 

[fimpster]

I've considered doing a couple of 3 or 3.5 gallon batches of beers that I wouldn't want a full keg of. I plan on using my 5 gal glass carboys, as I never use them for secondary anymore. Then bottle instead of keg. I think any 5 gal fermenter would be fine for 3 gallon batches.

As far as the Big Mouth Bubblers go... I love mine. I have a 6.5 gallon plastic BMB and it has been great. I don't think I'd ever get a glass BMB though, they have a bad reputation.