How many fermentors

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Fermenters should be added to the song called " too much fun" ....lol.


I have 5 or 6 so no , thats not too much yet .
 
Ok i feel a bit better now lol. I have 2 carboys, a bucket, and fast fermentor. But came across a killer deal with 3 more glass carboys and I wanted to make sure i wasnt crazy. That being said i do have plans to sell/give away the fast fermentor and the plastic carboy i own giving me 5 total.

Just wanted some reassurance i wasnt crazy 😅🤣
 
RM-MN said:
That sounds crazy to me. Why give away the best and keep the rest?
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Well the plastic carboy has seen better days and the fast ferment im on the fence. Its kinda odd shaped and doesn't fit well in my space but its a cool concept I guess lol. I like the durability of the glass carboys atm.
 
I have two 6 gallon buckets and two old 2.5 gallon Nalgene wide mouth carboys for smaller batches. I used to have four 5 gallon and four 2.5 gallon Nalgene carboys but over the years some got nasty and some I accidently left in a house I used to own. I think as long as you're using them you don't have too many.
I just got into lagers so I'm going to buy another fermenter here soon since it ties one up for so long.
 
I used to have 5+ buckets, a few carboys, and fermented in 7.5&15 gallon sanke keg too for a few brews. I also had 8 used ball lock cornies.
Got rid of ALL of that and I use 4 new cornies and ferment in one spike flex+ in its own stand-up freezer. I enjoy the simplicity and look of the equipment I'm using now.
Sometimes I wish I had another fermenter just because of the itch to brew again. This problem sorta solves itself as I just get super indecisive about what to brew next and can easily spend a week or two changing my mind or redesigning recipes.
I think this answer will vary by the brewer. My wife and I are the only ones drinking the beer (usually. We do love to share tho)
 
Glass:
14 Glass carboys, 6.5, 6, 5, and 3 gallons
3 Pyrex wide mouth glass carboys, 2.5 gallons
1 Pyrex wide mouth glass carboy, 3.5 gallons

PET:
4 PET carboys, 6 gallons

Plastic:
8 Plastic standard brew buckets, 6.5 gallons
12 Plastic buckets with (sealing) screw-on lids, 3.5 gallons
3 Plastic buckets with (sealing) screw-on lids, 7 gallons

Stainless:
1 Stainless conical (Blichmann), 7 gallons

Not counting dozens of smaller vessels for test batches, side fermentations, etc.
 
Three five liter glass carboys, two 2 liter glass jugs. Also two 8 liter big mouth bubblers that I don't use too much these days as the lid is somewhat difficult to a) seal and b) open when it gets stuck..
 
IslandLizard said:
Sours...
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You know, that's a great idea and I flirt with the notion from time to time. Honestly, as much as I enjoy a nice Brown or Flanders Red, either will just tie up a valuable keg slot. Having bottled for a good long while prior to building my keg system, I will die contentedly if I never bottle another damned beer ever again.

Before the world went to hell this year, I was planning to build a four-slot kegerator specifically for low-velocity, big beers. As much as I enjoy Burton and Old Ales, I can't justify having them tie up a keg slot, but a dedicated four-holer with Burton Ale, an Old Ale, an Imperial Stout, and a Oud Bruin...hmmm that would be nice.
 
Let's see... two 7.5 gal brew buckets, one 6 gal glass carboy, a 4 gal brew bucket, a 3 gal FastFerment, a Speidel 30L, and one I made from a plastic Greek olives container a chef gave me - maybe 4.5 gal. Think I'm about to pick up an Anvil 7.5 too.
 
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Anything is a fermentor if you are brave enough :)

I think I'm at a 15 gal spike conical, 2 1/2 barrel keg fermentors, 3 buckets, 3 glass carboys, and a large collection of 1 Gal glass bottles.

I still get funny looks every time I keep another 1 Gal bottle out of the recycling "just in case.."
 
Aw man for some reason i didnt realize that the carboys i picked up today weren't 6.5 gallon, even though they said they were. They were 5 gallon... i don't see the point in secondaries so I guess they wont get used much unless i split my batches up some... rookie mistake by me not noticing the size of em being smaller than my 6.5.

Only saving grace was i picked up 3 glass 5gallon carboys, 2 plastic buckets, 2 coolers( 1 with valve and braided hose setup, 3 cases of bottles, and a bunch of random equipment for 200 bucks. I just really wish they were 6.5 carboys as im doing 5 gallon batches atm. 😶
 
I have six 6.5 gallon smooth-side Italian carboys that I've owned since new.

Back (2006?) when I bought the 5th and 6th I was doing a lot of English, Trappist and the occasional big Belgian styles that benefited from more time in the glass. But last few years most of my brews are fairly short turn-around (eg: kettle to keg in ~12-14 days).

So it's rare to have all six fermenters busy. I guess that means I have too many :)

Cheers!
 
I have a bunch of buckets - a couple of which I've basically retired from active service, now just storage. Plus 2 PET carboys, 2 6-gallon and 2 5 gallon glass ones.
I usually just have one brew at a time going on, or if I do a long-term aging I use one of the glass ones, that's all I use them for. (they live in milk crates, strapped in all the time, except when cleaning after use - when I use leather gloves handling them for safety.)
 
1 7-gallon SS Brewtech Brew Bucket
1 Speidel 30L
1 Speidel 20L
1 5-gallon glass carboy (included in original Craigslist buy of my first set of brewing equipment; rarely used anymore)

I'm considering getting a 4-gallon Anvil stainless bucket fermenter for small batches.
 
So what are 5 gallon carboys generally used for? I would think they are to small for primary and i dont plan on doing much secondary transfers.
 
I use my 20L (~5 gallons) Speidel for beers I want to age a few weeks or add fruit to. A 5-gallon glass carboy would be better for long term aging as it's more oxygen tight than plastic. Glass is also better for fermenting/aging sours or cider, as it can be sanitized more easily than plastic.
 
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My fermentation fridge will hold 3 carboys. I currently own 6 though... (2) 6-gallon carboys, (3) 5-gallon carboys and (1) 7-gallon bucket.


MusicLife said:
So what are 5 gallon carboys generally used for? I would think they are to small for primary and i dont plan on doing much secondary transfers.
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I use 5 gallon carboys to bulk age batches when needed, sometimes on oak chips... this doesn't happen very often.
 
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(4) 5 gallon glass carboys and (6) 3 gallon glass carboys. I brew 3 gallons at a time. Sometimes I leave a barleywine on oak or something or might want to let a mead sit for months, so thats why I have extra 3s. I know the debate over secondary, but I still do it.

I am north of 60, and glass is breakable and heavy. I am thinking of switching to PET or Better Bottles or something. I do have (1) 3 gallon Fermonster and its great. I like the wide mouth for being able to add a dry hop cannister.

I also have a couple 7.5 gallon buckets and (1) 6 gallon glass carboy for the occasional wine kit. I only do the box kits if I do wine. My buckets mostly sit full of other equipment like hoses, racking canes, bottle filler, bottle capper, funnels, brushes, etc
 
I may try doing some reduced sized batches as testers or on beers im unsure about, my wife is a huge IPA fan but a picky IPA fan lol.

for doing smaller batches is everything just reduced by a % across the board or does it not work that way?
 
My original thought was...2.

But then I started thinking..

2 7 Fermonsters
2 Little Big Mouth Bubblers
1 Glass Gallon Jug
1 7.5G Anvil Kettle w/Ferment Kit

Space wise tho....my main FC can hold 2 of the Fermonsters which its main use. I have another mini fridge which is setup as a FC as well, but definitely can't hold a Fermonster, but I can fit either 2 of the smaller ones or the Kettle in there.
 
Now here’s another question - for those who bottle, how many cases of bottles do you have?

I keg and bottle. I have a mixture of 5 gallon kegs and 3 gallon kegs. My kegerator holds 3 to keep cold with taps for 2. So I bottle for additional variety. Right now I have (14) cases of 12 oz bottles, 10 of those have some beer in them, not all full cases. And enough 16 oz bottles to fill 3 batches, only one of those has beer in it, an English Pale ale, which I think I have about 6 bottles left. I do 16s on those so I can serve them in a proper pint glass
 
My kegerator holds 4 with 2 taps. My recent equipment purchase came with 3.5 cases of bottles which i intend to use, as much as i dont want to bottle again. Mainly due to the fact that i really do love brewing and want to get better at it. So i will stick batches in bottles when the kegs are full. Plus i can share em with others.
 
MusicLife said:
I may try doing some reduced sized batches as testers or on beers im unsure about, my wife is a huge IPA fan but a picky IPA fan lol.

for doing smaller batches is everything just reduced by a % across the board or does it not work that way?
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I found it does work that way. I calculate mine as 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5 gallons into fermenter so that after losses I actually get 3 gallons. 3.5 / 5 = .7 so I multiply everything from a 5 gallon batch by .7. Sometimes I round like 11.2 oz of something might become 12 oz. Hop measurements get interesting when you need .316 oz or something, need a good scale. Run everything through your brewing software to make sure it looks right.

3 gallons works out to about 30 bottles, so it makes a case plus a 6 pack.

Advantages of smaller batches are the containers are smaller and easier to handle, variety since you can have more on hand with the same bottles. Disadvantages are you spend the same amount of time brewing but you get less product output.
 
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bwible said:
I found it does work that way. I calculate mine as 3.5 gallons so that after losses I actually get 3 gallons. 3.5 / 5 = .7 so I multiply everything from a 5 gallon batch by .7. Sometimes I round like 11.2 oz of something might become 12 oz. Hop measurements get interesting when you need .316 oz or something, need a good scale. Run everything through your brewing software to make sure it looks right.

3 gallons works out to about 30 bottles, so it makes a case plus a 6 pack.

Advantages of smaller batches are the containers are smaller and easier to handle, variety since you can have more on hand with the same bottles. Disadvantages are you spend the same amount of time brewing but you get less product output.
Click to expand...

Cool ill have to try it. IPAs and some stouts may be good for that as i have picky family when it comes to them :D
 
bwible said:
Now here’s another question - for those who bottle, how many cases of bottles do you have?

I keg and bottle. I have a mixture of 5 gallon kegs and 3 gallon kegs. My kegerator holds 3 to keep cold with taps for 2. So I bottle for additional variety. Right now I have (14) cases of 12 oz bottles, 10 of those have some beer in them, not all full cases. And enough 16 oz bottles to fill 3 batches, only one of those has beer in it, an English Pale ale, which I think I have about 6 bottles left. I do 16s on those so I can serve them in a proper pint glass
Click to expand...


I have a 3 tap keggerator, and 5 kegs. One keg is usually filled with sanitizer.

When I used to bottle, I would keep bottles around for about 5 batches. I'm glad not to be doing that anymore.
 

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