I need more fermenters!

[natewv]

So in the past 3 months I've gone from extract kits & bottles to kegging & all grain. I've done very well money-wise in taking these steps (thank God for craigslist), but now I really have spent a lot of money and now have a bottleneck...

I have 4 kegs (3 empty), and a bottling bucket and 6 gal bucket and a betterboy. The betterboy is awaiting one of these for dryhopping while (at this point) I'll have to wait to clean out what was initially a primary to be used as a secondary for the other beer. One is a Stone Ruination IPA clone and the other is a Burning River Pale Ale clone. mmm mmm.

Long story short I need more fermentation vessels...and am looking for advice as to whether I should just get more buckets or if I should go glass or plastic carboys. I've read a bunch of stuff but all things considered, I see no reason why I would not just buy a couple more buckets with airlocks.

Personally, I get the sneaking feeling that those saying 'only glass' are kind of out of touch (or, understandably, started that way and if it ain't broke don't fix it), and better boys seem to be of no real added value except the ability to see your beer. I will continue to make relatively higher gravity IPA type beers, and I hope to try and lager this winter (longer fermentation for both), if that's useful info.

So, am i right or wrong in assuming buckets are as good as anything else, or what?

 

[TheCrimsonSquirrel]

I think buckets are great if they are replaced semi-regularly. Easy to carry, easy to clean.

I would think twice about long term storage in a plastic bucket. There is some oxygen permeability. I'm not a big believer in secondaries though, so this doesn't bother me.

I do use glass when I sour a beer that's going to be sitting for a year before kegging/bottling.

 

[natewv]

I would think twice about long term storage in a plastic bucket.

What do you mean long term? And the only alternative is a glass carboy, right?

Does anyone secondary right in a keg?

 

[TheCrimsonSquirrel]

I'd say long term is anything beyond a standard primary fermentation. A few weeks or a month.

My sours go for well over a year. I'm not saying you can't do a sour in bucket, but it's going to pick up more oxygen than a lower permeability fermenter. Maybe you want that. For a Flanders, you'd just get more acetic flavors.

Other alternatives include... kegs, stainless conicals and other plastic type fermenters (coopers, etc)

 

[Golddiggie]

stop using the second fermenter on all brews. You can use it where it actually makes more sense, such as aging on oak or when you need to pull the brew off of one element in order to add another.

I've stoooed using buckets or carboys to ferment my beers in. I'm using sanke kegs (25L and pony kegs), of which I have five of. I also have four 5.16 gallon sanke kegs for aging when I need them. I'm also kegging, pushing the brew from fermenter keg with CO2 and the liquid post (so that nothing else enters the keg). I simply fit the fermenter with a bung and airlock or blow-off tube until its ready for the serving kegs. Then I fit it with one of the orange caps and push via a ss racking cane with the liquid QD on the end of the hose. Works very well.

You an usually score the kegs either from CraigsList, ebay, or your LHBS for not too much (shop smart).

Either way, get more primary fermenters and read up on when it actually makes more sense to rack. For reference, I even dry hop in primary. IME, it doesn't make sense to rack just for adding dry (whole) hops to a brew. Have had excellent results with dry hopping this way so far. Again, be smart and practice safe sanitation and you should be just fine there. Probably better than racking into another vessel, especially with the reduced oxidation risk.

I've had brews in orimary for up to 7 weeks so far without any issue. There are more than a few people on these boards that had had batches go six months, or more, in primary without any negative results.

 

[Shockerengr]

I'll second the skip the primary for most beers.

Although if you still want to, you can easily secondary in the keg.

 

[Clann]

I'll second the skip the primary for most beers.

Although if you still want to, you can easily secondary in the keg.

Just go straight to secondary right

 

[natewv]

I'll second the skip the primary for most beers.

Although if you still want to, you can easily secondary in the keg.

Ok I don't know why but this is shocking to me. So I don't need a secondary?? What the heck have I been doing all this time?!

When you say 'most beers' can you be more specific?

So in my first 2 AG batches (an APA and IIPA) that are 9 days in primary, I just need to dry hop them as they are and let them sit a couple more weeks? Holy s*it my life just got easier. I can still harvest/wash the yeast when I rack to my keg or a bottling bucket, right? It won't be worse off than it would be if I racked to secondary sooner and washed the yeast then?

 

[windbreaker123]

Secondary is really the wrong term. It should probably be called a bright tank in most instances. It is mostly used for clearing. You have been following the basic guidelines. But they are not necessary. I do not secondary any beer unless it is a late addition. When I reach f/g I cold crash for 1 week. Then age in bottles and kegs.

 

[LordUlrich]

In my opinion buckets are fine, as long as you realize anything plastic is "disposable", buckets are replaced every year, lids 2 years. right now i have 5 buckets, 2 plastic carboys and a glass carboy. I use the glass for sours, and only use secondaries for sours (usually i start them with a American ale, then add bugs), and barley wines.
I seem to remember some research saying that secondaries actually slow clearing, just let it set, and cold crash just before packaging.