Where to ferment?

[jwrig002]

I found an used 7 gallon SS brewmaster brew bucket on Craigslist for $150 after I bought a floating dip tube to try to ferment in a keg. The brew bucket has a couple lids and neoprene sleeve.
First is the brew bucket a good deal and anything in particular I should look out for? I'm just a little hesitant as a new Anvil bucket fermenter is almost the same cost or I can just ferment in my kegs and spend more money on ingredients.
Thanks!

 

[11thStBrewing]

I found an used 7 gallon SS brewmaster brew bucket on Craigslist for $150 after I bought a floating dip tube to try to ferment in a keg. The brew bucket has a couple lids and neoprene sleeve.
First is the brew bucket a good deal and anything in particular I should look out for? I'm just a little hesitant as a new Anvil bucket fermenter is almost the same cost or I can just ferment in my kegs and spend more money on ingredients.
Thanks!

I ferment and serve from the keg for beers that aren’t dry hopped. It works great. The only cons are you can’t ferment a full 5g and you can’t move the keg or purge it if serving from it, as it’ll kick the trub and yeast back up in suspension.

I’ve never fermented in any kind of bucket, but I’ve never bottled either. Personally, I wouldn’t spend $100+ on any SS bucket unless it could handle some pressure and oxygen free transfer. More like a conical?

I rock an all rounder and just got a hop bong. Used them for about a year without the hop bong and even serve from that. About to dry hop a hazy IPA with it for the first time in a couple days. Maybe that’s an option?

 

[SanPancho]

the brewbucket will let you rack off a bit easier. but it wont let you dump out the bottom, so really you're just pulling off the top.

the same thing can be accomplished with a keg and floating tube. and you could get probably 4 used kegs for that price. hell you could wait two weeks and see what deals adverntures in hombrewing has for their used keg sales- they'll do 4packs frequently for big sales.

realistically, the only difference i see is that if you wanted to you could cut a hole in the lid of the bucket, put on a tc flange/bulkhead, and use it to do oxygen-free dry hopping.

in a keg, you gotta be more careful about it. realistically the only option is to just dump the hops in and then purge headspace a few times.

other than that, i dont see any real significant/functional difference. just money.

and @11thStBrewing makes a good point. you could get an all rounder that can carb/spund, and a hop bong for o2 free dry hops, and id wager thats still cheaper than the bucket. just a question of whether your ferment cooler has enough room to fit it.

 

[jwrig002]

Thanks, I have yet to dry hop, as I don't brew too many hoppy beers. I have a couple kegs already, but have been bottling my beer for the past few brews. The bucket was thinking more about bottling but I'm reading more about bottling from a keg. Even if I buy a beer gun it will still be cheaper.

 

[11thStBrewing]

Are you sending them off for competition or just giving them away? I got a nukatap counter pressure filler and it sucks to use for me, personally. Haven’t used a beer gun yet.

The guys from my homebrew club just use a piece of beverage line on the faucet and fill it up to the top. They’re winning competitions like that, too. I’m going to try this.

 

[jwrig002]

Are you sending them off for competition or just giving them away? I got a nukatap counter pressure filler and it sucks to use for me, personally. Haven’t used a beer gun yet.

The guys from my homebrew club just use a piece of beverage line on the faucet and fill it up to the top. They’re winning competitions like that, too. I’m going to try this.

Oh wow, I'm giving them for holiday gifts and bringing it to get togethers. So I know breweries will fill growlers like that, so I'm probably overthinking it. Thanks!

 

[bike2brew]

I use the SSBrewBucket for fermentation and have kegged/bottled out of the bottom via the racking tube. As a system it works for me. I have also opened the top to dry hop without issues. I am guessing from your description it is set up for temperature cooling? I recenltly upgraded my system to accomodate that and it works well. That said, I don't enter competitions, and I don't harvest yeast so the bucket is good for me. The price you quoted ise reasonable given that a 7.5g new is ~$235 w/ shipping, and if it has the temperature control another $135-50. Good price, good luck if that is the direction you go.

 

[bike2brew]

I found an used 7 gallon SS brewmaster brew bucket on Craigslist for $150 after I bought a floating dip tube to try to ferment in a keg. The brew bucket has a couple lids and neoprene sleeve.
First is the brew bucket a good deal and anything in particular I should look out for? I'm just a little hesitant as a new Anvil bucket fermenter is almost the same cost or I can just ferment in my kegs and spend more money on ingredients.
Thanks!

Is this the item Homebrewing SS Brewtech Brew Kettle Mini & Brew Bucket Mini Set NEW...
If so, this is bascially my system. I am an extract brewer w/ a few batches under my belt and have been pleased with my efforts so far. Likewise for all who have helped by sampling my product. Addtions over the last year that have elevated my brewing were the addtion of Tilt monitoring, and addtional 3.5 g bucket, and the temperature control for coooling and maintaining the fermentation temps. The $150 price reasonable to get started at a bit higher level.

 

[odie]

I ferment and serve from the keg for beers that aren’t dry hopped. It works great. The only cons are you can’t ferment a full 5g and you can’t move the keg or purge it if serving from it, as it’ll kick the trub and yeast back up in suspension.

false...

I do a full 5 gal keg ferment. A corny holds 5.5 gal. I have no issues with krausen blowout either (except the hefe).

A floating dip tube will solve the trub problem. Straining your kettle wort will also help solve that problem.