smell is fermentation bucket not going away

2 year old primary bucket. ive tried 24hr soaks with pbw and the hop/yeast smell still lingers. can this carry over into the final product of my batches?

I don't 'know'; however, seeing that odour is tiny particles/vapour that we sense, methinks yes.

B

I've never found that to be the case.

The bucket will never smell like it is new. I don't think it should carry over to your brews. If it is really strong though, the buckets are really cheap and it lasted 2 years already.

I've never had any issues with flavors/aromas transferring via the bucket. I found recently however a hot oxyclean soak overnight will remove the stains and odors on my ale pails. Maybe try that and see if it works.

Probably your best bet would be to find a new use for that bucket. (Cleaning/sanitizing pale, grain holder ect) and get yourself a new fermentor, glass carboy maybe?

WHYB said:

Probably. Your best bet would be to find a new use for that bucket. (Cleaning/sanitizing pale, grain holder ect) and get yourself a new fermentor, glass carboy maybe?

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this stems another topic...do you really find a difference in your final product with carboy vs. bucket?

No I don't find a difference. However, carboys tend to last forever unless you break them.

No but, the biggest concern I have with plastic is how easy it scratches and the whole contamination factor. Trade off being that carboys are a little more difficult to deal with...

Don't worry about the odor. Its a fermenter not your shampoo, although some beers smell so good it should be!

WHYB said:

No but, the biggest concern I have with plastic is how easy it scratches and the whole contamination factor. Trade off being that carboys are a little more difficult to deal with...

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i guess thats why i havent used a carboy yet. they seem like a pita to deal with...

I've never noticed an off flavor from yeasty smelling buckets. All my buckets have that funky smell to them to some degree.

With that being said, 2 years has probably gotten you plenty of use, it might be time to put that one out to pasture. I've heard on various podcasts and read on here that some people swap their primary buckets as often as every 6 batches. I would never do it that often, but plastic is pretty cheap and a little bit of insurance is worth it.

I bought two pails in 1993 when I started brewing and they are both still in use. I suppose its an extreme example, but plastic has a half life much longer than ours. Also, if you don't have an obvious contamination problem, they are pretty resilient.

onthekeg said:

I bought two pails in 1993 when I started brewing and they are both still in use. I suppose its an extreme example, but plastic has a half life much longer than ours. Also, if you don't have an obvious contamination problem, they are pretty resilient.

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Same here, my wife gave me one for Christmas in 1992. I still have my original bucket, plus 2 I bought in 1998 and I use them a lot more than my glass carboys.
Plus mine all have spigots on them.
I soak mine overnight in Clorox, it usually gets rid of 90% of the stains and smells.

Oh hey I know let's have another debate about carboys vs buckets. This has come up only about a million times.

onthekeg said:

Don't worry about the odor. Its a fermenter not your shampoo, although some beers smell so good it should be!

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Beer shampoo or beer as shampoo has been around forever!

It's a simple fix. fill the bucket with the hottest water your tap can give you and put in a half scoop of oxyclean. Rinse thoroughly after one or two hours and that bucket won't smell like anything, and any slight brown staining from your previous beers will be gone too.

WHYB said:

No but, the biggest concern I have with plastic is how easy it scratches and the whole contamination factor. Trade off being that carboys are a little more difficult to deal with...

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Agreed?????

To bad fermentors are not like Iron Kettles and the get seasoned with use....lol...anyone ever use a Iron Fermentor?