2.5-3 gallon batches in 5 gallon bucket?

[kmind]

Hey all,

I plan to brew a few 2.5 gallon or 3 gallon batches in the near future. Do you think I could ferment these in a 5 gallon bucket?

Money is pretty tight and I already have the 5 gallon buckets so it'd be perfect to just ferment in those if it doesn't create too much head space.

I did purchase a 3 gallon plastic carboy from my LHBS in case I need to use a secondary but this cost me about $25. They do not sell 3 gallon buckets unfortunately.

Thanks a lot everyone!

 

[skunkfunk]

5 gallon bucket (food grade!) is perfect. You want a couple of gallons of headspace anyway. You do not need a secondary.

 

[kmind]

Thanks so much!

 

[mrgrimm101]

Head space isn't an issue with a primary vessel. You want a decent amount of head space to avoid a blowout of krausen and foam. However, they say that if you transfer to secondary and plan to age at all that you want as little headspace as possible. If you're just doing the 2.5-3 gallon batches and leaving them in primary, then the 5 gallon bucket will be just fine.

 

[m00ps]

Yeah as others mentioned, active fermentation will push out all the O2 so you don't need to worry about too much headspace. Just keep them in primary and bottle from there.

Side note - where'd you get a 5gal bucket? Are you sure its not a 6.5gal bucket thats designed for 5gal batches? (giving you 1.5gal headspace)

 

[kmind]

Yeah as others mentioned, active fermentation will push out all the O2 so you don't need to worry about too much headspace. Just keep them in primary and bottle from there.

Side note - where'd you get a 5gal bucket? Are you sure its not a 6.5gal bucket thats designed for 5gal batches? (giving you 1.5gal headspace)

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yep, these are 5 gallon buckets from my LHBS. I do have a 6.5 gallon bucket for my 5 gallon extract beers. Thanks for looking out for me though!

Also, I guess you don't want much headspace in a secondary because there's not a lot of CO2 protecting the beer from being exposed to oxygen?

 

[ruger988]

I do 5 gallon batches, more often than not they're high gravity Belgians. I almost always split the batch between two 6.5 gallon buckets for primary. Then rack to either secondary or (more often) the keg together.

3 Gallon batches in a 5 gallon bucket will be perfect, don't hesitate to use the 6.5 even.

 

[m00ps]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yep, these are 5 gallon buckets from my LHBS. I do have a 6.5 gallon bucket for my 5 gallon extract beers. Thanks for looking out for me though!

Also, I guess you don't want much headspace in a secondary because there's not a lot of CO2 protecting the beer from being exposed to oxygen?

Yeah, by the time you transfer to secondary, there will be minimal CO2 production. At a homebrew level, you will almost always get some oxygen exposure (also when you open the bucket for samples). Just be sure to try to prevent any splashing while transferring or taking samples. I have yet to get that oxidized cardboard flavor, but I've heard a lot about it

 

[skunkfunk]

If you don't want oxygen, don't transfer it. There isn't any clear benefit from transferring, and little benefit from aging a beer. If it tastes good, don't screw around, bottle it!

Disclaimer: Don't bottle it before it is done.

 

[Braufessor]

I don't generally brew 3 gallon batches, but I just happened to brew 2 today. Not sure if you keg or not, but this is what I do with 3 gallon batches...... I brew about 4-4.5 gallons, 3.5makes it into the keg or so to ferment. I bend the dip tube up about 1-2 inches so that all the trub settles below the tube. Ferment it in the keg and then force transfer it with CO2 into a 3 gallon keg when fermentation is done.... works absolutely great.

The 5 gallon bucket will work great too..... Fermentation should push out all the O2 anyway.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I have had pretty good luck fermenting 5 gallons in 5 gallon carboys. I rig a blow tube and they sit in a container just in case. They blow some foam into the blow off bottle but no serious mess so far. These are not high gravity beers just the 1045 to 1055 range. No doubt the more I make the more likely I will have a mess.

 

[kmind]

Thanks everyone!