Basic questions on fermenters

[Saturday]

Utter newcomer question, I had a quick look around to see if this was covered somewhere but couldn't spot anything - I've just ordered a couple of gallon demijohns so as to start properly homebrewing and I was just wondering about the varieties of fermenters I've seen - is there a notable difference between demijohns, carboys and fermentation buckets or is it just preference?

I also can't seem to find anything bigger than a five gallon demijohn, which would make most of the recipes I've had a look at a bit of trouble, but that's probably just shoddy searching skills and not being sure what I'm looking for

 

[jaytizzle]

Not familiar with the demijohns but if you're going to brew a 5-gallon batch then you'll want a fermenter that is larger than that to allow for krausen headspace. I use a 6.5gal carboy for my fermenter, as do most folks from what I can tell.

 

[Revvy]

I use a 6.5gal carboy for my fermenter, as do most folks from what I can tell.

I would say carboy users are probably in the minority to ale pail (bucket) users, since most kits come with buckets.....

Saturday, the thing to realize is that a fermenter is a fermenter is a fermenter, glass, plastic, carboy, bucket, jerry can, keg, milk jug, ceramic crock, glass hurricane jar, stainless steel or plastic conicals, pet food storage vessels (vittle vaults), HD or Lowe's buckets, frosting buckets, water jugs, the old Mr Beer jug...All of those and anything you can think of, all work perfectly fine...No one type is better or worse than any other...good beer or crappy beer can be made in all of them, dependant onthe brewer, NOT what it's fermented in...

It's really just a matter of preference, nothing more....There's tons of arguments about glass vs plastic and whatever, but they're nothing more than internet masturbation....the yeast don't care what kind of container the wort it is swimming around in is stored in.

The biggest thing is whether or not the material is food safe. Generally speaking where plastic is concerned we look at <1> and <2> recycling codes, and whether it can hold the volume we're fermenting or storing the beer/wine/mead/cider in...

Anything else really is irrevelent. Just what works for you. Many of us don't like glass, there's a ton of discussions about injuries from them breaking, or just wasted beer.

I have a dozen different containers I ferment in, everything from 1 gallon wine jugs, to 6 gallon better bottles...and honestly I don't have a preference to what I use...I just grab what's empty.

 

[ShakerD]

Utter newcomer question, I had a quick look around to see if this was covered somewhere but couldn't spot anything - I've just ordered a couple of gallon demijohns so as to start properly homebrewing and I was just wondering about the varieties of fermenters I've seen - is there a notable difference between demijohns, carboys and fermentation buckets or is it just preference?

I also can't seem to find anything bigger than a five gallon demijohn, which would make most of the recipes I've had a look at a bit of trouble, but that's probably just shoddy searching skills and not being sure what I'm looking for

It's all personal preference wheather you choose glass, plastic or stainless steel.

Personally I put 12 gallons in 15 gallon demijohns. I buy them on kiji or craiglist for cheap and they work awesome.