Beer kit fermenting container questions

JHow · Dec 28, 2012

I have a True brew brewing kit that came with a 7.8 gallon bottling bucket and a 5 gallon glass carboy. Now, from my limited understanding, that carboy is too small to be a primary fermenter. Is that right?

So, with the containers that came in my kit, would I use the bottling bucket as a primary, the carboy as a secondary, then back to the bottle bucket for bottling? If so, that seems kinda silly. As a beginner, I'd rather have the larger carboy for primary, then go straight to the bottler. Or I could get another bucket for the primary and use the 5 gal carboy as secondary. What do you guys think?

grem135 · Dec 28, 2012

I would get a bucket or three to ferment in.

BansheeRider · Dec 28, 2012

JHow said:
I have a True brew brewing kit that came with a 7.8 gallon bottling bucket and a 5 gallon glass carboy. Now, from my limited understanding, that carboy is too small to be a primary fermenter. Is that right?

So, with the containers that came in my kit, would I use the bottling bucket as a primary, the carboy as a secondary, then back to the bottle bucket for bottling? If so, that seems kinda silly. As a beginner, I'd rather have the larger carboy for primary, then go straight to the bottler. Or I could get another bucket for the primary and use the 5 gal carboy as secondary. What do you guys think?

You can use the carboy with a blow off tube. Then after a week of fermenting install an airlock.

McGarnigle · Dec 28, 2012

You could use the glass carboy and a blow off tube, but you won't get 5 gallons of beer.

It is strange they do it that way. Grem135 is correct about buying a ale pail. You can use the carboy for secondaries when you do them, nd for smaller batches.

JHow · Dec 28, 2012

Ahh yes. The blowoff tube. I remember reading about that. How much beer is lost with that method? Are we talking less than a bottle? More? Way more?

I may just go to the brew store, exchange it for a larger carboy, and pay the extra. Then, I can watch the process and not lose a drop.

nearbeer83 · Dec 28, 2012

I bought this same kit a few weeks ago and i started a NB irish red ale. Currently it's sitting in the carboy for secondary. I would love to have another batch going but i need that bottling bucket in the next couple of weeks. So i am indeed interested in how much beer is lost doing primary in a carboy that small, and secondly how hard is it to bottle straight out of a primary carboy? From what i can tell though i may as well just get more buckets.