Bucket Vs. Carboy

[flyingwmelon]

Noob question here. I was just reading about not using a secondary just leaving it in the primary for several weeks. Since the kit I bought came with a carboy as a secondary that is what I did. Now that I have read some more I am thinking of just using both as primaries until I brew something big that takes time to mellow. My question is are there styles that ferment better in a bucket and others that do better in a carboy? Just wondering.

 

[malkore]

For the most part, it doesn't matter. You do want enough headspace so you don't lose much beer during high fermentation (i.e. blow off).

Now, a few styles of beer, like a belgium saison, are fermented a little warm, and they can REALLY krausen up. a 7 gallon bucket is great for those.

a few other yeast strains can krausen big too.

if its a 6.5 gallon carboy you should be good to go, but if its only 5 gallons, that's gonna leave you with more beer lost to blow off.

 

[david_42]

Wheats and hefeweizens need major head space as well.