Can I Ferment 2.5 Gal in a 5 Gallon bucket?

[dstranger99]

Can I Ferment 2.5 Gal in a 5 Gallon bucket?

Yes/No/Maybe ?

Got a 2.5 gallon Mr Beer American Light as a gift. I have since tossed my Mr Beer Barrel, but I do have my 5 gallon.... Would it still work ok ?

 

[iambeer]

That works perfectly! And you won't have to worry about a crazy krausen showing up.

 

[trumpetbeard]

2.5 gallons should ferment without problems in a 5 gallon bucket for primary fermentation. Some people prefer it for beers with volatile fermentations like hefes because it leaves enough headspace for the krausen to rise without requiring a blowoff tube.

It's important to note that 5 gallons will not necessarily work for 2.5 gallons in secondary if you choose to use one. Because the beer isn't producing CO2 in as great of quantities as during primary, all that head space will be full of oxygen making the beer more prone to oxygen damage or infection. That's not to say if you secondary 2.5 gals in a 5 gal bucket you'll ruin your beer, but something to think about.

 

[dstranger99]

Excellent, too bad Mr Beer doesn't sell 5 gallon gift kits, You still have to do your usual routine, but this time for only for 2.5 gallons.......Sheesh...

 

[iambeer]

I only do 3 gallon all grain batches, it's great. You could just buy another extract kit from mr beer and do the full 5 gallons.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I also do 2.5 and 3 gallon batches in a bucket but I use a 7.9 gallon ale pale.

 

[evrose]

Can I Ferment 2.5 Gal in a 5 Gallon bucket?

Yes/No/Maybe ?

Got a 2.5 gallon Mr Beer American Light as a gift. I have since tossed my Mr Beer Barrel, but I do have my 5 gallon.... Would it still work ok ?

Yeast doesn't give a (*#* how big the bucket is. You can ferment a two quarts in a 5 gallon bucket if you want.

 

[adamjackson]

GO FOR IT! Only concern is don't fool with the airlock at any point until you're ready to take an FG reading. That much headspace turns to CO2 during fermentation, take out the bung and you're introducing oxygen (aka oxidation). It's not a HUGE concern for 3 week or less fermentations but something to keep in mind. I'd say don't mess with it for 14 days, take FG reading..take another in 2 days...if stable, bottle / keg. Some say 3 weeks but well it's all individual preference.

 

[bobbrews]

Yes to primary, No to secondary. If you want to use secondary, it should be closer to the batch size with very little headspace.

 

[sweed]

I'd add a bunch of other stuff to it to not make an american light beer kit... but that me
I like big beers

 

[dstranger99]

I boiled this on 8-3, and on 8-4 the air lock bubbled all day and came to a stop on Sunday evening 8-5. Saw no more bubbling on Monday either, should I bottle this small batch, or put it in secondary for a few days and then bottle? Again my secondary is another 5 gallon bucket, too much headspace for just a few days ?.......

 

[GTaylor]

Just because the airlock quit bubbling does not mean that fermentation is done. Like was said earlier, wait a couple of weeks and let the yeast do their thing then take a couple gravity readings to confirm. This should also allow some time for a little cleanup for a clearer beer.

 

[strambo]

With all that headspace the airlock will stop sooner, the yeast are still working though. Just bottle after 2-3 weeks and grav. readings to confirm.