Can I make a hefeweizen in an ale pail?

[Pyrenus]

I have a basic starter kit with a 6 gallon ale pail but I don't have anything that I could attach a blow off tube to. Would it be a bad idea to ferment the hefe in the ale pail with only an airlock on it?

I'm going to get a 6 gallon carboy or better bottle sometime, but it won't be in time for this batch, unless I want to spend $50 at the local home brew store. They are a bit pricey.

Would it be a good/bad idea to make a slightly smaller batch (4.5 gallons or so) to leave extra room for the krausen? (did I spell that right?)

Thanks for any help or suggestions. I'm really looking forward to the hefeweizen, its the main reason I wanted to home brew in the first place!

EDIT: Oh, I should add that I do have a dedicated fridge and a temp controller, so fermenting at lower temperatures is possible. Wouldn't that help keep it under control a little better?

Pyre

 

[Tenchiro]

I did it on my last batch of Hefe and had no problems.

 

[monty3777]

I just finished one in my ale pale. Had absolutely no issue with using an air lock. Mine was five gallons as well.

 

[bigjohnmilford]

You'll be fine in your pail. You shouldn't need to worry about temps either unless you're some where that gets rather warm this time of year.

 

[mmb]

Get a piece of 1/2 vinyl tubing and slip it over the center post of the three piece airlock and run that into a container of water. Remove the little X brace of plastic in the bottom of the airlock so that it can't clog with gunk.

Instant blowoff for a bucket

 

[Revvy]

I have a basic starter kit with a 6 gallon ale pail but I don't have anything that I could attach a blow off tube to.

Pyre

WRONG-O...If you have an airlock, you have a way to attach a a blowoff tube.

Let me introduce you to my leetle friend, the airlock blowoff tube...

Other people have modded my design by hooking a 1" tube over the entire airlock.

One thing you need to do is saw or snap the little criss cross piece of plastic on the bottom of the airlock. The criss cross can get jammed with pieces of hops or krauzen and get blocked...

 

[Pyrenus]

That's a good idea, funny I never thought of that.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

Can I make a hefeweizen in an ale pail?

Umm NO its an ale pail not a hefeweizen pail!!! Duh!!!

 

[Yooper]

Umm NO its an ale pail not a hefeweizen pail!!! Duh!!!

wait, isn't a hefeweizen an ale?

If you don't have an airlock like in the picture (you may have an s-type), you can take that racking tubing, remove the grommet from the bucket, and jam the end of the tubing through the hole. The other end can go in a pitcher or bowl with sanitizer in it.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

I suppose......but only if you want to get technical......


On a side note I've just jammed a racking hose into the hole in the carboy stopper and it worked just fine, granted the tubing was pretty much useless after having krausen in it for a couple weeks but it worked.

 

[tdavisii]

WRONG-O...If you have an airlock, you have a way to attach a a blowoff tube.

Let me introduce you to my leetle friend, the airlock blowoff tube...

Other people have modded my design by hooking a 1" tube over the entire airlock.

One thing you need to do is saw or snap the little criss cross piece of plastic on the bottom of the airlock. The criss cross can get jammed with pieces of hops or krauzen and get blocked...

I have the exact same setup. Works like a charm. Just make sure you heat up the tubing in some hot water before you put it on the airlock.

 

[Bob]

Um. Er. I think trying to rig a blowoff to a bucket is a pointless hassle that's not worth solving!

What's the point of sealing the bucket? I just lay a sheet of sanitized Plexiglas across mine. Before that, I covered the airlock hole with a piece of clear acrylic tape, sanitized the whole gazoo, and laid it loosely on the bucket.

That way I don't A. have to cuss out everyone from Charlie Papazian to my LHBS guy when I finally get out the reciprocating saw to take off the gawd!mn bucket lid; B. stir up all the sediment while involved with A.; or C. buy an expensive singular-use tool for getting the lid off easily. Seriously - I once speared the hell out of my hand trying to pry off the lid with a screwdriver, whereupon I discovered I had stirred up the sediment so much, it was pointless to do anything other than reinstall the damned lid and wait for the sediment to settle. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Second, if the krausen rises far enough that it'll foul a regular ol' airlock, you've overfilled the bucket. I regularly ferment 5.5 gallons (or slightly more) in my Ale Pails; the most I get is a bit of smarm right in the center of the lid, where the krausen is highest.

Thus, I consider sealing the bucket a pointless PITA.

I should mention I've never once had a problem with contamination. As proof of concept, I used the same method to cover open fermenters when I brewed for a living. If I'm willing to trust $3,000 of fermenting wort to this method, I'm willing to trust $20. Oh, and if you use Plexiglas you can watch the krausen move. That's dead sexy.

Y'all do what you like, though! If it's simple and it works for you, it ain't broke, so no reason to go fixing it.

Bob

 

[golfguy819]

I have the exact same setup. Works like a charm. Just make sure you heat up the tubing in some hot water before you put it on the airlock.

i bought tubing with an inner diameter of 1/2 inch and it slips right on (but is a little bit of a pain to get off). no heating required.

 

[CBBaron]

I've had a couple of normal sized ales that blew off in my ale pail so it is definitely possible. One of those was a Wit.

Much better than putting a tube on the airlock is to replace the air lock with a piece of racking tubing. I've found with a little effort I can push the end of the tube into the grommetted hole. Then put the other end in your bottle of sanitizing solution. That solution is less likely to plug than the small opening on the airlock.


I do not find bucket lids that hard to remove. I just place the palm of my hand on top of the lid and pry up the edge with my fingers. Then start working around the rim until you have enough free to grab hold a pull it off.

Craig

 

[bottle-o-jeff]

I'd do the blowoff for sure. Granted, my Dunkelweisen was fermenting a bit warmer than I would have liked, the entire lid of the ale pail blew off. One hell of a way to wake up on a Sunday morning. Like others have said, the hose from the racking cane will fit right into that little grommet that you've got in the lid.

I'd recommend hitting Home Depot and getting a different hose though, you'll pretty much ruin your racking hose with the blow off (not easy to clean).