Carboy vs Bucket Fermenting??

[kombat]

I don't buy the "different fermentations" argument. It was one single wort, simply split into 2 fermentation vessels. It was one batch of yeast, prepared in a single vessel, and then half was poured in one, and half was poured in the other. There's no reason why one would start fermenting before the other. I think the explanation is simply that for whatever reason, the PET carboy was stifling the formation of a krausen, but the fermentations themselves were (as they logically should have) progressing at identical rates. What possible reason could there be for them NOT to?

 

[55x11]

I just looked at both of these exbeeriments, and perhaps find them flawed because of the following....

Bucket vs PET Carboy
The author states that he was able to very cleanly rack the beer from the carboy, yet when draining the bucket through the spigot, a fair amount of yeast cake was transferred to the keg, hence different beers perhaps?

Glass vs PET Carboy
Quote from exbeeriment, "I returned 28 hours later to find the beer in the glass carboy actively fermenting, while the beer in the PET carboy looked dead."

The glass fermenter experienced the onset of fermentation a full 28 hours sooner than the PET, then both were warmed on the same schedule? Perhaps the ferm chamber chilled the PET carboy more due to less mass and fermentation was much slower to start? Regardless, these were 2 different fermentations! How does one explain the lengthy lag time w/ the PET fermenter? Two different fermentations, will yield 2 different beers!

I just don't think the differences presented can be directly attributed to the fermenter...

Maybe Marshall should try 2 identical batches and see if there is statistical significance that they are different??? lol. How clean are the serving kegs, lines, taps and growlers used in the exbeeriment?

On bucket transfer from Brulosophy:

"I start my siphon from the middle of the carboy, allowing me to avoid sucking up too much trub while kegging. With the bucket, the spigot is low enough that trub actually builds up in it and, despite my best efforts to clear it prior to packaging, quite a bit made it into the keg. The only real downside to this is that it took a few more throwaway ounces to get to the “clean” stuff, as the floaters were absent by the time the beers were ready for evaluation."

You can look at it as a flaw in the experimental design but you can also view it as the real-world feature of the fermentor system. I suspect most people using buckets will use spigot for transfer instead of siphon.

For the glass vs. PET, Brulosophy states:
"The filled carboys were covered with foil and placed in a cool chamber, it took about 4 hours for both to stabilize at my target fermentation temperature of 60°F/16°C. I rehydrated two packs of Saflager W-34/70 in warm water for 15 minutes then evenly split the slurry between the carboys."

So the temperature was measured and stable in both prior to pitching the yeast - whatever difference in lag in fermentation must be attributable to the fermenter - perhaps roughness of the internal carboy surface, as others suggested, played a key role.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I don't buy the "different fermentations" argument. It was one single wort, simply split into 2 fermentation vessels. It was one batch of yeast, prepared in a single vessel, and then half was poured in one, and half was poured in the other. There's no reason why one would start fermenting before the other. I think the explanation is simply that for whatever reason, the PET carboy was stifling the formation of a krausen, but the fermentations themselves were (as they logically should have) progressing at identical rates. What possible reason could there be for them NOT to?

Do these look identical? C'mon really They sure don't look identical to me...
Maybe we should just draw the conclusion that fermentation starts much faster in glass than PET...



The reasons for them not to be identical are infinite

 

[dkennedy]

I use a 5 Gallon bucket for fermentation is there any advantage to use a glass Carboy?

Way to pull the pin...

My $0.02, or less with inflation: buckets are available, resilient, cheap enough to replace, easy to clean, and result in beer that I am proud of.

The key is the last bit: Happy with your beer? Rock on with your bad self. I'd love to have all stainless, but that's pricy...maybe when I win the lottery.