Fermenter for 2.5 gallon batches

[soccerdad]

http://thevintageshop.ca/allproducts/3_gallon_pet_carboy.html

 

[Michael_K]

Check your local ice cream shop. Their ice cream usually comes in 3.5 gallon buckets. Cut a circular hole in the lid for your stopper and airlock.

 

[hanuswalrus]

I brew 3 - 3.5 gallon batches and have always used 6 gallon buckets for primary. If I do need to secondary, I have a couple 3 gal glass car boys. I was under the impression that 6 gallon was ok to ferment smaller batches because the CO2 from fermentation protects the beer from oxygen exposure inside the bucket. Is this not the case? My beer has never tasted oxidized using these bigger buckets.

 

[broadbill]

I brew 3 - 3.5 gallon batches and have always used 6 gallon buckets for primary. If I do need to secondary, I have a couple 3 gal glass car boys. I was under the impression that 6 gallon was ok to ferment smaller batches because the CO2 from fermentation protects the beer from oxygen exposure inside the bucket. Is this not the case? My beer has never tasted oxidized using these bigger buckets.

I think this is a classic case of where theory gets thrown out the window for results in actual practice. Marshall and company at http://brulosophy.com/ is actually making a very successful blog it, in fact.

 

[peterj]

I brew 3 - 3.5 gallon batches and have always used 6 gallon buckets for primary. If I do need to secondary, I have a couple 3 gal glass car boys. I was under the impression that 6 gallon was ok to ferment smaller batches because the CO2 from fermentation protects the beer from oxygen exposure inside the bucket. Is this not the case? My beer has never tasted oxidized using these bigger buckets.

No, you're fine. I do the same thing with a plastic 6 gallon carboy. As long as you have a good seal it would take much longer than a couple of weeks for an appreciable amount of oxygen to diffuse through the plastic.

 

[Calypso]

I brew 3 - 3.5 gallon batches and have always used 6 gallon buckets for primary. If I do need to secondary, I have a couple 3 gal glass car boys. I was under the impression that 6 gallon was ok to ferment smaller batches because the CO2 from fermentation protects the beer from oxygen exposure inside the bucket. Is this not the case? My beer has never tasted oxidized using these bigger buckets.

I really think you answered your own question.

AKA: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[wobdee]

I like the 3.2 gal Speidel. http://www.morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-storage-tank-12l-32-gal.html

 

[aprichman]

No one ever seems to have a good answer about how quickly the CO2 in a bucket will be mixed with O2 from the atmosphere. Don't age long term in a bucket, but is it happening in weeks? Anyone know?

Obviously metal and glass are better options for keeping it from happening. But cost and availability compared to the benefit?

It's hard to give an exact number because there's so many variables. Most plastic carboy/bucket manufacturers aren't going to be interested in oxygen permeability and pay to test their products, let alone make that information available to the public. On top of that the temperature, volume of liquid, and density of CO2 are going to play a role. Basically, you would have to figure this out on a case to case basis.

In reality I agree that it's largely a non-issue if you're getting a good seal.

 

[EndOfBeans]

Sorry if my pictures are messed up but this is what i use. 2.5 gallon pickle jars. On amazon. Heavy thick glass and they have wide opening and handles.

 

[Calypso]

That's a great idea!

 

[C-Rider]

Or make 1.9 gallon batches in 2 gallon paint buckets from HD for a few bucks each. Each brew will give you 3 six packs once you work out your volumes.

 

[bamcisman]

Brewdemon has a conical 3 gallon fermenter.

 

[Spartan300man]

Anyone try these screw-top buckets from Uline? No idea if they are food-safe, but the airtightness makes it an intriguing possibility. Plus, not having to pry lids off--just unscrew.

I have a 5-gallon bucket with a screw-lid that was filled with salt for a salt-water aquarium. The lid is not quite as deep/tall as those in the photo, but a screw-lid nonetheless. It is a pain in the wrasse (that's a salt-water fish joke). Unscrewing that thing is a two-hand job plus both thighs to keep the bucket still while you are gripping and spinning. I don't use it for anything but storage and cleaning, although I might turn it into my bottling bucket.

 

[Voyager]

I ferment in my brew kettle. You can get 20 qt stainless steel pots from Boscov's for $12 and they will last a long time.

People will tell you it's a bad idea because it's not completely sealed but it's bull. Don't listen to them. Saves space, time and it's self sanitizing.

 

[aprichman]

I ferment in my brew kettle. You can get 20 qt stainless steel pots from Boscov's for $12 and they will last a long time.

People will tell you it's a bad idea because it's not completely sealed but it's bull. Don't listen to them. Saves space, time and it's self sanitizing.

 

[jpakstis]

I just brewed a 2.5 gallon batch and used my 5 gallon carboy (the secondary in my BB kit) as the primary and I think it worked out great. As an aside I enjoyed having a see-through vessel to watch fermentation going on since my usual practice was to use the 6.5G/"paint" bucket. I was thinking about getting a 3 gallon carboy but I might just stick with the carboy in case I want to brew a bit more than 2.5G to keep the trub from my keg.

 

[TandemTails]

Sorry if my pictures are messed up but this is what i use. 2.5 gallon pickle jars. On amazon. Heavy thick glass and they have wide opening and handles.

That's a great idea! Did you punch a hole in the top to fit an airlock? Anyone think of any reasons the aluminum lid might cause any problems?

This would be great for mead making... start in a 3 gallon carboy and then after racking it would fit almost perfectly in one of these (Especially if you add fruit)

 

[Voyager]

Care to elaborate?

 

[aprichman]

Care to elaborate?

I guess you could say I disagree with your advice, I think it's very important to reduce oxygen exposure to your beer. Attention to reducing potential sources of off flavors makes the difference between "good" beer and "world class" beer IMO. However it was mostly meant as a bit of a joke

 

[chickypad]

As long as you package the beer shortly after fermentation I don't see it as a risk, I've fermented in unsealed buckets quite a bit and of course many breweries and brewers do open fermentation technique. I do worry once active fermentation is done and I agree it's good to get it out of there and either packaged or into something with reduced headspace. It seems like many are falsely reassured by the CO2 blanket myth and the incorrect assumption that airlocks don't let any oxygen back in, I pretty much tend to get everything out of the primary and packaged shortly after it's done, regardless of what kind of vessel it is.

 

[Voyager]

I guess you could say I disagree with your advice, I think it's very important to reduce oxygen exposure to your beer. Attention to reducing potential sources of off flavors makes the difference between "good" beer and "world class" beer IMO. However it was mostly meant as a bit of a joke

I hear you. I should go through the numbers and get the cold hard facts, but from what I've heard from Jamil Zainasheff and based on my own experience, there isn't a big oxygenation risk in an unsealed fermenter. I guess I have convinced myself, without hard numbers on the matter, that the diffusion rate of O2 into water/beer is just too low to be a problem during fermentation. Now, aging/storing beer for months/years is a different story.

I mean think about how hard we work to get plenty of oxygen into the wort before fermentation... it involves turning the surface over repeatedly so we force it in and don't have to rely on diffusion. So when it's sitting still in the fermenter I feel like it just isn't a problem. But again, I really should go through some numbers.

 

[EndOfBeans]

That's a great idea! Did you punch a hole in the top to fit an airlock? Anyone think of any reasons the aluminum lid might cause any problems?

This would be great for mead making... start in a 3 gallon carboy and then after racking it would fit almost perfectly in one of these (Especially if you add fruit)

Yeah, knocked a hole in it. Worked for two batches so far. Alot of pickling fermenters out there

 

[Voyager]

Yeah, knocked a hole in it. Worked for two batches so far. Alot of pickling fermenters out there

Do you have a problem with lid always smelling like pickles? I tried to use an empty pickle jar to store hops, but I could not get the smell out so I decided it wouldn't be good for storing hops. Maybe not a big deal for fermenting though?

 

[Jim311]

A friend of mine knows somebody that works at Walmart in the bakery. They apparently by frosting/icing in 2 or 3 gallon buckets and just throw the buckets away afterwards. Maybe you could ask for some from there.

 

[EndOfBeans]

Do you have a problem with lid always smelling like pickles? I tried to use an empty pickle jar to store hops, but I could not get the smell out so I decided it wouldn't be good for storing hops. Maybe not a big deal for fermenting though?

These are new from amazon brother, brand new glass never used!

 

[broadbill]

I guess you could say I disagree with your advice, I think it's very important to reduce oxygen exposure to your beer. Attention to reducing potential sources of off flavors makes the difference between "good" beer and "world class" beer IMO. However it was mostly meant as a bit of a joke

I don't disagree that reducing oxygen exposure to beer is important. My position is that its not a big issue with the methods we employ to make beer and so it doesn't rank in the list of things I worry about. It is a non-issue, especially when compared to things like sanitation, temperature control and the like.

 

[aprichman]

I don't disagree that reducing oxygen exposure to beer is important. My position is that its not a big issue with the methods we employ to make beer and so it doesn't rank in the list of things I worry about. It is a non-issue, especially when compared to things like sanitation, temperature control and the like.

Oxidation is a pretty commonly sited off flavor in BJCP judged competitions. If you're wanting to make world class beer, oxidation can't be written off as a "non-issue". IMO there's a huge difference between "pretty good" beer and "great" beer - in order to make "great" beer you really have to pay attention to minor details.

I always set out to make the best beer possible, so I consider issues like oxidation quite important. YMMV.

 

[whovous]

I guess the question is: To what extent does exposure to oxygen mean that oxidation can be tasted in the resulting beer?

 

[z-bob]

I don't think oxygen matters at all in the primary fermenter -- the yeast will use it up.

 

[aprichman]

I guess the question is: To what extent does exposure to oxygen mean that oxidation can be tasted in the resulting beer?

It would depend on the style as well as the taster but you would also have to consider other factors like the age of the beer, carbonation level, etc.