Got a starter kit from Northern Brewing Co and the fermenter is the bucket one. I need to get a carboy to be able to have a secondary fermenter but was curious about which should be my primary and which should be my secondary. I'm just kind of thrown off about bucket fermenting haha
Fermenter Question
- Thread starter Thejbj13
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GotDrunkThenLost
Well-Known Member
Firstly I'd recommend posting the kit recipe on here so that more experienced folks can give you a heads up as to whether a secondary is really necessary.
Second, if the secondary is necessary it would probably be the carboy that is secondary (hopefully with not too much headspace).
I've got a bucket and a carboy and I now tend to use them as 2 fermenters for simultaneous fermentation rather than primary/secondary although that also depends on the recipe I'm using.
Second, if the secondary is necessary it would probably be the carboy that is secondary (hopefully with not too much headspace).
I've got a bucket and a carboy and I now tend to use them as 2 fermenters for simultaneous fermentation rather than primary/secondary although that also depends on the recipe I'm using.
Depending on the kit you received there would be little need to use a secondary short of using fruit. If you want to clear your beer you can use finning agents or just crash cool it in a fridge. Hope this helps.
GotDrunkThenLost
Well-Known Member
If it were me (and I don't really know, I'm just repeating what I've seen on here parrot fashion), I wouldn't do a secondary, they'd be used for long term aging (4 weeks isn't long term) or putting other things in the beer (dry hopping, fruit etc.). The recipe doesn't suggest either so I wouldn't secondary, but bottle in the same kind of timeframe as suggested but without the moving from primary to secondary.
Thank you I appreciate it, I just read the whole recipe and it actually said I don't technically need one but then to keep it in there and add an additional week before bottling. Thank you
Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
Most beers you'll make as a beginning brewer won't need a secondary vessel. (I wish people would quit calling it a secondary fermenter because those are only used in wine making - brewers use a "settling" or "bright" tank.) Do your first few batches in the bucket. It is simpler and will make good beer.
A secondary vessel (usually a carboy) should be 5 gallon capacity. Beers that require fruit additions, lengthy conditioning and/or aging can be kept in this vessel for a long time as long as you fill it into the neck to reduce o2 exposure to your beer.
As you get more experienced you may find that using that 5 gal. carboy as a settling tank is very helpful. I use mine quite a lot. But until you get to that point in your brewing I'd suggest you keep it simple. The beer you make will be good.
And instead of stressing about equipment, shift your focus to controlling the temperature of your fermenting beer. This is far more important than the equipment you select.
Cheers and good luck!
A secondary vessel (usually a carboy) should be 5 gallon capacity. Beers that require fruit additions, lengthy conditioning and/or aging can be kept in this vessel for a long time as long as you fill it into the neck to reduce o2 exposure to your beer.
As you get more experienced you may find that using that 5 gal. carboy as a settling tank is very helpful. I use mine quite a lot. But until you get to that point in your brewing I'd suggest you keep it simple. The beer you make will be good.
And instead of stressing about equipment, shift your focus to controlling the temperature of your fermenting beer. This is far more important than the equipment you select.
Cheers and good luck!
Ferment in a bucket fermenter or a six gallon Better Bottle. I personally do not recommend glass carboys because of the danger of breaking one. There is often no need to do a secondary, but if you are adding fruit or something, then a 5 gallon fermenter is what you want. I leaves a smaller headspace and less possibility of oxidizing your beer.
I use a carboy as my primary fermenter. I generally need to use a blow off tube because there is usually about a half gallon of headspace in my 6 gallon carboy.
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