Fermenter size for belgian wheat stout

[drunkinThailand]

A friend of mine told me that to brew a hefeweizen you need a 6.5 gallon fermentor for a 5 gallon batch. Would that also be true for a belgian wheat stout using the following recipe? Or could I use the normal size fermenter (regular food grade bucket)?

Pilsen 2RS 5.72 lbs
Wheat Blanc 0.8 lbs
Chocolate 0.8 lbs
Wheat Black 0.44 lbs
Cara Gold 0.4 lbs
Black 0.3 lbs
yeast: mangrove jack m27 belgian ale (this is the only suitable yeast that is available where i live)

thanks

 

[rschell]

Regardless of the style, I would only use glass or stainless. It is always good to have headroom in the fermentor to prevent blowing off viable yeast into the airlock or the blow-off bucket. If you slightly overpitch you should be fine blowing off yeast.

 

[flars]

Having one and a half gallons of headspace eliminates the need for a blow off tube assembly, sometimes. When in doubt though start with a blow off tube. Having the extra headspace does reduce the amount of beer lost through the blow off tube. Consider reducing the recipe to four gallon size if your bucket has limited headspace for a five gallon brew.