Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I've hated the bucket fermenter since the first time I used it... Which is why I've only used it twice so far... After the second time, I picked up another carboy.
I am migrating over from carboys to kegs for fermenting and aging in though. I have one 5 gallon corny keg primary/aging vessel as well as four 5.16 gallon (1/6 size) Sanke kegs to use for aging/fermenting... Once you remove the spear from the Sanke, a large universal bung fits perfectly in the opening. I am hunting for some tall 1/4 size Sanke kegs, so that I won't even need to use fermcap in future batches. I want the tall ones so that they take up less floor space.
I see kegs as a much better option than either carboys or buckets for beer. For one thing, zero light can penetrate the kegs. No oxygen will enter from the sides either. The opening is small, depending on which keg you get, close to a carboy, or just a little larger. They're easy to clean with a simple tool (keg cleaner on a drill does wonders, with a little PBW/oxyclean soak). Don't need to worry about scratching them either, when cleaning...
I've almost gotten past the need/desire to look at what I have fermenting. I have a honey cream ale that went into the corny keg on 2/26 and I haven't looked inside it once. After the yeast was pitched in, and the airlock went on, I've left it alone... That brew is slated for bottles this week.
I'll still make my mead in carboy's though. I do plan on aging the mead in kegs, once the batches are ready that is.
I am migrating over from carboys to kegs for fermenting and aging in though. I have one 5 gallon corny keg primary/aging vessel as well as four 5.16 gallon (1/6 size) Sanke kegs to use for aging/fermenting... Once you remove the spear from the Sanke, a large universal bung fits perfectly in the opening. I am hunting for some tall 1/4 size Sanke kegs, so that I won't even need to use fermcap in future batches. I want the tall ones so that they take up less floor space.
I see kegs as a much better option than either carboys or buckets for beer. For one thing, zero light can penetrate the kegs. No oxygen will enter from the sides either. The opening is small, depending on which keg you get, close to a carboy, or just a little larger. They're easy to clean with a simple tool (keg cleaner on a drill does wonders, with a little PBW/oxyclean soak). Don't need to worry about scratching them either, when cleaning...
I've almost gotten past the need/desire to look at what I have fermenting. I have a honey cream ale that went into the corny keg on 2/26 and I haven't looked inside it once. After the yeast was pitched in, and the airlock went on, I've left it alone... That brew is slated for bottles this week.
I'll still make my mead in carboy's though. I do plan on aging the mead in kegs, once the batches are ready that is.