fermenting in the bottleing bucket.

[jonp9576]

i was at my local homebrew supply today, and i was asking the guy about fermenting in the bottling bucket(with the spigot) i read on here i could do it. he said not to. any thoughts?

 

[IrregularPulse]

If you have a lid there is no reason not to.
My "thoughts" are that he wanted to sell you another bucket. The only difference between bottling buckets and fermenting buckets and the spigot and lack thereof.

 

[BigKahuna]

If you have a lid there is no reason not to.
My "thoughts" are that he wanted to sell you another bucket. The only difference between bottling buckets and fermenting buckets and the spigot and lack thereof.

My first kit came with 2 buckets...both had spigots. I just recently got a third bucket that does not have one.
Ferment away!

 

[jonp9576]

well...i guess he got me this time. i bought another bucket. so i guess now i have 3 fermenters...thats exciting...shame on him though

 

[BigKahuna]

Meh!
You really want to keep one as a clean bottling bucket.
The fermentors will end up with a hops smell....Not so great for wine and stuff...but it's ok.

 

[GearBeer]

Keep a spigoted bucket for dispensing stored sanitizer.
I've pretty much perpetually got one sitting in my kitchen with ~2 gallons of sanitizer. Useful stuff!

 

[Howler]

You still need at least 2 buckets, right? Primary (with or without spigot) -> secondary (with or without).

Then you can go to a 3rd bottling bucket (what I do), or you could go back to your first one (if it had a spigot) for bottling.

Maybe your LHBS guy was trying to tell you that you at least need another bucket to get the beer off the trub and to mix in priming sugar? So, in essence, you can't go straight from primary to bottles?

 

[ArcaneXor]

Maybe your LHBS guy was trying to tell you that you at least need another bucket to get the beer off the trub and to mix in priming sugar? So, in essence, you can't go straight from primary to bottles?

That's how I understood the question. I definitely wouldn't bottle straight from the fermenter because either

a) You may get incomplete mixing of the priming sugar if you don't stir it in, or
b) You'll resuspend a lot of yeast, proteins and particulates if you do stir it in

Unless you prime the bottles directly with carb tabs or some such, it's a lose/lose situation. Buckets (or better yet, Better Bottles) are cheap - unless you are on a shoestring budget, buy yourself a couple extras and you won't run into any problems.

 

[jonp9576]

i am going to be kegging, and so far everyone i've asked told me i can go from my primary to the keg. is this wrong?

 

[barefootbrewer]

The only reason I've ever heard not to ferment in a bottling bucket has to do with contamination around the spigot. That may be harder to clean/sanitize than a bucket without a spigot on it (gives bacteria a place to possibly grow). Since you only use the bottling bucket to bottle beer with alcohol in it - and for a short time, then it shouldn't be as much of an issue.

That being said, you are probably fine as long as you take the spigot off and clean/sanitize it.

 

[millstone]

Has anybody ever changed out the spigot with sort of plug (plastic, nylon brass), so that it could be used as a fermenting bucket and lessen the chance of contamination?

thanks

tom

 

[Bob]

i am going to be kegging, and so far everyone i've asked told me i can go from my primary to the keg. is this wrong?

No, it is not wrong. If you permit the beer to remain in the primary long enough to drop bright, you can simply drain the beer through the spigot into the keg. Carbonation can be achieved by pressure or priming in the keg. If you prime, you can place the priming solution in the keg before racking. That'll get it mixed up nicely.

Bob

 

[Bob]

Has anybody ever changed out the spigot with sort of plug (plastic, nylon brass), so that it could be used as a fermenting bucket and lessen the chance of contamination?

I don't think you're lessening the chance of contamination. If you're that concerned about contamination, get an undrilled bucket.

I have fermented in spigot-equipped buckets for fifteen years. I have never had a batch go bad that was directly attributable to the spigot.

In a pinch, I suppose you could plug the hole by sticking an undrilled rubber stopper in it - from the inside out, of course!

Cheers,

Bob

 

[chrishart7]

I've read that some of the brew kit spigots will not remain water tight for an extended period of time, but I used my bottling bucket as a primary and had no such problem. Although this was my first brew and everything was brand new.

I chose to do it this way such that transferring to a secondary is much easier because you do not need to use a siphon but rather a gravity feed tube.

 

[Zeno]

The only reason I've ever heard not to ferment in a bottling bucket has to do with contamination around the spigot. That may be harder to clean/sanitize than a bucket without a spigot on it (gives bacteria a place to possibly grow).

That was the rational I got from my homebrew shop owner.

 

[Bob]

That was the rational I got from my homebrew shop owner.

I think your response should have been, "[shrug] So I'll clean it."



Bob

 

[jonp9576]

thanks everyone for the input. since i got another fermenter today without a hole in it. i guess i have no worries. i just kegged my first brew. i am very excited to try it.

i made my second wort today as well. EDME red ale. my og was 1.055, the targets on the can were between 1056 and 1060. i figure its close enough.

tomorrow in my second fermenter its going to be a wheat beer. any tips?

 

[jcarson83]

I used a bottleing bucket for a secondary for awhile until I got a few infections in a row and quit. I guess the worst part for me (besides the infections) was that my spigot always leaked. It was a slow leak at about a beer every week but that enough for me.

 

[fratermus]

I guess the worst part for me (besides the infections) was that my spigot always leaked. It was a slow leak at about a beer every week but that enough for me.

The leak part is what came to mind for me, too.