Glass Primary

[michaelob]

I am making a 5 gallon batch, I have a 5 gallon glass carboy...Can I use this for a primary? Not sure if I need a certain amount of head space.

 

[pdbreen]

Yes - but don't fill above the shoulders (or much above them) and definitely use a blow off tube for the first few days. You may lose some volume in the blow off, but the beer will be fine.

 

[Pappers_]

Yes, you'll need head space, so you'll want to use a bigger primary. 6 or 6 1/2 gallon carboys work, as do larger buckets.

 

[twst1up]

do NOT use an airlock...blow off hose

 

[Austinhomebrew]

In my opinion a 6 1/2 gallon is barely large enough. If you use a 5 gallon as a primary and you have a healthy fermentation you will lose at least a gallon of beer.

Forrest

 

[Edcculus]

Fermcap to the rescue!

 

[pweizman]

I think it depends on the beer.

I just brewed a brown xmas ale, and used a 5 gallon glass carboy with blow off tube. I read so much, and was scared of a mess, so I only topped off to 4.75 gallons (below the shoulders of the carboy)...and it could have made a full 5 gallons!

It didn't need but about 1-2 inches of head space.

So, as I say...I guess it depends on the beer.

What causes a huge Krausen? Big beers?

Patrick

 

[rico567]

As a previous post suggested, use Fermcap to suppress the krausen, or just do what I do....use a bucket.

 

[JuanMoore]

I have two 6.5 gal carboys, but sometimes I want to have 3 beers in primary fermentation at the same time. I've found that I can comfortably ferment about 4.8 gal of a lower krausen producing beer in a 5 gal carboy. Higher gravity beers or beers with high protein grains (wheat, rye, oatmeal) go in the larger carboys to make sure I have enough headspace.

 

[ABurgh]

I use a 6.5 gallon glass carboy and a blowoff tube for primary, because yes, I've had it go that high! Plus with glass carboys, you can watch it ferment, unlike buckets.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

The thrill of watching it ferment fades when you realize you are losing beer. If you have a healthy fermentation the foam will go past the 6.5 gallon carboy. I would rather use a 8 gallon bucket and have a healthy fermentation. I don't want to add silicone to every beer so that I can use a glass carboy.

Forrest

 

[tincob]

Wow, this is the first time I read that 6.5 gallon may be too small for a fermentation bucket / carboy.

Has this been other's experience too?

I don't plan on brewing batches larger than 5 gallons for the foreseeable future (I know, famous last words) and was thinking about either getting a 6.5 gallon carboy for primary or 2 5 gallon carboys as secondary.

I currently have just one 6.5 gallon bucket.

 

[torque2k]

The thrill of watching it ferment fades when you realize you are losing beer. If you have a healthy fermentation the foam will go past the 6.5 gallon carboy. I would rather use a 8 gallon bucket and have a healthy fermentation. I don't want to add silicone to every beer so that I can use a glass carboy.

Forrest

Sorry to post this side question, but it does pertain to the OP. Forrest, why do Better Bottles only come in sizes up to six gallons? I'm almost ready to press the BUY button (on your site, no less) to start switching my pails over to BBs, but if this is going to be an ongoing issue, then I may stick with my buckets...

 

[JuanMoore]

Wow, this is the first time I read that 6.5 gallon may be too small for a fermentation bucket / carboy.

Has this been other's experience too?

I don't plan on brewing batches larger than 5 gallons for the foreseeable future (I know, famous last words) and was thinking about either getting a 6.5 gallon carboy for primary or 2 5 gallon carboys as secondary.

I currently have just one 6.5 gallon bucket.

6.5 gal certainly pushes the limits of some 5 gal batches. The IIPA I'm drinking right now was 4.8 gal in a 6.5 gal carboy, and was blowing lots of krausen through a 1" blow tube during initial fermentation. It did have an OG of 1.114 and had some rye in the mash though. Most of the beers I brew are fine in a 6.5 gal fermenter.

I recently wanted to brew a higher gravity beer but didn't have any larger carboys available. I ended up increasing the recipe to 7.5 gal and splitting it between two 5 gal carboys. This way I get more beer, and I can even pitch different yeasts or use different dry hop varieties for comparison.

 

[pweizman]

Ok...I have to go back on my original statement a bit.

I didn't lose any beer...but I came darn close. I made a 4.75 gal batch, and put it in a 5 gallon carboy. I got about two drops of foam in my blow off tube.

It is a Extract batch of xmas ale.

I am going to top it off a bit with a bit extra water in the priming sugar mix.

Patrick

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Sorry to post this side question, but it does pertain to the OP. Forrest, why do Better Bottles only come in sizes up to six gallons? I'm almost ready to press the BUY button (on your site, no less) to start switching my pails over to BBs, but if this is going to be an ongoing issue, then I may stick with my buckets...

I have talked to the manufacturer of the "Better Bottles" (not the guy that puts the stickers on the bottles). They cannot make a mold big enough for the equipment they have so 6 gallons is the limit. I was hoping to have a custom 8 gallon bottle made.

I recommend using a fermenter that will hold the beer and all of the foam as well if you have a heathy fermentation. Every homebrew store has a 7.9 gallon bucket.

Forrest

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Ok...I have to go back on my original statement a bit.

I didn't lose any beer...but I came darn close. I made a 4.75 gal batch, and put it in a 5 gallon carboy. I got about two drops of foam in my blow off tube.

It is a Extract batch of xmas ale.

I am going to top it off a bit with a bit extra water in the priming sugar mix.

Patrick

If you don't experience much foam, the fermentation is not as healthy as it should be.

Forrest

 

[torque2k]

I have talked to the manufacturer of the "Better Bottles" (not the guy that puts the stickers on the bottles). They cannot make a mold big enough for the equipment they have so 6 gallons is the limit. I was hoping to have a custom 8 gallon bottle made.

I recommend using a fermenter that will hold the beer and all of the foam as well if you have a heathy fermentation. Every homebrew store has a 7.9 gallon bucket.

Forrest

Forrest, thanks for the honest opinion. I'll probably hold off on the bottles for now, and get a new bucket (mines starting to hold smells and it's discolored). How's your promo American IPA? Looks tempting for $30... :rockin:

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Forrest, thanks for the honest opinion. I'll probably hold off on the bottles for now, and get a new bucket (mines starting to hold smells and it's discolored). How's your promo American IPA? Looks tempting for $30... :rockin:

The Promo IPA is selling well. It is a great deal. We have sold almost 100 kits in less than a week. These are traditional kits hard to go wrong.

I am sure there will be a tread about it because so many of you purchased the kits.

Forrest

 

[humann_brewing]

There are a lot of factors on how crazy your krauzen will go but if you can control the temp and use the lower end of the suggested range for your yeast, combine with some fermcap, you could get away with a little headspace.

I have a 5.5g batch of a 1.120 beer in a 6.5g carboy because I was expecting a huge krauzen. I used my new freezer to control the temp for the first time, it is currently on day 5 and fermentation has been steady as can be and the krauzen has never been above 1/2 - 1" high using WLP007 at 65F.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Yes, you can do tricks with temperature and by adding silicone to the beer, but why?

I am sure that most breweries do not add silicone to thier beers on a regular basis.

Just get a primary fermenter that does the job.

Forrest

 

[motobrewer]

I have a hard time believing 5 gallons of anything under 1.065 would blow thru a 6.5 carboy, unless you put closer to 5.5 or 6 gallons in.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

If you have fresh yeast and a healthy fermentation it more than likely will go past 6.5 gallons.

I brewed 10 gallons in a 15 gallon caboy with yeast that just arrived at the store and a little yeast nutrient. I didn't think I needed a blow off tube with 5 gallons of headspace but the yeast was fresh and due to the nutrients the fermentation was very healthy. I still lost 1 1/2 gallons of beer because of the foam.

I would rather ferment in a container that can handle a healthy fermentation.

Forrest

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I have a hard time believing 5 gallons of anything under 1.065 would blow thru a 6.5 carboy, unless you put closer to 5.5 or 6 gallons in.

Believe it. Every beer I brew would blow out but I use Fermcap. I do not fear it and it makes my life way easier. No more dealing with blowoff hoses or worry about krausen levels. I love it.

 

[humann_brewing]

Believe it. Every beer I brew would blow out but I use Fermcap. I do not fear it and it makes my life way easier. No more dealing with blowoff hoses or worry about krausen levels. I love it.

Does fermcap last through the boil and still effective during fementation?

I posted above about not having problems with blowoff even on my 1.120 beer but just realized that I used fermcaps at the beginning of the boil and wondering if they are still helping me out.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

No. Fermcap drops out of solution immediately if it is not actively disturbed. I have never experienced even a slight carry over from kettle to fermenter. For a while I was using Fermcap only int he kettle, that's how I know that you will still get crazy krausen when using Fermcap in the kettle unless you add it again to the fermenter.

 

[humann_brewing]

No. Fermcap drops out of solution immediately if it is not actively disturbed. I have never experienced even a slight carry over from kettle to fermenter. For a while I was using Fermcap only int he kettle, that's how I know that you will still get crazy krausen when using Fermcap in the kettle unless you add it again to the fermenter.

hmm... then I have no explanation for a lack luster krausen. I am going to check the gravity tonight to make sure it is moving and possibly add some more o2 if the gravity is still high.

This is the first beer I truly controlled the temp though and I held it at the lower end of the suggested range, I think that had something to do with it. I still had the blowoff tube hooked up so more co2 could get out as well. Considering how big this beer was, it never blew off a lot of co2 at a given time, very consistent. It is finally slowing down on day 5 though.

 

[northernlad]

Wow, this is the first time I read that 6.5 gallon may be too small for a fermentation bucket / carboy.

Has this been other's experience too?

I don't plan on brewing batches larger than 5 gallons for the foreseeable future (I know, famous last words) and was thinking about either getting a 6.5 gallon carboy for primary or 2 5 gallon carboys as secondary.

I currently have just one 6.5 gallon bucket.

The first beer I ever brewed was a canned kit and it blasted out of my 6.5g bucket. I got a glass 6.5g carboy and my BB Porter clone was fine, but I brewed a low gravity ale and it blasted out of the carboy. I had to use a blow off with a Blonde in my 5g carboy.

 

[torque2k]

hmm... then I have no explanation for a lack luster krausen.

I've been having fermentation problems galore with my batches since I started. Underperforming, mainly, and leaving the beer just too damn sweet. The last batch I made, a Cali common, I changed up the water. I normally use 6.5gal of my hard well water, but this time I used three gallons of softened water and 3.5gal hard, and the beer changed quite a bit. I noticed a much higher krausen level than in similar batches I'd done, though I'm not sure that wasn't from using the San Francisco Lager yeast at 66ºF where I normally only do ale yeasts. Viscosity was different as well, and there's no ridiculous sweetness. FG was a hair below target, a nice change.

I've been listening to the four-part water podcast special from BrewStrong with Jamil and John Palmer, and I'm thinking water may have something to do with krausen levels. However, I'm just guessing at this point... I really need to get my water tested. :cross:

 

[pdbreen]

However, I'm just guessing at this point... I really need to get my water tested. :cross:

I finally got around to sending my well water out to Ward Labs today (opted for W-5 test though I understand W-6 is all you need). Since its been a few years, I'm just as curious for my general health as I am for the beer.

 

[rico567]

We live with well water that is perfectly potable, but so high in calcium and iron that we don't use it for drinking, cooking- and I don't use it for beermaking. Since I started brewing two years ago, I've used nothing but the RO (reverse osmosis) water from the machine at the grocery store. Ours costs 33 cents per gallon, so, with tax, that's $1.67 for 5 gallons. My beer turns out well, and all the numbers (FG, etc.) turn out the way they are supposed to. My transition to AG this Summer was relatively painless. It's more money, but not that much.....and what is beer, mostly, except water?

 

[Pickngrin]

+1 on the Fermcap

 

[motobrewer]

well, the biggest beer i've made has been 1.065, stepped up a starter from 500mL to 1L over the course of a few days, had quick and active fermentation, and that didn't really come close. I ferment at 65F. that's been my experience.

 

[humann_brewing]

I've been having fermentation problems galore with my batches since I started. Underperforming, mainly, and leaving the beer just too damn sweet. The last batch I made, a Cali common, I changed up the water. I normally use 6.5gal of my hard well water, but this time I used three gallons of softened water and 3.5gal hard, and the beer changed quite a bit. I noticed a much higher krausen level than in similar batches I'd done, though I'm not sure that wasn't from using the San Francisco Lager yeast at 66ºF where I normally only do ale yeasts. Viscosity was different as well, and there's no ridiculous sweetness. FG was a hair below target, a nice change.

I've been listening to the four-part water podcast special from BrewStrong with Jamil and John Palmer, and I'm thinking water may have something to do with krausen levels. However, I'm just guessing at this point... I really need to get my water tested. :cross:

I took a gravity reading last night and it was at like 1.046 which puts it right about 10% abv which is what WLP007 says it will handle. I dumped a pack of nottingham in this morning to see if if can finish it off. Wish me luck