Headspace for secondary with fruit

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beerbaker

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I've googled and such for an answer to this, but couldn't find the right combination of answers. I'm planning a 2.5 gal blonde that I plan to rack onto strawberries. I had intended to ferment in a 3gal better bottle (I know.. tight headspace) and rack into a second 3gal BB with about 4lbs of strawberries. Then it hit me, the berries will take up a ton of space, and this is going to start fermenting again. SO... since the fruit will cause more fermentation, thus filling any space with co2, can I put the 2.5 gal + strawberries (which will end up being less than 2.5 due to trub loss) into my 6gal glass carboy? There will be a ton of empty space, but the fermenting fruit will take care of that anyway won't it? Won't have to worry about strawberry blow-off this way either..
 
I would say it would fill back up with co2. But I wouldn't open it untill you rack or bottle.
 
Strawberries weigh around 7lbs per gallon IIRC, so 2.5 gallons of beer and 4 lbs of strawberried will be a very tight fit in a 3 gallon vessel. Fruit can be amazingly good at clogging blow tubes as well. I made a beercano with figs not too long ago. When I popped the carboy cap to clear the blockage, it shot beer all over my cellar.

As long as you aren't planning on leaving the beer on the fruit for an extended period of time, I wouldn't worry about the headspace. Three gallons of empty carboy or one gallon of empty carboy is all the same, there is only so much surface area where the beer is in contact with the air. Ideally, you want to CO2 flush the secondary vessel before transferring, but if you can't, don't worry about it. I can and I'm usually too lazy to bother.
 
I would say it would fill back up with co2. But I wouldn't open it untill you rack or bottle.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I just don't see it fitting in my 3 gallon BB, and if it does, it's going to make a big red sticky mess haha.
 
Strawberries weigh around 7lbs per gallon IIRC, so 2.5 gallons of beer and 4 lbs of strawberried will be a very tight fit in a 3 gallon vessel. Fruit can be amazingly good at clogging blow tubes as well. I made a beercano with figs not too long ago. When I popped the carboy cap to clear the blockage, it shot beer all over my cellar.

Hilarious, and.. my wife would kill me.

As long as you aren't planning on leaving the beer on the fruit for an extended period of time, I wouldn't worry about the headspace. Three gallons of empty carboy or one gallon of empty carboy is all the same, there is only so much surface area where the beer is in contact with the air. Ideally, you want to CO2 flush the secondary vessel before transferring, but if you can't, don't worry about it. I can and I'm usually too lazy to bother.

The recipe I'm using / modifying involved a primary, secondary with fruit, and then racking off the fruit after a week or so into a third vessel to finish up. So if I do it this way, I can primary in my 3gal BB, seconday with fruit in my bigger glass carboy, then rack back into a better bottle after fermenting out to finish up, where it would have minimal headspace. Then leave it to clear (which it likely won't) for a little while, and bottle at my convenience. I'm impatient, so that would likely happen fairly quickly too hah.
 
Go to Walmart and buy 2 of their 5 gallon white buckets and make sure you get the lids too. Drill a tiny hole in each lid and tape a piece of saran wrap over it to act as an airlock. Got that?

Rack your beer onto the strawberries in the 6 gallon carboy. Let it stay there until all signs of fermentation cease, then rack it to the better bottle again for clearing. Now make another 2 1/2 gallon batch of beer and put it in the plastic bucket. Make another 2 1/2 gallon batch and put that in the carboy. Make a third 2 1/2 gallon batch and put it into the other bucket. By the time the fermentation has slowed down in the second bucket (third batch), your strawberry blonde will be ready to bottle. :p
 
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