plastic bucket for fermentation???

[badbeer]

hello all, wanted to try fermenting in a plastic bucket to see if it was any different than using a glass carboy, besides the easy cleaning and the lighter weight(both big pluses!!!) I was told by my LHBS that I should not let it sit any longer than a week or it will begin to pick up some oxygen through the plastic!
it's a 7.9 gallon bucket and I know the head space will be filled displacing any oxygen!
Anybody out there have any knowledge about using plastic buckets for your primary and maybe secondary fermentation???? Can you lager beer in the buckets for a few months??? I don't want to get scared off the buckets, so if anybody has any first hand knowledge I would certainly appreciate the help!!!

Thanks again!!

I just made a cream ale that I put in the bucket on Saturday and I might not have time to secondary it or bottle it for a few weeks!!! should I make time to move it off the plastic in a week???

 

[jflongo]

If your LHBS told you not to let it be in a bucket longer than a week for primary, then they are CLUELESS, find a different LHBS. Now if you want to age a beer for months, then yes I would use a glass carboy.

Probably 70% or more of us use buckets for primary.

 

[Hammy71]

Tons of people use food grade buckets to ferment their brews. Yes, leaving in the buckets for an extended time may cause some problems. But one week, is not what I consider an "extended time." I would say less than a month should be fine. I'm sure some on here go even longer. For what it's worth....I've always used glass. But not because it's better, it's just what my first kit came with and I've stayed with it.

 

[reverendj1]

Only idiots use plastic buckets. They actually force oxygen in your beer and give you man boobs. Just kidding. Buckets are fine for at least 6-8 weeks (the max I've ever let a beer sit). I know a ton of people on here and IRL that use them for that long. The main concern people have with them (at least with primary) is that you can scratch them, and scratches can harbor bacteria.

I don't secondary, and haven't heard of people secondarying in them (nor do I lager), so I'll let someone else comment on that. There would be a lot of headspace in there for secondarying, that you'd have to purge anyway.

 

[Bensiff]

Take your directions that say to secondary and throw them away in the same waste basket blood leaching and the flat earth theory reside.

I would avoid plastic buckets for long term aging, say 6+ months. However PET plastic carboys such as Better Bottles are fine for long term aging. Otherwise you have nothing to worry about a beer sitting in a plastic bucket for a month, there just isn't enough oxygen permeability there. Where I would make my one exception is if I was brewing something like a barleywine or Russian imperial stout that I planned to bottle age for years to come. In that instance everything would be done to avoid oxygen such as using glass or PET carboys, flushing everything with CO2, and using oxygen absorbing bottle caps. For typical ales and lagers you will likely drink the beer before oxygen problems show up.

 

[mlyday]

Just make sure the bucket is food grade. Your good to go.

 

[reverendj1]

To clarify, I don't usually age my beer in buckets for that long. Usually 3-4 weeks. That just happened a few times accidentally as life happens, with no ill affects. Another option for secondaries is to use plastic carboys, like Better Bottles. I know lots of people use those for extended secondaries, etc.

 

[unionrdr]

I like the shorter 7.9 gallon buckets better than the Ale Pails,as the shrty has a seal in the lid where the Ale Pail doesn't. I'm getting a 2nd one on the first to replace the lacto infected Ale Pail I tossed. I def prefer lids with seals like the 7.9G pail. I have a 6 gallon better bottle I use for a secondary on the rare occasion I need it.

 

[Snicklefritz]

The main concern people have with them (at least with primary) is that you can scratch them, and scratches can harbor bacteria.

That's exactly what I was about to say. I had a few batches randomly go bad when I first started brewing. Changed to carboys and never had problems after that. Later I asked a friend of mine why that may have happened and he mentioned the scratches. I used to clean my buckets with the scratchy side of a sponge so I'm sure that caused scratches and gave the bacteria a place to live. Never clean them with anything abrasive. Just wipe them clean with a soft cloth after an oxyclean soak.

 

[unionrdr]

I use 3TBSP of PBW & fill it to the top of the crud line with water. Stir it till the PBW dissolves & set the lid on it. I cover the grommet hole with a 3 piece airlock cap myself. Pesky flies...I understand they carry acetobacter,so I try to keep'em out.

 

[reverendj1]

That's exactly what I was about to say. I had a few batches randomly go bad when I first started brewing. Changed to carboys and never had problems after that. Later I asked a friend of mine why that may have happened and he mentioned the scratches. I used to clean my buckets with the scratchy side of a sponge so I'm sure that caused scratches and gave the bacteria a place to live. Never clean them with anything abrasive. Just wipe them clean with a soft cloth after an oxyclean soak.

Yeah, I have a couple towels my buddy gave me when I started. He called them brew towels and said they wouldn't scratch my buckets. No idea what they actually are, and don't seem much different than regular dish towels. I've had 1 infection so far (40+ batches), but I can account that to something different.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,me too. The only real infection I got was in the Ale Pail's spigot. I got in a hurry I guess,& didn't clean the spigot seperately. Lacto infection was had,but the beer in the bottles looks crystal clear & nothing funky in'em. Fridging now,but that don't confront me,as long as I get my beers next Friday!

 

[reverendj1]

Yeah,me too. The only real infection I got was in the Ale Pail's spigot. I got in a hurry I guess,& didn't clean the spigot seperately. Lacto infection was had,but the beer in the bottles looks crystal clear & nothing funky in'em. Fridging now,but that don't confront me,as long as I get my beers next Friday!

Nice Thorogood sneak in there.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,reverend,I'm hoping it'll be Thoroughly Good!

 

[Denny]

That's exactly what I was about to say. I had a few batches randomly go bad when I first started brewing. Changed to carboys and never had problems after that. Later I asked a friend of mine why that may have happened and he mentioned the scratches. I used to clean my buckets with the scratchy side of a sponge so I'm sure that caused scratches and gave the bacteria a place to live. Never clean them with anything abrasive. Just wipe them clean with a soft cloth after an oxyclean soak.

I believe that is a bogus, unproven "reason". PBW and StarSan can get into those scratches.

 

[badbeer]

thankyou everyone for you info, it helped a lot!!! I no longer will be worried by the use of the bucket!!!!!!! Drink up my friends, the first one is on me!!

 

[BigFloyd]

thankyou everyone for you info, it helped a lot!!! I no longer will be worried by the use of the bucket!!!!!!! Drink up my friends, the first one is on me!!

Welcome to easy street when it comes to cleaning. At the end of a ferment, I rinse the bucket out with a hose, throw in a scoop of my DIY version of PBW, fill 1/2 way with hot water at the sink (to dissolve the powder better), then top with hose water. Let it sit on the back porch overnight. Wipe the inside with a paper towel, dump the cleaner, rinse it out well and that's it.

Another nice thing about buckets is that you can install a spigot if you want to make getting gravity samples so quick and easy. Just make sure that you clean and sanitize it very well.

Oh, btw, the guy at the LHBS is either really dumb or wanted to sell more carboys and was willing to lie about buckets to get you to buy one. Either way, scratch them off the list of folks whose brewing advice you should follow.

 

[hellawaits77]

Your LHBS employee is full of meekrob (South Park fans will get this). Plastic feremnters are superior for primary because they're lighter and easier, IMO. As people have said, carboy's may be more effective for bulk aging.

 

[DrWill]

thankyou everyone for you info, it helped a lot!!! I no longer will be worried by the use of the bucket!!!!!!! Drink up my friends, the first one is on me!!

The concern about bugs being harboured in scratches is a real one, but heat is great for sanitising plastic. Oxygen permeability, as many have pointed out, is only a concern in longer term aging. If you have a spigot on your bucket, make sure to dismantle it and clean and sanitise it thoroughly each time.

I'm a fan of Better Bottles. Light, clear, and my carboy caps fit.

 

[Gitmoe]

I work at a LHBS and hearing things like this makes me sad. Nothing worse than going to a place where you should be able to get excellent first hand advice only to be given wild misinformation. The LHBS I work at is also very large and we have 18 people on staff. With that many people any garbage information is quickly debunked and not passed on to customers. I could see bad info coming out of a shop with 2 or 3 employees. Then it's just the opinion or knowledge of one person being passed out with no validation.

Plastic is great and I've converted many close friends and customers to buckets from carboys for primary. They've all been very happy with the switch and none of them have gone back to glass for primary...

 

[jflongo]

I work at a LHBS and hearing things like this makes me sad. Nothing worse than going to a place where you should be able to get excellent first hand advice only to be given wild misinformation. The LHBS I work at is also very large and we have 18 people on staff. With that many people any garbage information is quickly debunked and not passed on to customers. I could see bad info coming out of a shop with 2 or 3 employees. Then it's just the opinion or knowledge of one person being passed out with no validation.

Plastic is great and I've converted many close friends and customers to buckets from carboys for primary. They've all been very happy with the switch and none of them have gone back to glass for primary...

The two LHBS that I buy from in Grand Rapids, MI, there is no way any of their employees would say a negative thing about plastic fermenters as far as primary. I'm just saying if a LHBS said that, I would find a different one. If a LHBS employee doesn't know about bucket fermenters, oh my.

 

[reverendj1]

The two LHBS that I buy from in Grand Rapids, MI, there is no way any of their employees would say a negative thing about plastic fermenters as far as primary. I'm just saying if a LHBS said that, I would find a different one. If a LHBS employee doesn't know about bucket fermenters, oh my.

Siciliano's and O'Connor's rock!

 

[jflongo]

Siciliano's and O'Connor's rock!

Agreed!

 

[QuercusMax]

I believe that is a bogus, unproven "reason". PBW and StarSan can get into those scratches.

I would agree. I have a 5-gallon white Lowe's food grade bucket I use for cold aging my lagers, and it has one or two deep scratches. I always starsan it thoroughly before racking into it. I've put about 6 different batches into that bucket for several weeks each and have had no infections at at all. I periodically bleach bomb my buckets (if nothing else, it makes them look nice and bright again). I've been using the same bottling bucket and ale pail since 2005, and had no infections from those.

I have, however, had infections from siphon tubing and auto siphon. Those I chalk up to my own stupidity. I change my siphon hose ever couple months, and change my autosiphon yearly, plus give it regular bleach soaks. Nothing worse than having a beautiful batch turn into gushers after a month and a half.

 

[nvious23]

Agreed!

They are good but a bit off a drive. I got to a little shop off of 29th st and the beltline.

 

[jflongo]

They are good but a bit off a drive. I got to a little shop off of 29th st and the beltline.

They are a drive for me as well, I live in Rockford, so 20 - 30 minutes. So I just go there every so often to pick up ingredients, wish I did have a much closer one.

 

[reverendj1]

They are good but a bit off a drive. I got to a little shop off of 29th st and the beltline.

You mean Jayden James? I haven't been there yet. I'm in Jenison, so it's kind of a hike.

They are a drive for me as well, I live in Rockford, so 20 - 30 minutes. So I just go there every so often to pick up ingredients, wish I did have a much closer one.

Depending on where you are in Rockford, Gravel Bottom in Ada may be closer. They are a brewery/homebrew store. I haven't checked them out yet though.

 

[m_stodd]

I plan on keeping my current beer in it's bucket for at least a month and a half.

Don't count on your LHBS to be your source of home brewing information, count on them as your source of home brewing ingredients. As long as they have good ingredients, there's no reason to shop elsewhere IMO, although it's a shame they're probably giving bad advice to others who don't know better.

 

[dstranger99]

hello all, wanted to try fermenting in a plastic bucket to see if it was any different than using a glass carboy, besides the easy cleaning and the lighter weight(both big pluses!!!) I was told by my LHBS that I should not let it sit any longer than a week or it will begin to pick up some oxygen through the plastic!
it's a 7.9 gallon bucket and I know the head space will be filled displacing any oxygen!
Anybody out there have any knowledge about using plastic buckets for your primary and maybe secondary fermentation???? Can you lager beer in the buckets for a few months??? I don't want to get scared off the buckets, so if anybody has any first hand knowledge I would certainly appreciate the help!!!

Thanks again!!

I just made a cream ale that I put in the bucket on Saturday and I might not have time to secondary it or bottle it for a few weeks!!! should I make time to move it off the plastic in a week???

Where do they find these idiot employees?? Ignore them..

 

[jflongo]

You mean Jayden James? I haven't been there yet. I'm in Jenison, so it's kind of a hike.



Depending on where you are in Rockford, Gravel Bottom in Ada may be closer. They are a brewery/homebrew store. I haven't checked them out yet though.

I have never heard of Gravel Bottom, I'll have to check them out, thanks, cheers.