Question about fermenting

[jkendal]

Nothing wrong with that... again, USE what you feel comforatable with. While I prefer buckets, because I do wine and mead, I rack to a Carboy and have my alcohol in carboy more than in buckets - longer sit times for wine/mead.

I knew a married couple once that made their own fruit wines - they would have 40-50 GALLONS of different wines going at a time. I remember seeing their spare bedroom full of glass carboys just sitting there happily aging - with barely any room to walk around. Their pear wine was DELICIOUS...

 

[Nashbrewer]

On the stirring I have no tests or anything factual, but if rousing the yeast is known to be beneficial to fermentation completion times for wine and mead it bears to reason it will be equally beneficial for beer. The only problem I see is the continued or increase off gas that is required for the wine and mead if going to be served still vs beer we expect some residual gas for the process of carbing. Now how beneficial it is and how much of a difference it will make may be miniscule overall. Generally it is accepted it will increase attenuation, fermentation time, and clean up time to constantly stir(like a stir plate) during the fermentation process(even high krausen though it may not need be needed as much to the vigorous ferment). Is it needed? No, but it might help reduce your grain to glass time by keeping the yeast active as long as possible. It could possibly reduce flocculation, but that probably will still be based more on the strain of yeast.

Either way, do whatever works for you.

 

[unionrdr]

Constant stiring in a fermenter wouldn't be the same as in a erlenmyer flask. In the fermenter,you want all that stuff to settle out,not get stirred to the point where it mixes in. Trub is in there too,not just yeast. And def more of it. If a good temp is maintained,the yeast will get the job done without any help from us.