Use of 1 or 2 fermenters for brewing a dry stout?

[tjashing]

Hey,

I have a 5 gal plastic bucket with lid and a 5 gal plastic carboy with airlock.

a) Do I need to use 2 fermenters, or can I just use the plastic carboy for the whole brewing process?
b) Are there advantages/disadvantages of using plastic vs. glass?
c) I plan to brew a dry stout – would this have any impact on the type of fermenters to use?

Thanks!

 

[veritas524]

A) You need headspace in whatever container you ferment in. 6 Gal carboy or Bucket is a good idea.

B) Yes, there's tons of threads on it, just search around.

C) No.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

a) If you got it from a brew shop, it is actually a 7.5g bucket, but meant to ferment 5g of beer so it will have enough head space. You can keep it in the one bucket, there was debate on using a secondary, but unless you are going for super clarity (for a stout, not so much), then using one bucket is fine. Keep the other for bottling.

b) For short aging, there really is no advantage. Big thing is that plastic buckets are easier to get in to for cleaning, lighter, and less likely to break if dropped 2 inches. Long term aging you start to want to do glass. Again, for a stout the bucket is fine.

c) Nope, no impact at all.

Welcome to the forum and hobby!