Why a bucket? Can you ferment in a carboy?

[Yooper]

At the LHBS, an "ale pail" is about $7, and the lid is about $3.

 

[PoorBoy]

i am by no means an experienced brewer, with just 2 brews bottled, and two more going, but i use carboys. it's a voyeurism thing.

safety first!

 

[Hegh]

i am by no means an experienced brewer, with just 2 brews bottled, and two more going, but i use carboys. it's a voyeurism thing.

safety first!

Definitely. That's the same handle I have, and with it there's no worry about wet & slippery carboys. I use that to carry mine to and from the basement, which is where my brewing room is (stove is on the first floor).

 

[bull8042]

Never use those type handles to carry full carboys! They can snap the neck under that much pressure and leave you with missing toes, etc.

 

[Homercidal]

Never use those type handles to carry full carboys! They can snap the neck under that much pressure and leave you with missing toes, etc.

WORD!

If you have a bucket AND a carboy for primaries, then you could brew up a batch of big beer, and secondary in the carboy, then ferment a smaller beer in the bucket, thus getting some use out of the carboy. Maybe a mead, or apfelwein even.

My carboy was not getting used, so I'm planning on a barleywine to go in there.

 

[Hegh]

Never use those type handles to carry full carboys! They can snap the neck under that much pressure and leave you with missing toes, etc.

Has this happened to anyone? The guy at the LHBS said it was fine to carry it by the handle. I think you'd really have to smack it into something or have really mistreated the glass to have it snap like that.

 

[hungrymonkey]

At the LHBS, an "ale pail" is about $7, and the lid is about $3.

damn, I nearly pulled the trigger on a $25 bucket.

There is another brew store in town, I might have to go see what they have.

 

[flyangler18]

damn, I nearly pulled the trigger on a $25 bucket.

There is another brew store in town, I might have to go see what they have.

Got a hardware store or home improvement store nearby? As long as the bucket is HDME, you can use a generic bucket. I hit up Home Depot all the time for extra buckets.

 

[hungrymonkey]

Thats good to know.

Might swing by home depot and do some "christmas" shopping.

 

[flyangler18]

Yeah, my LHBS sells ale pails for about $15, last time I checked. While I support him, I'm also a cheap SOB when I can- and HD buckets do just as well as fermenters as those buckets from your LHBS. In fact, they're likely from the same manufacturer, US Plastics!

 

[Jaha35]

My brew schedule just got screwed up because some sugars and DME haven't arrived yet. I planned on doing a simple Coopers kit today and then do a much better German Altbier on Sunday or Monday. I have two primaries. 1 glass carboy and 1 bucket. I had aimed for the bucket for Coopers and the carboy for the Altbier and a 3+ week ferment. The problem is my Carboy is full (of Irish Red) and will not be bottled until Sat. So now I can only brew my Altbier and then ferment in the bucket and do the Coopers on Monday.

Can I just leave the Altbier in a bucket for 3 weeks? Or should I do the Coopers as soon as I can, bottle it and then rack the Altbier to the carboy? The only problem I have with the second option is it is a 6 gal carboy and will have a lot of head space for a secondary.

 

[Pelikan]

My brew schedule just got screwed up because some sugars and DME haven't arrived yet. I planned on doing a simple Coopers kit today and then do a much better German Altbier on Sunday or Monday. I have two primaries. 1 glass carboy and 1 bucket. I had aimed for the bucket for Coopers and the carboy for the Altbier and a 3+ week ferment. The problem is my Carboy is full (of Irish Red) and will not be bottled until Sat. So now I can only brew my Altbier and then ferment in the bucket and do the Coopers on Monday.

Can I just leave the Altbier in a bucket for 3 weeks? Or should I do the Coopers as soon as I can, bottle it and then rack the Altbier to the carboy? The only problem I have with the second option is it is a 6 gal carboy and will have a lot of head space for a secondary.

You don't want to use a 6 gallon for a secondary if you can avoid it. If you ever had to, though, a good brewer's trick is to add sanitized glass marbles until the head space is gone. You can get marbles cheap at pet stores for fish tanks. Just make sure that you clean and sanitize them before using.

That aside, it'd be a bad call to rack the Alt. You will have better results keeping it in the bucket on the cake. Just keep it in the bucket for 3-5 weeks my man, and you'll be golden. If, after that time, you want to secondary for another week or two, make it so.

The only primary I have is a bucket, and all the beers that come out of it are sterling. The plastic that the buckets are made out of is the same stuff used in milk jugs...and all my milk tastes a-okay. Glass is an unnecessary PITA in my opinion; I only use it for a secondary because there really aren't any other viable options (besides the better bottle, but I'm not opening that can of worms).

 

[goplayoutside]

Just keep it in the bucket for 3-5 weeks my man, and you'll be golden.

+1. Trust your bucket, it makes beer.

 

[Jaha35]

You don't want to use a 6 gallon for a secondary if you can avoid it. If you ever had to, though, a good brewer's trick is to add sanitized glass marbles until the head space is gone. You can get marbles cheap at pet stores for fish tanks. Just make sure that you clean and sanitize them before using.

That aside, it'd be a bad call to rack the Alt. You will have better results keeping it in the bucket on the cake. Just keep it in the bucket for 3-5 weeks my man, and you'll be golden. If, after that time, you want to secondary for another week or two, make it so.

The only primary I have is a bucket, and all the beers that come out of it are sterling. The plastic that the buckets are made out of is the same stuff used in milk jugs...and all my milk tastes a-okay. Glass is an unnecessary PITA in my opinion; I only use it for a secondary because there really aren't any other viable options (besides the better bottle, but I'm not opening that can of worms).

Thanks. I am reassured now so tomorrow is ALTBIER TIME!!!! I just hope my range can boil 6 gallons because the weather sucks and can't use the burner.

 

[Moonshae]

Thanks. I am reassured now so tomorrow is ALTBIER TIME!!!! I just hope my range can boil 6 gallons because the weather sucks and can't use the burner.

What's a little bad weather? Better to have a nice boil in unpleasant weather than get your day started and not have a boil on the range.

If you have a nice sheet of plywood, you could put that on your floor to protect it from the heat, put a fan venting out in the window, and use the burner inside.

 

[andyb0527]

I made the mistake of putting my brewpot over all 4 burners on my stove and burned the enamel on the middle of the stove top. I now do all of my brewing outside no matter what the weather is like.

 

[Jaha35]

What's a little bad weather? Better to have a nice boil in unpleasant weather than get your day started and not have a boil on the range.

If you have a nice sheet of plywood, you could put that on your floor to protect it from the heat, put a fan venting out in the window, and use the burner inside.

Well I have a very large patio/porch out the back which is covered by our Dormer so technically I could just put it out there and stay dry. But if my range can hit the boil (which I think it can as I have boiled a lot of water on it before) then it's just more comfortable. Either way this batch is getting done. I am hooked on this hobby and annoyed I didn't get into it when I wanted to 6 years ago.

 

[nosmatt]

i GOTTA see a range that can boil 5 gallons of water, let alone 6 !!!!!! ROFL!
nah, you must have a Viking range pulled out of a resturant, one of those 60" bastards!

honestly, dont even try! it probably is not good for the range top to have ~ 6 gals X 9lbs/gallon for wort = 54lbs plus the pot on the top....
my 45k burner can boil 6.5 gallons of wort that goes in the pot at around 155-165* in about 30-45 mins at full throttle. your brew day is gonna be 12 hours if you try this.

put a jacket on. i am brewing this weekend, in my neck of the woods the high is supposed to be 31* and snow.


good luck tho!

 

[Jaha35]

i GOTTA see a range that can boil 5 gallons of water, let alone 6 !!!!!! ROFL!
nah, you must have a Viking range pulled out of a resturant, one of those 60" bastards!

honestly, dont even try! it probably is not good for the range top to have ~ 6 gals X 9lbs/gallon for wort = 54lbs plus the pot on the top....
my 45k burner can boil 6.5 gallons of wort that goes in the pot at around 155-165* in about 30-45 mins at full throttle. your brew day is gonna be 12 hours if you try this.

put a jacket on. i am brewing this weekend, in my neck of the woods the high is supposed to be 31* and snow.


good luck tho!

It's not the cold that bugs me. It's the ridiculous rain or potential sleet/ice storm coming our way.

 

[nosmatt]

i heard that.. snow @ 31* for a HIGH has me not skeered, but aprehensive. glad is spent 25k on a garage... gotta good sound system in there too!

cant here SWMBO yell at me with my old school NAD amp pumpin some weezer while boilin either!

 

[Pelikan]

Your range can probably handle it. I do stove top pretty much exclusively at this point because I'm apartment bound, and split by boil into two 3 gallon batches. It's like doing two smaller brews at once, as opposed to once larger one. Just combine at the end.

This assumes that you have 2 twenty quart pots, which you may or may not have.

 

[Jaha35]

Your range can probably handle it. I do stove top pretty much exclusively at this point because I'm apartment bound, and split by boil into two 3 gallon batches. It's like doing two smaller brews at once, as opposed to once larger one. Just combine at the end.

This assumes that you have 2 twenty quart pots, which you may or may not have.

I have boiled 4 gal on my stove before so I know that is an option. I figure if 6 takes too long I could just boil 3-4 in y main pot and then boil another 2-3 in another pot ( I do have) and add it in at high and keep the boil going.

 

[BrewOnBoard]

You know, I may have the perfect solution. I believe I have a transparent food grade bucket lying around in storage. I actually bought it, and a cider kit, and then never used it. Got distracted somehow with med-school.... If it's 6 gal then we're in business! I'll check this weekend. That would allow all the joy of bucket brewing and still allow voyeurism.

Ideally I'd like to install a plastic valve/tap at the bottom of it for easy transfer to secondary or bottling. I assume adding a tap can't be that hard. My only concerns would be how high above the bottom of the bucket to put the tap and how to seal the tap on a curved bucket surface.

BrewOnBoard

 

[Saccharomyces]

The half barrel kegs have to be hard to clean.

Check around for the posts by WortMonger on this topic, I know he uses Sankes for primary and ferments under pressure using a pressure relief valve. An overnight soak in Oxyclean should do the job, maybe two nights if it's really cruddy...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/

 

[Righlander]

I see buckets always as primary fermenters. Is there a reason for this? Do you need headspace?

I was wondering if you could use a better bottle or regular carboy as your primary and then go straight to bottles? This is going to explode isn't it?

BrewOnBoard

well, one advantage...it's easier to take readings in buckets. I've been using my 6 1/2 gal glass carboy lately...when it's empty. Course due to my new found knowledge of leaving it in the primary 3-4 weeks i suppose it wouldn't matter if it was glass or a bucket. Although i like siphoning to the bottling bucket from a glass carboy...it's easier to see how close you're getting to the gnarly stuff on the bottom during transfer to bottling bucket.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Has this happened to anyone? The guy at the LHBS said it was fine to carry it by the handle. I think you'd really have to smack it into something or have really mistreated the glass to have it snap like that.

Yes there are many MANY threads started on this forum re: "I lost my beer because the neck snapped when I picked it up by the handle". Just search around. One was in the last month.

I have 3 plastic pails, 3 Better Bottles, and 2 5gal glass carboys, the latter of which I never handle without one of these:

Austin Homebrew Supply

I use the pails for wheat beers, big beers, or ales fermented with top cropping yeast which require lots of headspace. The only drawback to the pails I have found is the plastic tends to trap heat; I have seen as much as a 10*F difference between fermentation temp and ambient, whereas the Better Bottles it's usually 3-4*F without a water bath, so I always use the pails in a water bath.

 

[Righlander]

Yes there are many MANY threads started on this forum re: "I lost my beer because the neck snapped when I picked it up by the handle". Just search around. One was in the last month.

I have 3 plastic pails, 3 Better Bottles, and 2 5gal glass carboys, the latter of which I never handle without one of these:

Austin Homebrew Supply

I use the pails for wheat beers, big beers, or ales fermented with top cropping yeast which require lots of headspace. The only drawback to the pails I have found is the plastic tends to trap heat; I have seen as much as a 10*F difference between fermentation temp and ambient, whereas the Better Bottles it's usually 3-4*F without a water bath, so I always use the pails in a water bath.

oh damn, those are pretty cool...A cheap alternative, and what i use (me being A cheap ass) is a plain milk crate. The 6 1/2 and the 5 gal glass carboys fit wonderfully in these. And they're easy to get a hold of. Although those things he has listed ^^ above are pretty sweet.