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Brewing 1 gallon in 2 gallon bucket fermentor

Northern Brewer General
#1

I am about to brew 1 gallon of NB White House Honey Ale. I plan to use a shiny new 2 gallon fermentor bucket with lid and grommet.

Question 1) Is it ok to put 1 gallon of wort in a 2 gallon pail to ferment or is that too much extra space? (I am using this because the last time I had alot of blow off)

Question 2) Will the extra space be enough to contain any blow off that occurs? or should I prep a blow off hose?.

Question 3) I did a dry run with the bucket and lid and cant seem to get the lid off, there is a tab that says pull, but if I pull the tab the bucket will not fit snug for future batches.

Question 4) If its this difficult to remove the lid with the pail empty, how do you get the lid off when the pail is full of liquid?

Question 5) If 1 gallon will work Could I put 1.5 gallons of wort and still have space for blow off?

Bucket is destroyed now, so Question 6) How do you get the lid off the bucket and maintain the structural integrity of both? For future uses

#2

#1 yes.
#2 Big enough, no need for blowoff. Typically 35% extra is enough.
#3 You should be able to pull the tab and it will still snap on, but if you’re sure it won’t then leave it. It doens’t have to be comepltely air tight though.
#4 You just pull the thing off, although I think they sell some kind of lid puller.
#5 That’d be OK for some yeasts, not enough for others. Blegian and wheat beer yeasts foam up more than others.

You might rack to a 1gal jug when the fermentation slows, be sure and transfer a little yeast ckae too though. Then you can put on an airlock or a balloon to keep air out better than the bucket will. While the beer is making CO2 its protected just fine.

#3

You wouldn’t have to transfer to a jug at all if you don’t want. This is to avoid all oxidation, but if you left it in the bucket he whole time you probably would be fine too.

#4

an example of a tool for the bucket

ADMIN: Link removed by request of webmaster.

#5

All I can say is that Nighthawk would be proud of you. Don’t let him get on a rampage about 1 gallon kits with 1 gallon fermenters lol!

RUNS AND HIDES

#6

Where did you find 2 gallon fermenters?

#7

The NB online store, they sent me the 2 gal bucket with a grommet lid. He said it was a fermenter

#8

According to the NB website those are single use lids. Not sure why they wouldn’t sell a lid you could reuse.

#9

I found out after, the lids arrived (LOL)

#10

[quote=“NFCTinken”]All I can say is that Nighthawk would be proud of you. Don’t let him get on a rampage about 1 gallon kits with 1 gallon fermenters lol!

RUNS AND HIDES[/quote]

One day my pestering of the store will have a pail included in every kit. :wink:

Interesting on the “one time use” note on the lids. I bet they will seal just fine for multiple batches.

#11

Midwest carries 2-gal buckets with lids

, already drilled and bunged for an airlock. I picked one up this summer but haven’t used it yet, but I think it’s totally reusable.

Check out the product reviews - they’re fairly mixed. :blah:

#12

Looks like the 2g pails have the same “non issues” that the 6-7g pails have.

Personally I would check with your local gas stations that make their own pastries. I can pick up 2g pails for free from a regional chain called Casey’s General Store

. They get frosting in them. Easy enough to drill a hole in them for the smallest of rubber stoppers.

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