Hi guys just curious I’ve read where some home brewers use there carboy for primary fermenting? Is there a reason for this does it make a difference in the beer?
You can use a glass or plastic carboy or plastic bucket. Does not make to much difference. I just prefer to use glass carboys because it is what I started with about 25 years ago.
Some brew kits contain a glass or plastic carboy of 5 gallons. The five gallon carboy is usually meant to be used as a secondary clearing vessel or for long term maturation with some additions like oak cubes. A 5 gallon brew in a 5 gallon fermentor doesn’t allow sufficient head space for the krausen. Blow off is inevitable. The primary fermentor should be at least 6.5 gallons for a 5 gallon brew.
What flars said, plus sometimes I like to use a carboy because it is fun to watch.
Sometimes I leave a beer in primary for 6 or 8 weeks because 1) I’m lazy or 2) the yeast is slow or 3) both. For those reasons, I find it much safer to use glass to prevent possible contamination and aeration from long term use of plastic.
What they all said.
Additionally I have found I don’t like the plastic carboys due to the difficulty of cleaning them. I just fermented two successive batches in a plastic bubbler. Fermented the first, racked it to a keg and then pumped the second batch in on the yeast cake. So there was a bit of a gunky krauesen line in there after the second bacth finished up. Two soakings of PBW both overnight did not clean all the visible dirt and I can’t put the brush to it like it would glass. That’s way to high maintenance for my taste. That bad boy got tossed in the recycling.
Stubborn residue on buckets can be wiped out with a sponge. So if all my glass carboys are full the bucket is my second choice.
Buckets FTW!
buckets are more practical from a cleaning standpoint, as well as being liter/safer/easier to add dryhops,etc to…
Primary fermentation is a CO2-rich environment, and concerns with oxidation during primary (or sanitation) is no worse than when using a glass carboy.
Buckets for primary, PET carboys for secondary! I have some year-old sours in plastic carboys, no issues with oxidation. The PET carboys do not transfer O2.
Krausen rings are a PITA, though. I usually soak in Oxy or PBW, and if there’s a ring left inside, stuff a rag into the opening, add a little water, cover the opening with your hand, turn upside-down, and swirl the rag around until it’s clean. Wipes right off after a minute or two. :cheers:
I have buckets and glass carboys. If you are in the market and decide on glass, get the wide mouth ones because they are really easy to clean. A regular glass one, not so much, PITA! Buckets are great, like Dave said I feel more at ease with glass on long term fermentation, probably still paranoid about that.
HDPE will let in oxygen - for any kind of medium to long-term fermentation, avoid at all costs. As far as oxygen transfer, though, PET is just as good as glass. You’re letting in more O2 through a silicon rubber stopper than through the material of a glass or PET carboy.
I completely get the idea of being more comfortable with glass, but the newer PET carboys are not O2 permeable. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I just don’t like moving or cleaning glass carboys. Only a matter of time with those.
For long term maturation (not fermentation), I use cornies. Buckets have shown to be no problem for up to 6 weeks+.
[quote=“porkchop”]HDPE will let in oxygen - for any kind of medium to long-term fermentation, avoid at all costs. As far as oxygen transfer, though, PET is just as good as glass. You’re letting in more O2 through a silicon rubber stopper than through the material of a glass or PET carboy.
I completely get the idea of being more comfortable with glass, but the newer PET carboys are not O2 permeable. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I just don’t like moving or cleaning glass carboys. Only a matter of time with those.[/quote]
Buckets are much more practical for primary fermentation than carboys, either glass or plastic. I got rid of all my carboys 8 years ago and don’t miss them at all. Like Denny said, buckets are fine for at least 6 weeks for normal beers, though I rarely leave anything in primary more than 4 weeks. Then onto kegs. Except in special cases.
Yes, HDPE will let in small quantities of O2, but that can be useful. I’ve got a bucket that I leave sitting full of lambic for 1.5 years while it sours - and that is the primary. Two batches bottled so far, and just plain fantastic with no sign of over oxidizing. It lets in just enough to let the bugs feed properly.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]Buckets are much more practical for primary fermentation than carboys, either glass or plastic. I got rid of all my carboys 8 years ago and don’t miss them at all. Like Denny said, buckets are fine for at least 6 weeks for normal beers, though I rarely leave anything in primary more than 4 weeks. Then onto kegs. Except in special cases.
Yes, HDPE will let in small quantities of O2, but that can be useful. I’ve got a bucket that I leave sitting full of lambic for 1.5 years while it sours - and that is the primary. Two batches bottled so far, and just plain fantastic with no sign of over oxidizing. It lets in just enough to let the bugs feed properly.[/quote]
I completely agree with you on the buckets for primary - I was just commenting that the concerns of oxidation with a PET carboy are overblown when storing for an extended period of time in secondary.
What kind of lid are you using for your lambic bucket? I’m actually doing something similar with a flanders red - it’s been in the primary bucket for about 5 months now, but I’m hoping to promote some acetic acid in it. Getting ready to rack it to secondary and dump a fresh batch of wort on the yeast cake. I’m using an omega lid with it, so it should be pretty air tight. With a lambic, I would imagine a bucket would work better than a HDPE carboy, though. The pellicle should prevent some oxygen transfer from the headspace, and the thicker plastic should limit the O2 as compared to a thinner carboy. I like the idea, to mimic the O2 transfer of a barrel without the maintenance.
I’m using a bucket that I originally got filled with fresh grape juice (Mosti Mondiale brand). It has a big o-ring set in the bottom of the groove where the bucket snaps into, making it able to keep from leaking even if tipped over, but it also has a second smaller cap that can be screwed shut over a tiny venting hole. I leave that second cap slightly loose to allow pressure equalization. And you are right, the pellicle does seem to protect things very well from any O2 in the headspace.
Sorry, really newcomer here. I have come to prefer carboys, plastic or glass over buckets by a large margin.
Carboys seal much better and are far less likely to get nicks and scratches. Less likely to spill as well.
As far as cleaning. I just let them soak with oxyclean solution between use. They are sparkling clean. Even better, let the sitnon top of the front load washing machine for some agitation. Easy peasy. I have a carboy brush and stopped using it years ago.
I’ve been using the big mouth bubbler in plastic pretty exclusively, then either a plastic or glass carboy for secondary. I’m a “I like to watch” brewer. Haven’t used my bucket in over a year. But I’m also weird.
Hey guys thanks for great responses!!!
