6 gal vs. 5 gal carboy

Get one (or some) of both. Smaller ones for Secondary, fruit additions, etc. and larger ones for Primary.

 

6 gallon carboys are better for 5 gallon batches. You want some head space for krausen during primary fermentation. The 5 gallon carboys will come in handy if you have a reason to transfer some batches to secondary.

 

I'm with the crowd on this one. For primary fermentation of 5gal batches I'd go for the 6gal carboys.

 

you should have both

 

I'd always use a six gallon carboy for the primary stage of fermentation. I brewed an IPA once and the froth came all the way up to the opening. The six gallon gives you more "leeway". Plus you can put more stuff in the 6 gallon, ie dry hopping.

 

I regret buying a 6 gal Better Bottle. It's not big enough to do a 5 gal batch in, it's too big for secondary. There's little point unless you have a large enough fermenter to to 6.5 to 7 gal of beer.

I'd KILL for a 5 gal carboy. It'll be the perfect size for those 5 gal batches of RIS you want to set aside on oak cubes.

 

6 Gal carboy is fine for primary as long as your prepared with a blowoff tube hooked up. And I second everyone elses comment that 5 gal is best for secondary.

 

I've got hang ups with the neck on any BB or carboy. I foam like crazy and lose about a gallon of beer trying to pack it in there. I can hear the funnel laughing at me.

I've tried numerous times, (with antifoam), to get 5 gal to ferment gently in a 6 gal Better Bottle. It just doesn't happen for a beer over 1.070. I've tried twice and given up on the idea. If it works for others, and you're willing to use them for a session beer, then more power to you and the above users. It's just pushing me to buy an 8 gal wine bucket to primary into and rack into the 6 gal BB that I have.

 

“It's just pushing me to buy an 8 gal wine bucket…”

I have two 7.9 gallon buckets that I use for primary fermentation and they work just great; plenty of headspace. I do not transfer my ales to secondaries.

Cheers!

 

I have found that a 6.5 gallon carboy (glass) is the sweet spot for avoiding blowoff with worts up to 1.065. This assumes well regulated fermentation temperature also. Above 1.065, it's a crapshoot, but the amount of blowoff I get (when I do get it) isn't severe.

 

I like my 3 gal better bottle for occasional partial secondaries.

I use my 5 gallon carboy for lagering, secondary, or during bottling. I prefer to primary ferment in 6.5 gal buckets or better yet, if you can find them, the shorter, fatter 8 gallon buckets (I have one of each and love the 8 gallon bucket best).

Just remember millions of people worldwide have been horribly maimed by carboys. The great carboy massacre of '06 was a great human tragedy. I tried to tell them don't give a bunch of drunk rednecks glass carboys, but...

 

I put 5.5 gallons of wort into my 6.5 gallon carboys for primary fermentation with standard 3 piece airlocks and only occasionally (maybe 5% of the time) have krausen come into the airlock. My fermentations are fairly quick to quick, complete, and seemingly healthy. Perhaps proper pitch rate and excellent fermentation temperature control play a role in my results?

 

When it comes to krausen it has been my experience that it is a function of two things: yeast strain and original gravity. For example, Wyeast 3068 creates a lot of krausen. When I brew high gravity Belgian Ales they create a lot of krausen.

Cheers!

 

Blowoff can be reduced considerably using Fermcap-S (available from Northern Brewer). Since I started using it, I've not needed a blowoff tube.

 

You will still get junk in your blow off hose even with a 6 gallon. I still get get nasty stuff in my blow off in my 6.5 gallon carboy. I found it best to use a 7.9 gallon bucket for primary on high gravity beers and my 6.5 gallon carboy seems to work well with lower gravity 6% and lower beers.