Sorry if this has been discussed before but I have 2 5 gallon Poland Spring water jugs that I was considering to use to brew. I friend of mine (who hasn't brewed much) warned me that it may offset that taste but I figured I'd throw it up on here. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Just discussed it, as usual opinions vary. I have brewed many batches with success. http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...arying-in-plastic-5-gallon-water-jugs.122159/
Since water jugs are recyclable, and 6.5 gallon, easy to clean plastic buckets are so inexpensive, the question that comes to my mind is, "Why would you want to use water jugs?"
A plastic jug in the shape of a glass carboy is not ideal for either cleaning and sanitation or long term conditioning. I only tolerate the shape of a glass carboy for longer conditioning periods, which I occasionally have, because it is glass and is the best material for the task. Plastic will work fine for primary fermentation, but it's not worth the hassle of trying to clean and sanitize when it is shaped like a carboy. And if you get off-flavors, it will likely be due to a cleaning or sanitation problem with the container.
It appears to me that you are in the market for a plastic primary fermenter. I would recommend that you purchase a 7.9 gallon plastic bucket (and lid). The extra headroom will mitigate blow offs. Cheers!
extra head room can also lead to off flavors. there are other ways to avoid blow offs that are less damaging to the final product.
With extended aging its possible but for fermentation of most beers you wont have any ill effects from a 7.9 gallon bucket.
OddNotion beat me to it. Unless you keep the beer in the bucket for an extended period of time (e.g., > 1.5 months) the ‘extra’ headroom will have no impacts to the beer. As a general statement, if you brew in plastic buckets you shouldn’t keep your beer in the bucket too long due to the possibility of oxidation (since the buckets are oxygen permeable). This is true regardless of the bucket size. Cheers!
I concur. I have sometimes done 3 gallon batches in my 6.5 gallon buckets with no off flavors to report, and pros have been known to use open fermentation - that's like, infinite headspace!
I have one like this and it kicks ass. I also have a bigger one meant for ten gallon batches (for use in my freezer that won't hold two buckets, and for use with larger batches). EDIT after seeing Jack's headspace comment: I don't think it's making any difference having extra headspace. I say this because when you open the freezer, if you try to light a lighter, it won't light. That means the freezer is full of CO2, which means the bucket will be full of CO2 also. Thus, I don't see oxidation as being much of an issue (given the setup I am using). However, I would still use glass for long term aging, if I choose to age something long term. Also, I have a carboy, but I only use it for bottling. I would use it for long term conditioning if I needed to, but thus far I have been sticking with beers that don't need anything other than primary. Should I choose to make an imperial stout or something like that, I'd just use a bucket for bottling for a while.
Not during fermentation.. Long term aging, sure the headspace can be an issue. Putting 5 gallons of wort into a 5 gallon water jug is a recipe for losing alot of beer and making a mess, period.
