Homebrew Rookie

I have used a bucket for over 2 years and haven't had a problem and I know people who have used them for far longer.

Good luck. These forums and John Palmers How to Brew are all you really need to learn how to brew.

 

I love my 8 gallon bucket. It works perfect and doesn't need a blowoff tube if I'm brewing up to 5.5 gallons of reasonable gravity beer. Seeing it fermenting is nice but unnecessary. Even if the seal isn't perfect, you shouldn't have contamination issues with a brand new bucket as long as you put the lid on correctly. One of my buckets doesn't seal perfect and that usually means I don't see the airlock bubbling, but it makes fine beer. My 8 gallon bucket seals well and I get to see the airlock bubbling so that's just jiffy!

I use my carboy for bottling. It doesn't have enough headspace for a five gallon batch unless I use a blowoff tube, which I don't because I'm cramped for space too. Also, it's easy to clean after bottling, not so easy to clean after fermentation (I have done a smaller batch in the carboy, and it was a pain in the ass to clean). I may use it for long secondaries in the future, but right now I'm not bothering with secondaries as they are just not needed for the brews I've been making.

The main advice I have for your first batch is to make sure of your procedure in advance and make a checklist before you start. Here's an example from my blog

I would definitely read how to brew ASAP.

You're gonna do fine so relax and have a brew (not too many though!) while you're brewing. You'll probably find a zillion reasons why everything is horrible and we're all gonna die while you're waiting for your first taste of your first batch, but don't. It will be fine! Relax!!

Equipment wise the things that I feel are the most helpful and aren't expensive are a wine thief, bottling wand, and auto-siphon. The wort chiller should be your next thing, but you can cool your beer with ice (you will need a 20 lb bag though). You can build a wort chiller cheeper than buying one. I bought one because I'm lazy but I'll probably build my next one when I upgrade my system.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes!

 

Maybe I'm completely wrong but I've never heard of carboys shattering from fermentation. Does this really happen? I've only read people dropping them because they are heavier and more slippery when wet than plastic obviously is.

 

Buckets are great primary fermenters. I have gotten away from using them because I can't seem to keep them from getting scratches on the inside. Be gentle when you clean and they will last a long time. And buy a new one when you notice scratches. They're cheap enough to replace every now and then!

 

I have never use bucket as a fermenter, just because I enjoy watching vigorously active fermentation.
beside that, bucket are fine. light, unbreakable, cheap and can be serve many function in homebrew.
I heard that there's limited times you can ferment in bucket, because of "off flavor" but I can defiantly put it under homebrew legend.

 

I use either buckets or carboys for all fermentation stages. I've only been brewing for a year now, but I think the only thing that could cause a carboy to shatter would be an incredible overuse of yeast, or doing something like adding too much fruit to a batch without the necessary headspace/blowoff. And even then you might just get a gusher.

I do like using the bucket, especially for batches that I know are messy and leave a lot of residue, mainly because (for me anyway) the bucket is infinitely easier to clean than a carboy. But it's not that much of an issue, so I just use either one.

 

Pros to a bucket: Easy to clean, cheap, so large it is unlike to blow off, easy to remove krausen.
Cons to a bucket: Oxygen will leach in so transferring for longer term (not sure what this is, I would guess past two weeks) aging is required, Scratches (but proper sanitation makes this a minimal concern), must pop open large opening to take samples / see what's happening.

Pros to a carboy: You can see what's happening, not oxygen permeable.
Cons to a carboy: Pain to clean [especially if a Better Bottle as you shouldn't use a bottle brush or it too will scratch], more likely to blow-off yeast / wort even if using a blow-off tube, glass will shatter when dropped - especially when the outside is wet and slippery.

Personally I see more cons to carboy use (especially the cleaning), but use them as I am a little more relaxed about fermentation and leave my beers in the primary for 3+ week, and got an infection only once - when using a bucket.

The last thing to consider is the size of your carboy. You need 1+ gallon of headspace otherwise you lose significant amounts of beer. The carboy sent in kits is often meant to be a secondary fermenter (which is generally a waste of time when using a carboy for primary) and is 5 gallons which should not be used as a primary. I once brewed with only a half gallon of headspace at the bottom end of a yeast's temperature range and still lost ~1 litre of beer.

If you use a bucket the secondary can be useful for longer aging in an environment with minimal oxygen penetration, dry-hopping (though that can be done in a primary) and fruiting (ditto.

 

I just started and use a bucket for primary. Sometimes I do wish I was using a carboy so I could see the active fermentation. Recently I needed a second primary and was debating on a bucket or better bottle(I know myself to well to consider a glass carboy). There were two reasons I ended up going with a bucket. The first was light. In my basement there is a little bit of sunlight with the bucket I don't have to worry about covering it. But the main reason was transfereing from the kettle to my primary. My kettle doesn't have a spigot and I do full boils. It is very easy to use a strainer and dump my kettle into a bucket and it also helps with aerating the wort. If I was using a carboy I would have to be very careful pouring through a funnel and strainer that can clog easily or siphon which just adds another step and more equipment to sanitize on brew day.

 

I have recently moved to glass only due to the issue others have mentioned: plastic is easily scratched leading possibly to infection. I went through about 3 buckets in 2 years of homebrewing (brewed roughly 40 batches total). After a couple of subpar batches, I decided to steer clear of plastic for good. Glass just makes for a cleaner tasting beer (probably not proven, just my opinion) and contamination is not as big a risk. Also, I noticed the buckets start to smell pretty rank after just a few uses. I understand the buckets are clean, but damn, they can smell to the point where you question whether or not you want to continue using them.

If you think cleaning a carboy is hard, you should probably invest in a product called "Carboy Cleaner." You basically just rinse your carboy out, fill it with a gallon of cleaning solution, attach the carboy cleaner to a drill, and just drill away. So easy to use, and cleans it perfectly.

As for shattering carboys, I've hear a milk crate is a great way to transport them. I have never come close to dropping a carboy, but I suppose it'd be horrific if it happened.

As for the issue of light, cover you carboy with a paper bag, or leave it in a dark closet. Easily solved problem.

 

If you are an uncontollable voyeur/masochist...use a carboy...otherwise make it easy on yourself and use a bucket.

 

I use Better Bottles - haven't scratched one yet. Oxyclean and PBW really take a lot of the elbow grease out of scrubbing that leads to scratching. I like the fact that they're lighter and given that I brew in my garage but ferment in the coal room in my basement - I liked the insurance when I carry it down the basement steps.

I've also used a bucket for primary for my sours. I wanted something inexpensive in case I didn't like my sour program. When I was putting together my thoughts on it - I emailed Northern Brewer about o2 leaking into/through a bucket and long fermentation times (1 year plus) - they didn't have a problem with it.

Don't know exactly - I primaried in the bucket for 2 weeks and it's been in a BB for the last 4 months.

 

I just brewed my first batch last weekend. The primary fermentation is going dpwn in the bucket right now. The only problems I had were of my own doing. I did a yeast starter instead of sprinkling the yeast on top of my wort like the kit instructions said and I used an air lock. Blew the lid loose. Not all the way off, but enoughto make me nervous. From one new jack to another, use a blowoff tube no matter what vessel you choose for your primary fermenter.

 

I would not make this a universal statement. I ferment 5 gallon batches in a 6.5 gallon carboy, with starters pretty much exactly as recommended by Mr. Malty, and use a setup that allows very precise temperature control. With OG's less than 1.060, I never use a blowoff tube and have never had an issue. (This includes 'explosive' hefe strains, fermented at 62F.) Over 1.060, I usually do use a blowoff, which often turns out to have been necessary.

 

But there is no harm in setting up a blow-off so why not? I set one up for all my ales no matter the OG. I have seen it happen with beers with OGs in the 1.050's and even on occasion one in the upper 1.040s. How do I know... because the blow-off collects krausen and yeast. It just gives me peace of mind not to have to worry and wake up and see a clogged airlock. Now for a lager it would be extremely unusual to see beer in the airlock.

 

Well, I guess that's why I don't bother for low gravity beers. i.e. I don't need any additional peace of mind because it just doesn't happen in my system/pocess.

 

Is there any reason not to use a blow off tube and instead opt for the airlock? Seriously, not sarc,astically. As it was my first brew there may be some cons that I haven't run into obviouslt.

 

Other than convenience, not really.