cheap fermenter?

[Thirsty Boy]

the more i think about this, the more i'm not really digging the idea. i think the main thing that has been proposed here that bothers me is the softness of the material. it would be pretty hard to clean properly without leaving some sort of a mark.

additionally, i'm not really into the whole bag in a shape thing as i think it would definitely be awkward, not to mention wasteful.

thanks much for all the ideas in this thread, this is exactly what i was looking for!

But if its open like a trashcan rather than closed like a carboy, you can reach in there and just clean it with a soft cloth.

I dont understand the American obsession with not scratching fermentors or with being scared of plastic.... The molecules of sanitiser are much smaller than the cells of bacteria - if the bug can get into a scratch, so can the sanitiser.

I don't know even one single homebrewer who ferments in anything but plastic. Carboys, buckets and conicals are very much the exception rather than the rule in Australia. Almost everyone ferments in 25-30L HDPE plastic drums. I have been using the same one for 10years and its fine. On a number of occasions I have neglected to clean it for weeks after emptying it and the dregs were riddled with acetic bacteria infection .... wash it out with a cloth and sanitise it. Fine.

You guys in the states seem to be the only ones who have a problem with plastic stuff in the brewery - the rest of the world is just getting on with using it to make beer.

$10 bucks off e-bay or a camping supply store will get you a fermentor that will be as good as anything you can use

Thirsty

[Thirsty Boy]

Not completely on topic, but not completely off topic either: Is is possible to use the 5 gallon plastic water jugs(i said jugs) that are used with office water coolers as a secondary? Seems that it would be similar to a better bottle only cheaper. Don't know about oxygen permeability, though. Any thoughts?

No problems at all. I frequently use the 15L (3.5G) ones to ferment small batches in. For primary because I dont do secondary. They wont be treated to prevent Oxygen permeability though, so I wouldn't be using it for long term secondary, a few weeks OK, but not for your lambic to age in for a year or anything.

TB

[zee]

the more i think about this, the more i'm not really digging the idea. i think the main thing that has been proposed here that bothers me is the softness of the material. it would be pretty hard to clean properly without leaving some sort of a mark.

additionally, i'm not really into the whole bag in a shape thing as i think it would definitely be awkward, not to mention wasteful.

thanks much for all the ideas in this thread, this is exactly what i was looking for!

But if its open like a trashcan rather than closed like a carboy, you can reach in there and just clean it with a soft cloth.

I dont understand the American obsession with not scratching fermentors or with being scared of plastic.... The molecules of sanitiser are much smaller than the cells of bacteria - if the bug can get into a scratch, so can the sanitiser.

I don't know even one single homebrewer who ferments in anything but plastic. Carboys, buckets and conicals are very much the exception rather than the rule in Australia. Almost everyone ferments in 25-30L HDPE plastic drums. I have been using the same one for 10years and its fine. On a number of occasions I have neglected to clean it for weeks after emptying it and the dregs were riddled with acetic bacteria infection .... wash it out with a cloth and sanitise it. Fine.

You guys in the states seem to be the only ones who have a problem with plastic stuff in the brewery - the rest of the world is just getting on with using it to make beer.

$10 bucks off e-bay or a camping supply store will get you a fermentor that will be as good as anything you can use

Thirsty

i blame jamil. seriously though, its all his fault.

[State St.]

I think your thinking is on the right track, but I think you might want to take things one step further. Line that fermenter with a food grade (i.e. clear or white) garbage bag. You can then gather that up around the end of a blow off tube and secure it with tape or strong rubber band. This makes the thing incredibly easy to clean (throw away the bag) and greatly simplifies harvesting yeast (cut a hole in a lower corner of the bag and squeeze it out like a pastry bag.).

With the bag it doesn't make any difference if the trashcan is food grade or not.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

That is a very interesting idea Bug. Absolutely anything at all could be a fermentor if lined with a bag. Wouldn't even have to be particularly water proof. Hell a big carboard box would do. And it could even be nice and square too, so you could fit more than one in a fermentation fridge.

very very interesting.......

Thirsty

As a matter of fact when my father was homebrewing back in the 60s/70s his homebrew book was from England and it told him to ferment in a "dust bin lined with a trash bag" (took him a bit to figure out that a dust bin was a trash can). He ended up using a trash bag in a box.

Maybe I'll give it a go since I've been looking for a cheap fermenter since I decided I'd like to start doing lambics/sour ales which will tie up my glass carboy(s) (need to buy a couple more, I think) for months/years.

[rhino777]

This month's copy of BYO magazine has an article exactly about converting a 20 gallon Brute into a fermenter...check it out!