6 Gallon Carboy and Plastic Bucket - 5 Gallon recipes

[AlreadyXDead]

Hey there,

So I did an all grain Leffe Blonde clone with my LHBS. I am very interested in getting started at home. I am in the process of building a mash/lauter tun out of a rectangular cooler.

I have a 6 gallon carboy and plastic bucket at home that i use for extract kits/pre-made wort kits. I notice alot of recipes brew around 5-5.5 Gallons per batch.

I was curious as to if I am able to use the 6 gallon equipment with 5 gallon recipes? Or will I have to much room for oxygen?

Also what is a good size brewing pot for making 5-6 gallon recipes? So I don't run into any boil-overs and what not.

Thanks in advance!

 

[forstmeister]

Hey there,

So I did an all grain Leffe Blonde clone with my LHBS. I am very interested in getting started at home. I am in the process of building a mash/lauter tun out of a rectangular cooler.

I have a 6 gallon carboy and plastic bucket at home that i use for extract kits/pre-made wort kits. I notice alot of recipes brew around 5-5.5 Gallons per batch.

I was curious as to if I am able to use the 6 gallon equipment with 5 gallon recipes? Or will I have to much room for oxygen?

Also what is a good size brewing pot for making 5-6 gallon recipes? So I don't run into any boil-overs and what not.

Thanks in advance!

You can use the 6 gallon bucket for primary fermentation. The CO2 created will protect the wort. If you want to use a secondary it is recommended to leave as little headspace as possible. I brew for about 6 gallons. 5.5 go into primary, 5 goes into secondary or the keg.

A 10 gallon pot is a good size for 5 gallon batches, but you can use one that 8 if you are careful.

 

[AlreadyXDead]

Thanks for the reply! So i can use the primary bucket because of the amount of CO2 produced, but the secondary will have to be a smaller size?

Thanks again for your advice.

 

[kh54s10]

Either one will work. You need some headspace for the krausen and the co2 produced will force out any air.

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Hey,

I always make 5 gal batches and I have 6.5 gallon carboys for my secondary's or even primary's.
I have never had an issue with oxidation. The co2 produced can push the air out since co2 is heavier and will create what is called a co2 blanket. If you really are worried about that and think you may wanna do kegging in the future: get yourself a co2 tank and a way to release co2 into the carboy(or any vessel) for 30-60 sec to create a co2 blanket.

But like I said, I have made 5gal batches with 6.5 fermenters and never had any problems. Cheers and good luck!

 

[AlreadyXDead]

Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated.
Cheers