Can I ferment in my Bottling Bucket?

[zpearl5889]

I have two buckets, one for fermenting and one for bottling (the one with a spicket). I stupidly filled the wrong bucket and now I'm worried my beer won't ferment. Does the spicket matter? It's only been 24 hours. What can I do to save this IPA I'm brewing?

 

[wailingguitar]

I have spigots in all my fermenters, I hate siphoning!

 

[aiptasia]

Just let it ferment. The issue usually comes in with the spigots with regard to an oxygen tight seal and difficulty in proper sanitation. The extra plastic hardware of the spigot can become a place for bacteria to hang out or go unsanitized during your sanitation routine.

The only other problems are going to be with the depth of the yeast cake. You're going to draw off more than a little yeast when bottling time comes around, so expect a little more yeast sediment than usual in your kegs or bottles. Too much can cause the spigot to clog a little and will require some extra scrupulous cleaning and sanitzing once the bottling/kegging is done.

If you're like me, I like to tip the bottling bucket forward a little when filling the last few bottles to get all that good beer out of the bucket. This would be very tricky with a 2" thick yeast cake in the bottom. Therefore, you'll probably not want to do the tilt technique.

 

[Rockn_M]

I only use one bucket and it has a spicket. Much easier than having to siphon into another bucket. If your adding priming sugar just carefully add to the beer and then carefully stir with a sanitized spoon. Wait a few min. And your good to go.

 

[m3n00b]

I have spigots in all my fermenters, I hate siphoning!

You never get trub coming out of your spigot at bottling?

 

[Fennis]

Yes, you can ferment in the bottling bucket. As long as everything is sanitized and clean, you will be all set. As others stated, the biggest concern will be ensuring the spigot is sanitized as that could easily harbor some nasty stuff if its not well sanitized, and then you have to deal with a yeast cake.

You could sanitize your regular fermenter and assuming you have a racking cane, you could just transfer your beer to a secondary after 10-12 days to the regular fermenter and then go about your normal routine when you are ready to bottle. Many people use secondaries for clarity or other purposes, so just secondary this batch, then go about your normal bottling process. Don't worry, you didn't harm a thing by doing it.

 

[zpearl5889]

Yes, you can ferment in the bottling bucket. As long as everything is sanitized and clean, you will be all set. As others stated, the biggest concern will be ensuring the spigot is sanitized as that could easily harbor some nasty stuff if its not well sanitized, and then you have to deal with a yeast cake.

You could sanitize your regular fermenter and assuming you have a racking cane, you could just transfer your beer to a secondary after 10-12 days to the regular fermenter and then go about your normal routine when you are ready to bottle. Many people use secondaries for clarity or other purposes, so just secondary this batch, then go about your normal bottling process. Don't worry, you didn't harm a thing by doing it.

I do have a racking cane. This is my 4th batch of beer ever brewed and I've never gone through the process of using a secondary fermenter. So you say in 12 days, I can siphon out the beer using my racking cane into the regular fermenter? Wouldn't opening the fermenter interrupt the fermenting process?

 

[Fennis]

No, transferring it over will be just fine. Fermenting does not require the vessel to be completely airtight, it has very little to do with the fermenting process. The reason you keep it airtight is so that you aren't introducing foreign bacteria from the air and other bad things into the beer when its at the most sensitive stage. It also allows the buildup of CO2 which help ensure you are not oxidizing your beer which could lead to off flavors. Sanitization is much more important than an airtight fermentation vessel in my opinion.

As for transferring to secondary, yes, you could transfer to your normal fermenter after 10-14 days and then let it sit there for another week or two. There are many people who do this and you will have perfectly good beer. The most important thing in this part is to ensure you sanitize your fermenter very well and sanitize that racking cake. When you rack to secondary, just make sure you are carefully transferring it over so you do not oxidize the beer.

In fact, when you transfer it over, it may continue to drop in gravity a little bit as you transfer over some yeast in the process. Again, this is completely safe to do as long as everything is sanitized. I keep saying it, but its so important. Otherwise you should be perfectly safe to transfer it over.

 

[zpearl5889]

No, transferring it over will be just fine. Fermenting does not require the vessel to be completely airtight, it has very little to do with the fermenting process. The reason you keep it airtight is so that you aren't introducing foreign bacteria from the air and other bad things into the beer when its at the most sensitive stage. It also allows the buildup of CO2 which help ensure you are not oxidizing your beer which could lead to off flavors. Sanitization is much more important than an airtight fermentation vessel in my opinion.

As for transferring to secondary, yes, you could transfer to your normal fermenter after 10-14 days and then let it sit there for another week or two. There are many people who do this and you will have perfectly good beer. The most important thing in this part is to ensure you sanitize your fermenter very well and sanitize that racking cake. When you rack to secondary, just make sure you are carefully transferring it over so you do not oxidize the beer.

In fact, when you transfer it over, it may continue to drop in gravity a little bit as you transfer over some yeast in the process. Again, this is completely safe to do as long as everything is sanitized. I keep saying it, but its so important. Otherwise you should be perfectly safe to transfer it over.

Sorry for all the questions, but how exactly do I keep from oxidizing the beer during the transfer? And how much of a drop in gravity are we talking? Because I enjoy my high alc% IPAs =P

 

[twistr25]

Try not to let the beer splash when you move it over. If you can, get the tubing on the bottom of the new bucket and let it fill in a gentle swirl. The gravity dropping will increase your abv and will only occur if any sugars are left over and the transfer process rouses the yeast.

 

[Fennis]

Probably not a significant enough drop to really change your abv. If you are looking for a boost the next time you make a batch, you will need to have more fermentable sugars for the yeast to use up. Honey and other natural sugars do really well at this, but they can thin out the beer and leave it dry tasting. IPAs tend to have a decent abv though, so I think you should be happy with the outcome.

 

[BoltAngus]

I'm currently attempting my first brew. I've used a bottling bucket to ferment the beer in. I assumed the best method for assuring the spigot was sanitised was to empty all the sanitised water through it. Whether this is an effective method or not, I am yet to know. I'll tell you in 1.5 weeks.

 

[m3n00b]

Sorry for all the questions, but how exactly do I keep from oxidizing the beer during the transfer? And how much of a drop in gravity are we talking? Because I enjoy my high alc% IPAs =P

Gravity dropping during fermentation= higher abv.

 

[MindenMan]

I'm currently attempting my first brew. I've used a bottling bucket to ferment the beer in. I assumed the best method for assuring the spigot was sanitised was to empty all the sanitised water through it. Whether this is an effective method or not, I am yet to know. I'll tell you in 1.5 weeks.

When I started brewing, only one of my buckets had a spigot. The thing is, when it came time to go to secondary, the secondary bucket had the spigot, and fermenter did not. My siphoning skills somehow eluded me, and in frustration, I poured it from the non-spigot bucket, into the spigot-ed bucket turning up a bunch of trub into the now spigot-ed bucket. Anyway, you get my point. After that, every bucket I own has a spigot on it. I also learned if you don't get in a hurry and allow your hot wort to cool first and settle, there won't be a ton of crap in the primary bucket. I get down to the mid 60's before I empty my BK into my fermenter, and use 5 gallon paint strainers as a pre filter. A little silt gets by, but there is now so very little trub in the fermenter, I cold crash for two days and if I drain slowly, the now compacted trub stays in the bucket. OBTW, I was in a hurry when I brewed my first batch ,but I did wait the length of time specified in the recipe
(2 weeks & 2 weeks)because I didn't get the purpose of a hydrometer back then. I didn't get any bottle bombs, and it wasn't a great beer, but we drank it anyway. Sorry for the long post.