Headspace in FastFermenter: problem?

[GillesF]

Hi all

First of all I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Gilles, I live in Antwerp, Belgium. I love beer ever since I was in college. I'm especially a fan of the trappist beers and darker beers, although a refreshing tripel is very nice too.

Although there's plenty of beer to buy and taste in Belgium, I've decided to brew my own beer at home. Just for fun and out of interest, to know more about the mysteries to turn grain into beer ;-)

Anyway. I use the brew-in-a-bag technique and I brew batches of 5 liters (1,5 gallons) for myself. I'm interested in the FastFermenter because of it's ease of use. However: the Fastfermenter contains about 20 to 25 liters (5 to 6 gallons) which is A LOT more than what I brew.

Will this headspace create problems with oxidation? How can I avoid this, besides brewing bigger batches?

Thanks

Gilles

 

[JR_Brewer]

While it's not ideal, it should be ok for primary fermentation. Do not try to secondary with that much headspace, that's where you'll run into significant oxidation issues.

... although a refreshing tripel is very nice too.

Haha, only in Belgium would people refer to a tripel as "refreshing!" We're all jealous of how close you are to the wonderful Trappist breweries!

Happy Brewing!

 

[Hello]

Headspace in primary is not an issue. For long term aging, especially in primary (which I don't do personally) you'll want to get rid of the headspace. People have told me to sanitize marbles and dump them into the fermenter. My recommendation would be to use a secondary vessel that is smaller if you're planning on leaving the beer to bulk age.

 

[djfriesen]

Headspace in primary is not an issue. For long term aging, especially in primary (which I don't do personally) you'll want to get rid of the headspace. People have told me to sanitize marbles and dump them into the fermenter. My recommendation would be to use a secondary vessel that is smaller if you're planning on leaving the beer to bulk age.

That marble idea is awesome! I haven't heard that one yet.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I'd say buy a smaller primary. Those FastFermentors seem great for 5 gallon batches, but they are a bit pricey and kind of an overkill if you are only doing 1.5 gallon batches.