Small Fermentation Vessel Options

[dotf]

I’m kicking around the idea of doing a few one gallon brews for the styles I like but don’t love as to not use one of my two 5 gallon kegs on it. (Would be bottling) I’ve seen some one gallon fermenters with the air lock but what would happen if I got a two gallon bucket and brewed one gallon of beer and didn’t use an airlock? Would there be enough headspace to not cause an explosion? Would the beer end up naturally carbonating because there’s no where for the C02 to go?

 

[VikeMan]

what would happen if I got a two gallon bucket and brewed one gallon of beer and didn’t use an airlock? Would there be enough headspace to not cause an explosion?

There would be way too much CO2 for this, and one way or another, it will find its way out of that bucket. About half of the weight of the fermented sugars becomes CO2.

 

[bracconiere]

Would there be enough headspace to not cause an explosion?

well, if .79 oz of corn sugar builds 12 psi+ (figuring for absobrtian), in bottles...and that gives 1 gallon just a gravity of 1.002? so that would be 2.5 vols of co2, i think?

so yeah it'll blow!

 

[Kickass]

For small batches I use 1 gallon Carlo Rossi wine jugs. You don’t get a full gallon but with a blowoff tube you can get .8 ish.

As a positive, you get to drink a gallon of Carlo Rossi sangria without the guilt that comes from actually enjoying Carlo Rossi. You’re drinking it “because you have to.”

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I’m kicking around the idea of doing a few one gallon brews for the styles I like but don’t love as to not use one of my two 5 gallon kegs on it. (Would be bottling)

When I use a 1 gal carboy for fermenting, I expect to package a six pack (plus a bottle or two).

I’ve seen some one gallon fermenters with the air lock but what would happen if I got a two gallon bucket and brewed one gallon of beer and didn’t use an airlock?

Airlocks keep things out (e.g. fruit flies). These things may not be a problem in the region of the country where you live or in the area of your home where you ferment.

Would there be enough headspace to not cause an explosion?

1 gal of wort in a 2 gal pail will not require a blow-off tube.

Would the beer end up naturally carbonating because there’s no where for the C02 to go?

The lid will leak C02.

Air locks are simple and effective.

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FWIW, I find that brewing 1.5-ish gal of wort in a 2 gal pail is a nice combination for packaging a 12 pack on bottling day.

 

[Drewch]

My standard batch is 6.5L (about 1¾ gallon) and I use 2 gallon food grade buckets all the time. The ones I find (at Lowe's or Home Depot) don't seal well enough to worry about exploding — the worst I've experienced is kräusen pushing the lid up and spilling a bit — but it's easy enough to drill and add an airlock to the lid.

Edit— I've also split gallon batches across two 2-quart mason jars with MasonTop silicone fermenter kids.

 

[hotbeer]

Why wouldn't you put a airlock or blow-off tube in your 2 gallon bucket or what ever you chose to use?

I used 1 gallon jugs for quite a while with a stopper in the top that had a hole for a blow off tube or airlock. I've also used 5 litre jars with large flip top lids that I had to drill a hole in for a airlock. But if you aren't use to drilling holes in glass with the proper tools then you probably shouldn't consider glass.

However most anything plastic, you should be able to put a hole in the lid for a airlock.

Remember you need about 20% of the volume to be left for headspace. So a one gallon jug is only going to give you a tad more than 100 ounces at best. So maybe 7 to 9 bottles of beer.

With the five litre jars I could get a full 12 bottles or more.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Just to chime in on small fermenter options as I have several. I really like having a spigot on small fermenters (well, on my large fermenters too).

• My favorites are the PET Little Big Mouth Bubbler (LBMB) fermenters with spigots sold by Northern Brewer/Midwest Supply. They hold a solid 1.5 gallons, so there is plenty of room to get a full 1 gallon of finished beer. They are not the cheapest of fermenters though.
• The 1-Gallon Fermonster fermenter is also a nice small fermenter. It is much thinner than the LBMB and tops out at around 1.2 gallons up to the lid. They are a little cheaper than the LBMB.
• I would not recommend the glass versions of the LBMB fermenters, or at least not the ones that are cut for a spigot. The fermenters are quite heavy and a bit awkward, and the hole cut for the spigot is up too high and very roughly cut. I had to have one of mine replaced because it was cracked around where the hole was cut.

I did pick up a 2 gallon food grade bucket and lid from Home Depot a while ago, but I have not gotten around to trying it out.

 

[mashpaddled]

I also use Carlo Rossi jugs for my one gallon batches. Fermcap will prevent explosive fermentations, especially in combination with a blowoff tube.

In a two gallon bucket I would use an airlock. I wouldn't worry about use a blowoff but definitely would not use it without a release for CO2.

 

[AlexKay]

Just to chime in on small fermenter options as I have several. I really like having a spigot on small fermenters (well, on my large fermenters too).

• My favorites are the PET Little Big Mouth Bubbler (LBMB) fermenters with spigots sold by Northern Brewer/Midwest Supply. They hold a solid 1.5 gallons, so there is plenty of room to get a full 1 gallon of finished beer. They are not the cheapest of fermenters though.
• The 1-Gallon Fermonster fermenter is also a nice small fermenter. It is much thinner than the LBMB and tops out at around 1.2 gallons up to the lid. They are a little cheaper than the LBMB.
• I would not recommend the glass versions of the LBMB fermenters, or at least not the ones that are cut for a spigot. The fermenters are quite heavy and a bit awkward, and the hole cut for the spigot is up too high and very roughly cut. I had to have one of mine replaced because it was cracked around where the hole was cut.

I did pick up a 2 gallon food grade bucket and lid from Home Depot a while ago, but I have not gotten around to trying it out.

++ on the LBMB, and -- on glass. I had a glass little-big-mouth-bubbler (with spigot) simply fall apart in my hands at one point. I wasn't hurt, but a full gallon of just-fermented beer ended up on my garage floor.

On a related note, if anyone wants to swing by NW Indiana and pick up a few free glass LBMBs with spigots, I think I have 3.

 

[Rish]

I’m kicking around the idea of doing a few one gallon brews for the styles I like but don’t love as to not use one of my two 5 gallon kegs on it. (Would be bottling) I’ve seen some one gallon fermenters with the air lock but what would happen if I got a two gallon bucket and brewed one gallon of beer and didn’t use an airlock? Would there be enough headspace to not cause an explosion? Would the beer end up naturally carbonating because there’s no where for the C02 to go?

This is the 2 gallon bucket I have, with the port for an airlock. You can drill the lid for yours and put the grommet in or drill a bigger hole to accept the stopper and airlock set up used with gallon glass jugs. I definitely wouldn't recommend fermenting in a bucket without an airlock.

 

[dotf]

Why wouldn't you put a airlock or blow-off tube in your 2 gallon bucket or what ever you chose to use?

I was thinking with the natural C02 it might carb in the vessel and I was curious about it. Reading the responses I’m gonna just get a small bucket with an airlock.