What size for next fermenter?

[zeg]

My winter brewing schedule is going to require one more fermenter than I currently have. I'm trying to decide what size to get. At present, I have three Better Bottles. One is a 6 gallon, the other two are 5 gallons. The 6 gallon is used for primaries, the 5 gallons for secondaries and lagering.

For the next one, I'm trying to decide whether I want a 5 gallon BB, a 6 gallon BB, or a bucket. I'm leaning heavily toward the Better Bottles since I like to see the activity and I rarely brew things that need the easy access the bucket offers.

Adding another 6 gallon BB has the advantage of allowing simultaneous primaries of 5.5 gallon batches. This would be convenient for primary-only fermentations. It's not as useful as a secondary fermenter because of the extra head space.

A 5 gallon BB would be useful for doing more secondaries and lagering. This is attractive right now because my immediate need is for lagering space. I have a mead that is tying up one 5 gallon BB for most of the coming year, and I do mead and cider often enough that this will be a common situation. The downside is that it is not as convenient for duing simultaneous primaries.

So, I think at the moment I'm leaning toward getting a 5 gallon BB, and accepting that if I want to brew batches more than once a month or so, I will have to go to secondary. However, I'm curious whether anyone has found themselves in a similar situation, and how often people wish they had a larger or smaller fermenter. I'm hoping to end the proliferation of fermenters with this one, at least for the next couple years.

Opinions?

 

[dcarter]

I have numerous buckets that I can use for special small brews and a 30 gallon conical for stockpiling.

 

[241]

I say get whatever is on sale

Otherwise I vote 6 gal BB. I love mine

 

[Brew-boy]

I love the 6.5 gallon glass carboys.

 

[zeg]

Thanks for the suggestions. I ended up with a 5 gallon BB (with kids around, I don't want glass fermenters). Figured it's what my most immediate need is for, and that's probably a fair predictor for what my future needs will be.

 

[lewybrewing]

I have 3, 6.5 gallon glass carboys. 2, three gallon plastic BB. 1 six gallon glass carboy. 4, 5 gallon BB's. I have to say, the glass are just better. I can clean them better, (no brushing) last longer and are big. So I can net a real 5 gallons on every batch.

Go for the big glass carboys.

 

[zeg]

Glass isn't even close to being on the table for me. Between the weight of the glass and the risk of breaking, I'm not going to have anything to do with it. I've not had any trouble cleaning the BBs...

Thanks for the input, though.