How To Choose A Fermenter
And Some Helpful Fermentation Tips
When it comes to the home brewing process, each step is a critical building-block in developing your brew’s desired flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and level of clarity. However, no other step has the same impact on your final product as the fermentation process. You want everything to go right, from the initial yeast pitch to the final gravity check, and it all starts with choosing the right fermenter for your fermentation. While patience, precision, and practice (there’s no better teacher than an exploding glass carboy or a flat beer) are your best mentors, the right tools will help you achieve your brewing goals and get the job done.
A fermenter is a container that wort (the heated solution of grains, malts, and hops which create beer) is poured or siphoned into after cooling to begin primary (and sometimes secondary) fermentation. Different styles of fermenters will benefit different scenarios. Each brewer has a different end-goal in mind, be it trying a small, experimental home-brew or starting a budding basement brewery, and each brew is a new experience.
We here at MoreBeer! know that knowledge is power when it comes to brewing, so we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of each fermenter so that you can make an educated decision to benefit yourself, and your beer.
The Glass Carboy
The carboy comes in a multitude of different mediums, be it different types of plastic or glass. Glass carboys are one of, if not the most popular fermenters for home brewers, and it is a great piece of equipment for beginners.
The glass carboy comes in a variety of different sizes, with 3, 5, 6, and 6.5 gallon carboys being our most popular. A 3 gallon glass carboy is a conveniently sized fermenter for a learning brewer or small-scale brewing, extra wort, or for portioning your brew into experimental batches. For example, you can separate your wort into separate batches and ferment each glass carboy with different yeast strains or flavor additives. The 1 gallon glass fermenters also come in jug form to easily transport and share your brew.
Graduating to a 5 gallon glass carboy or 6 gallon carboy is a great decision for a full-scale home brewing and will yield roughly 54 beers per 5 gallons—plenty to share with friends and family. The larger 6.5 gallon glass carboy is a great choice because it leaves plenty of room for krausen to expand.
What is Krausen?
Krausen is the layer of foam that forms on top of your fermenting brew. It quickly expands as the yeast becomes active and will be present until fermentation nears completion, roughly 1-2 weeks. Its dissipation is one sign, along with your hydrometer readings and the passage of time, that your brew is ready for the next step. However, if your krausen gets out of control, you may have a blowout.
A blowout is when an excess of krausen escapes the fermenter, and the release of pressure can be incredibly messy and violent and may even damage or destroy a carboy and its surroundings.
A blowout occurs for a variety of reasons, and each concurrent reason adds to your dilemma. If the fermentation is overactive due to an aggressive yeast strain, or because the temperature is too warm (anything about 68° F may encourage excessive yeast activity) a blowout may occur. Finally and most importantly, if there isn’t enough space left at the top of your fermenter for krausen to expand, you’ll be in trouble.
Always leave extra space in your fermenter and monitor your brew room temperature. A 6 gallon glass carboy or 6.5 gallon carboy is an excellent choice for a 5 gallon brew.
Tip: Employing a blow off tube is an excellent idea if your brew fits any of the criteria above or simply as an insurance policy. To create a blow off tube, attach a sanitized, flexible tube to the stopper at the mouth of the fermenter. Submerge the other end of the tube into a container full of sanitizer. The container can be any sanitized vessel. At MoreBeer!, our home-brewers have used anything from a spare gallon jug to a well-cleaned wine bottle. As long as it keeps the tube submerged, it will work. This set-up will let the krausen escape your fermenter the easy way rather than the hard way.
Let’s review that benefits and downfalls of the glass carboy.
Glass Carboy Pros:
-Sturdy and tends to last longer than plastic fermenters
-Has a professional look
-Easy to clean
-Has a narrow neck for blowout tubes
-Non-porous and impermeable to oxygen—better for longer fermentations or aging
Glass Carboy Cons:
-Sizeable and much heavier to move than plastic
-Dangerous in a blowout or if dropped or broken
-Can be more expensive
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