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Author Topic: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy  (Read 13604 times)

Offline flbrewer

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Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« on: May 06, 2013, 01:06:53 pm »
OK, I cannot wait a month to re-use my 6.5 gallon carboy. I've been bitten by the brewing bug and an IPA clone recipe is staring at me. Can this be done with only a 5 gallon carboy? Thanks!

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2013, 01:08:45 pm »
Order a 7 gallon bucket from a homebrew site, local homebrew store, or, if you can find it get food grade plastic buckets from local restaurants. As long as you can get the smells out they are great and cheap.

a 5 gallon carboy will be messy if you try to ferment 5 gallons in it. it would be fine for 4 gallons though. Maybe brew up a big barley wine where you won't miss the extra gallon.
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2013, 01:10:25 pm »
If you buy a 1 inch diameter Vinyl tube and put the far end in a big pot of sanitizer you have essentailly made yourself a airlock ala blowoff tube.  a ton of the krausen will end up in the tube, but it works!
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline flbrewer

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2013, 03:29:39 pm »
Order a 7 gallon bucket from a homebrew site, local homebrew store, or, if you can find it get food grade plastic buckets from local restaurants. As long as you can get the smells out they are great and cheap.

a 5 gallon carboy will be messy if you try to ferment 5 gallons in it. it would be fine for 4 gallons though. Maybe brew up a big barley wine where you won't miss the extra gallon.

For the 6.5 carboy I am using now (just started fermentation) how much krausen would be created? The reason I ask is that so far it doesn't look like it will go any higher than the 5 gallon mark.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2013, 03:32:19 pm »
I regularly have blow offs fermenting 5 gallons is a 6 gallon better bottle.

If you put 5 gallons in a 5 gallon fermenter, you're going to blow out most of your yeast.

The best approach would be to brew a smaller batch or get a larger fermenter.

I have 4 6-gallon fermenters and sometimes they are all full.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline Pinski

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2013, 03:34:48 pm »
Time for someone to pick up a couple buckets!
Steve Carper
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2013, 03:43:44 pm »
I regularly have blow offs fermenting 5 gallons is a 6 gallon better bottle.

If you put 5 gallons in a 5 gallon fermenter, you're going to blow out most of your yeast.

The best approach would be to brew a smaller batch or get a larger fermenter.

I have 4 6-gallon fermenters and sometimes they are all full.

Thats what happened with me.  Started with 1 bucket and 1 carboy and now i have 6 carboys and 3 buckets.  once your friends and family find out you are brewing, things will start getting handed down too you;)
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline bigchicken

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2013, 04:18:52 pm »

[/quote]

For the 6.5 carboy I am using now (just started fermentation) how much krausen would be created? The reason I ask is that so far it doesn't look like it will go any higher than the 5 gallon mark.
[/quote]
This varries greatly. I like many others on this forum have blown out an airlock on a 5 gallon batch using a 6.5 gallon carboy or bucket.  Your best bet is to get some additional large fermentors.
TJ Cook

On Deck: Planning
Fermenting: Nothing
In bottles: It's All About MEAD!

Offline petesbrew

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2013, 07:23:05 pm »
Use the 5 gallon carboy for your secondary fermentation purposes.  You don't want much head space when you're clearing/conditioning batches that flocculate slowly, so the smaller carboy works well for this.

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2013, 09:13:33 pm »
Like a skipping LP... I brew 3-4 batches a month and I don't own any carboys

Offline flbrewer

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Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2013, 05:52:33 pm »
Order a 7 gallon bucket from a homebrew site, local homebrew store, or, if you can find it get food grade plastic buckets from local restaurants. As long as you can get the smells out they are great and cheap.

a 5 gallon carboy will be messy if you try to ferment 5 gallons in it. it would be fine for 4 gallons though. Maybe brew up a big barley wine where you won't miss the extra gallon.

For the 6.5 carboy I am using now (just started fermentation) how much krausen would be created? The reason I ask is that so far it doesn't look like it will go any higher than the 5 gallon mark.

During my 2 5 gallon extract batches (6.5 gallon carboy) the krausen has always gone up about 2-3 inches. Still lots of room above. That being said, I'd love to ditch the carboys.

Offline Jarhno

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2013, 03:11:35 pm »
I use a 8gal bucket or 6.5gal glass carboy for a primary fermentation and haven't needed to do a blow-off hose for a 5 gal batch. I do, however, prefer the 5gal glass carboy as a secondary fermentor because it has much less headspace so the beer doesn't oxidize. Though I'm under the impression very few people have oxidation problems.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Brewing a 5 gallon extract with 5 gallon carboy
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2013, 04:37:05 pm »
I use a 8gal bucket or 6.5gal glass carboy for a primary fermentation and haven't needed to do a blow-off hose for a 5 gal batch. I do, however, prefer the 5gal glass carboy as a secondary fermentor because it has much less headspace so the beer doesn't oxidize. Though I'm under the impression very few people have oxidation problems.

mostly because we don't use a secondary. straight from primary to packaging (or bottling bucket) leads to much less worry about oxidation.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce