[nvshooter2276]

I use a 15-gallon Sterilite container from Walmart ...

I'm doing a search on that right now!

I looked it up: It's a tote. I don't think I want to use one of those for making beer.

We've had a few say in this thread that I shouldn't make beer in my garbage can because we're not certain about the "food-gradity" of the plastic from which it's made. I remember seeing a youtube video several years ago showing a young man who used five-gallon buckets from various home & farm stores in which to ferment his beer. These buckets were orange, blue and red-- definitely not food-grade buckets. So I'm going to make a batch in my garbage can. I'm not worried about keeling-over dead immediately after the first swallow makes its way into my stomach...

[fredthecat]

I use a 15-gallon Sterilite container from Walmart ...

I'm doing a search on that right now!

I looked it up: It's a tote. I don't think I want to use one of those for making beer.

We've had a few say in this thread that I shouldn't make beer in my garbage can because we're not certain about the "food-gradity" of the plastic from which it's made. I remember seeing a youtube video several years ago showing a young man who used five-gallon buckets from various home & farm stores in which to ferment his beer. These buckets were orange, blue and red-- definitely not food-grade buckets. So I'm going to make a batch in my garbage can. I'm not worried about keeling-over dead immediately after the first swallow makes its way into my stomach...

you really need to get it together. an FYI for any novice homebrewer who happens to stumble across this, simply google phthalates and BPAs and health for a starting point.

and the fact that buying a proper food grade carboy or PET carboy is barely more expensive than this. i seriously dont know what these posts are about

[Semper Sitientem]

This convo should be submitted for a Darwin Award.

[Rudy]

Odd how people are concerned about making alcohol, which might kill us, in a plastic container that might kill us.

BTW, my Sterilite "fermenter" is made out of polypropylene, so it is food grade.

[nvshooter2276]

I found a twelve-gallon fermenter from MoreBeer. Said to be food-grade. Single unit at $30 each. NO free shipping...

https://www.morebeer.com/products/12-gallon-plastic-fermenter.html?variant=WE504&msclkid=86895d4cb8e410833e6b39af73c30148&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BPA%20-%20Items%20-%20Fermentation%20Equipment&utm_term=4577610507286372&utm_content=BPA%20Item%20-%20Fermentation%20Equipment%7C10-59%7CC%3A40

[nvshooter2276]

Filled and marked-off each gallon in the garbage can to seven gallons. My calculation for six gallons was actually five. Seven gallons is 13 inches deep. The total depth of the can in twenty-three inches. I see no way in all of helsinki that the krausen can ever reach the top of the can, which will be covered with  a towel and a piece of plywood with some weights set on it.

I'm going to use this garbage can because I do not worry about Kalifonia telling me everything I ingest or touch is going to kill me in the next several minutes. I want to bottle six gallons. Fermenting seven gallons will allow me to do exactly that...

[pete b]

California isn't telling you anything, your fellow homebrewers, whose advice you have sought about this, are telling you that they have health concerns about this because there is a lot of solid data that consistently points in that direction. I haven't seen anyone say (including California) that this would kill you in minutes any more than anyone says a puff of a cigarette will kill you instantly. That's not how carcinogens work.
You may think that you are coming off as a rugged individualist with common sense but really you seem to be parroting what you hear on the internet. Saving a few bucks in exchange for even a small health risk defies common sense. But hey, freedom right?
Be well.

[Richard]

I found a twelve-gallon fermenter from MoreBeer. Said to be food-grade. Single unit at $30 each. NO free shipping...

https://www.morebeer.com/products/12-gallon-plastic-fermenter.html?variant=WE504&msclkid=86895d4cb8e410833e6b39af73c30148&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BPA%20-%20Items%20-%20Fermentation%20Equipment&utm_term=4577610507286372&utm_content=BPA%20Item%20-%20Fermentation%20Equipment%7C10-59%7CC%3A40

The shipping for this item is free if you meet the minimum order of $59.

[fredthecat]

i thibk i already said, and again, not to dogpile on you and cause you to instinctively resist these suggestions but - there is a lot more to using an appropriate material than the safety/health concerns

-oxygen permeability
-leaching of flavour compounds into the beer
-substances entering the beer that may affect head formation or body of the beer
-substances that inhibit organic growth, ie. may retard, limit yeast growth

all these if present cod result in a worse quality product.

if theres one thing i, and i believe many have learned from homebrewing - better to make a purchase based on what will work rather than on cost savings.

[ynotbrusum]

The item from more beer is food grade according to the link.  I have it with a lid and store my RO water in it for brewing.  I think it will be safer than a non-food grade item - though it is designed for wine must fermentation…

[nvshooter2276]

[/quote]

... it is designed for wine must fermentation…

Beer seems to require an airlock to keep bacteria out of the wort. Isn't wine also a ton of sugar that needs protection against airborne bacteria? How are the bugs kept out of the 12-gallon barrel when fermenting wine?

I'm going to take you guys' advice and at least step back from using the garbage can in the near future. I like that it's rectangular and as such, will consume less area on the counter of my unused bathroom. I'm a little concerned that using a towel and a piece of plywood as a top may provide an avenue for infection. Mick Jagger was correct in the 1960s that you can't always get what you want. It's still too hot where I live to have a barrel of beer fermenting in a bathroom with a southern wall that gets blasted by the Nevada sun every day.

[fredthecat]

... it is designed for wine must fermentation…

Beer seems to require an airlock to keep bacteria out of the wort. Isn't wine also a ton of sugar that needs protection against airborne bacteria? How are the bugs kept out of the 12-gallon barrel when fermenting wine?

I'm going to take you guys' advice and at least step back from using the garbage can in the near future. I like that it's rectangular and as such, will consume less area on the counter of my unused bathroom. I'm a little concerned that using a towel and a piece of plywood as a top may provide an avenue for infection. Mick Jagger was correct in the 1960s that you can't always get what you want. It's still too hot where I live to have a barrel of beer fermenting in a bathroom with a southern wall that gets blasted by the Nevada sun every day.
[/quote]

i believe i see where you're coming from in a lot of your approach and intentions, but you may want to consider "what is beer?"

beer in different places and at different times in history was sour to degrees varying from slightly tart to very sour both intentionally and unintentionally. beer is/was fermented for times as short as a few hours to obviously years and years.

i mean even the term "beer" i use was preceded in many places by other terms to describe a beverage of malt and/or grains fermented with a range of fungi and bacteria.

so, its totally up to you whether you want to keep your beer covered or not with an airlock or what type of airlock. for a few years in a different country i used an improvised airlock of a plastic bag with a plastic tube taped to it (externally) and this was secured to a wide mouthed glass or PET container with a rubber band. this kept bugs out and pumped CO2 into a separate container, but probably wasnt perfectly oxygen impermeable.

you can make beer however you want, but in regards to the topic of this thread i and i believe most others indicate specific and identifiable risks with that non-good grade plastic container. it sounded like your concern was about headspace expanding beyond the volume of the beer? krausen/foam varies greatly from yeast to yeast, but overall you shouldnt be too worried about it, at most maybe you'd need another 1/6th of the wort volume in headspace and less if you just use a blowoff tube.

[nvshooter2276]

Sent a message today to my LHBS regarding they order for me the 16-gallon fermenter (EZZZ5240) and lid (EZZZ5241) from bsgcraftbrewing.com. I asked BSG if they sold to individuals. They do not; only to businesses. We individuals ain't worth their time. We'll have to see if my LHBS even gets back to me about what I want ordered...

[denny]

Sent a message today to my LHBS regarding they order for me the 16-gallon fermenter (EZZZ5240) and lid (EZZZ5241) from bsgcraftbrewing.com. I asked BSG if they sold to individuals. They do not; only to businesses. We individuals ain't worth their time. We'll have to see if my LHBS even gets back to me about what I want ordered...

It's more that they want to support their dealers.

[nvshooter2276]

Sent a message today to my LHBS regarding they order for me the 16-gallon fermenter (EZZZ5240) and lid (EZZZ5241) from bsgcraftbrewing.com. I asked BSG if they sold to individuals. They do not; only to businesses. We individuals ain't worth their time. We'll have to see if my LHBS even gets back to me about what I want ordered...

Been almost a month. No response. I was in there a week or two ago, and completely forgot to say anything about the store ordering one of the buckets for me. BSG probably wants orders of six or ten minimum, and I expect the LHBS won't go for that quantity when most homebrewers never make batches of more than five or six gallons. The things would set on the shelf for years...