Fermentation in blue food barrel?

[Arasimo]

Can I first ferment in a food grade blue barrel? And what if I only have 13 gal. In a 20 gal container?

 

[GreenEnvy22]

If you are sure it's food grade, and know what was in it before, sure.
Only primary fermentation though, where there is CO2 to protect the wine from oxygen. Once fermentation is almost done, you should rack into smaller containers with as little exposed surface as possible (like glass carboys).

 

[DoctorCAD]

Have you never watched the moonshiners on TV? They ferment in blue food grade barrels on every show.

 

[CDrew]

What was in the food grade barrel before you got it? As long as it doesn't smell like pickles, sauerkraut or vinegar it's likely ok.

13 gallons in a 20 gallon fermenter is about right. You need some room for it foaming or cap formation.

If there is any concern, a 20 gallon Brute is easy and cheap to obtain, but I'll guess your blue barrel is perfectly fine. Since it doesn't have handles, you might put it on a moving dolly so it's easy to roll around when it's time to press.

 

[user 32114]

i have a few 14 gal blue plastic ferment barrels that i ferment 7 to 8 gallons in, i got a 32 gallon brute food grade grey trash can that i ferment in, and have done so for years, yes you need the extra room when you stir using a drill to put oxygen into your ferment, only when you reach 1.000 to .996 SG,, do you rack to a carboy and airlock,
Dawg

 

[winemaker81]

@Arasimo, I've got a couple of food grade blue barrels I've used for a couple of years, although mine are roughly 50 gallons. They work fine, but the lack of handles makes them difficult to work with, especially with 4 or 5 lugs (36 lbs each) in them.

If you can manage them, you're fine. 13 gallons is over 100 lbs -- the weight is not the issue, it's hanging onto it.

Last fall 3 of us lifted 144 lbs (four 36 lugs) of crushed grapes contained in 32 gallon brutes into the bed of my truck with no problems. Lifting the same amount in the barrels was not -- we almost dropped one. I'm replacing mine with more Brutes to avoid the problem.

My barrels have lids that seal with snap rings, which is great for transport, but the difficulty in manipulating negates that.

 

[user 36973]

Years (decades?) ago I bought some 50gal food grade blue barrels cheaply from a LHBS that had been selling liquid malt extract out of them. They were the style where the lid came completely off and also went back on tightly. Perfect for punching down the cap. I used them for years as homebrew fermentation containers for grapes before pressing into carboys. They worked great and were easy to clean. The lid had plugs you could unscrew and even wedge a fermentation lock into, though I would just loosely set the lid on the barrel during fermentation.

However, if you are planning on fermenting juice rather than grapes, you're better off using a smaller vessel with less headspace.

 

[user 32114]

@Arasimo, I've got a couple of food grade blue barrels I've used for a couple of years, although mine are roughly 50 gallons. They work fine, but the lack of handles makes them difficult to work with, especially with 4 or 5 lugs (36 lbs each) in them.

If you can manage them, you're fine. 13 gallons is over 100 lbs -- the weight is not the issue, it's hanging onto it.

Last fall 3 of us lifted 144 lbs (four 36 lugs) of crushed grapes contained in 32 gallon brutes into the bed of my truck with no problems. Lifting the same amount in the barrels was not -- we almost dropped one. I'm replacing mine with more Brutes to avoid the problem.

My barrels have lids that seal with snap rings, which is great for transport, but the difficulty in manipulating negates that.

mine set on flat dollies which i have cut 3/4 board to fill in the center of dolly, for my 14 gal barrels. harbor freight that holds a 55 gal barrel, and if you go somewhere like home depot, the brute food grade trash cans has a round dolly screws into the threads on bottom of trash can, i get the lids, the trash cans and the lids too, and brute has the same set up with smaller brute trash cans
Dawg

 

[montanarick]

you might want to look into Rubbermaid Brute food-safe containers. Lowes is now carrying them in their stores (at least the one close to us) and they are available in two readily handle-able sizes