I got talked into doing a batch of beer. I have a 5 gallon bucket of brown stuff fermenting in the same space working space as my wine, including my wine barrels. Should I have any concerns?
I have used my primary wine bucket to make a few batches of beer (larger head space for some of the more vigorous yeasts), and haven't noticed any issues. They were heavier/darker porters and stouts, but I didn't notice any difference, other than I didn't have to use a blow off tube for the primary. @vernsgal - What should I be concerned about if I use a fermenter for both wine and beer?
Jim, I can see all the brewers needing to be picked up off the floor after reading your claim that they can brew beer in open buckets loosely covered with cloth. They are more concerned with infection than a team of ER doctors who learn that their walls are covered with MRSA. And yet , and yet...They will brew in carboys with a foot or two of headroom just as long as they have that bung in there with a blow off tube during the first few days and then an airlock so they can count the rate of bubbles burbling through..
We are all crazy and paranoid in our own and different ways.. But I do think brewers neuroses are not unfounded (note the double negative). Beer has a far higher pH than wine and a far lower (typically) ABV. It is therefore far more prone to infections. Add to this, the fact (I think that it is a fact) that grains in and of themselves harbor all kinds of bacteria and mold that are not so innocuous and which can in a moment simply overtake the brewing process - I have yet to understand why brewers eschew K-meta and wine makers embrace sulfur dioxide. Is it not effective with grain? If it is , then the need to drop the temperature from boiling (212F ) to around 70 F in 15 minutes or less to avoid infection of the wort before pitching the yeast would disappear in the blink of an eye...
Beer people are a crazy, paranoid bunch,
I got alot of response on another forum when I mentioned I have opened a bucket and checked and SG many times. I have also racked numerous times and even separated out batches.
Dont fear an infection, it just makes the beer a bit sour!
For the record I made a strong pale ale which left my bucket smelling.
I soaked the bucket with a bunch of oxiclean. A day later I just sanatized with Star San and the lingering smell was minimal.
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