How to Use a Carboy
A carboy is a glass or heavy plastic bottle typically sold in a 5-gallon size, although available in other sizes. Carboys are used for free-standing water coolers that are not connected to a piped water supply, and as a fermenting container for homemade beer and wine. Carboys are useful as fermenters because they are constructed to withstand the pressure of sugar and yeast conversion into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is the gas that gives bubbles to beer, sodas and sparkling wine or champagne. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Glass carboy Flexible, wire-handled scrub brushes available at homebrew shops and hardware stores Bleach
Instructions
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Use a carboy on a water cooler by filling with clean water to the neck of the bottle. Lift carefully with one hand on the bottom and the other hand around the neck of the carboy, flip it into position and lower onto the water cooler in one swift motion. Get someone to help if you are not sure about lifting the bottle. A 5-gallon glass carboy filled with water weighs about 50 pounds.
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2
Use a carboy sanitized with 1/2 cup of bleach and rinsed thoroughly as a secondary fermenter for homemade beer.
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Siphon the beer from a plastic bucket, or primary fermenter through a hose into the carboy. Place the hose all the way in the bottom of the empty carboy before siphoning to avoid splashing and to minimize stirring up the sediment in the beer.
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Attach an airlock fitted to a rubber stop the diameter of the carboy neck and insert for an airtight fit.
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Use a sanitized carboy as a primary fermenter for homemade wine. Pour the wine through a funnel equipped with a strainer into the clean carboy and attach an airlock.
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Allow the wine or homemade beer to complete fermentation, typically 14-20 days, before siphoning into individual bottles for corking or capping.
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Use a clean, bleach-sanitized carboy for every application that involves potable liquids. If you are going to drink something that came out of the carboy, sanitize the carboy first. In the case of fermenting homemade beer or wine, failure to sanitize the carboy can cause bacterial contamination, leading to off flavors, flat beer and ruined beverages.
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