F
FastWilly
After many years of using a glass secondary I grew tired of the bother and somewhat apprehensively tried the single plastic fermentor approach. After several batches of different styles, I can make the following objective comments and observations:
(1) Clarity has not been affected, whether I use a fining agent (i.e.: Polyclar) or not. And it's certainly easier to add the finings to a plastic vessel.
(2) Oxidation does not seem to be an issue. I say "seem" because I tend to fine tune or change each batch, so it's possible that increased oxidation has occurred making subtle changes to the taste. I am very sensitive to this and have sent back many a stale beer at the pub. It does not seem to be an issue so far, as each batch has turned out fine with no perceived defects.
(3) In all cases I limited the time in plastic to two weeks.
And now some comments. I would hesitate to condition beer in plastic much longer than two weeks or so due to oxidation concerns. But until I try it, I can't be certain. It makes sense to keep your temperature at the lower end of that recommended for your yeast to minimize oxidation and autolysis concerns. Assuming clarification has not been an issue in your glass secondary, it shouldn't be an issue when using a single plastic fermentor. This assumes your beer is sound. Clarification is a physical (gravity) process that proceeds the same in either vessel. On the other hand if your technique is faulty and you need finings, they are much easier to use in a plastic vessel. And lastly, it's much easier to dry hop, which I usually do, in the plastic vessel.
So overall, my experience has been guardedly positive. I intend to split a batch with a blind taste test to see what the differences are. I'd suggest anyone with lingering concerns over this issue to do the same. Keep an open mind - even old dogs can learn new tricks.
(1) Clarity has not been affected, whether I use a fining agent (i.e.: Polyclar) or not. And it's certainly easier to add the finings to a plastic vessel.
(2) Oxidation does not seem to be an issue. I say "seem" because I tend to fine tune or change each batch, so it's possible that increased oxidation has occurred making subtle changes to the taste. I am very sensitive to this and have sent back many a stale beer at the pub. It does not seem to be an issue so far, as each batch has turned out fine with no perceived defects.
(3) In all cases I limited the time in plastic to two weeks.
And now some comments. I would hesitate to condition beer in plastic much longer than two weeks or so due to oxidation concerns. But until I try it, I can't be certain. It makes sense to keep your temperature at the lower end of that recommended for your yeast to minimize oxidation and autolysis concerns. Assuming clarification has not been an issue in your glass secondary, it shouldn't be an issue when using a single plastic fermentor. This assumes your beer is sound. Clarification is a physical (gravity) process that proceeds the same in either vessel. On the other hand if your technique is faulty and you need finings, they are much easier to use in a plastic vessel. And lastly, it's much easier to dry hop, which I usually do, in the plastic vessel.
So overall, my experience has been guardedly positive. I intend to split a batch with a blind taste test to see what the differences are. I'd suggest anyone with lingering concerns over this issue to do the same. Keep an open mind - even old dogs can learn new tricks.