Fermentation Crock 2.6/5.2 Liter

One of the biggest advantage of a transparent plastic carboy fermenter is that is allows for a very accurate beer and wine quantity reading.

Fermzilla comes with a water level sticker as well. The sticker will have a read marking for the seam level. All you need to do is to align the two and stick it.

Fermzilla Water level strip application. How to.

Watch this video on YouTube

If you are using a fermenter without this water level sticker, then you will have to calibrate it the old school way.

• Step 1: Take the empty fermenter weight and tare it to zero.
• Step 2: Add 1 kg or 1 Liter of water.
• Step 3: Mark that level as 1 Liter
• Step 4: Add another kg to get the 2 liter marking.
• Step 5: Repeat till the fermenter is filled.

It is very important to have right water level marking in a home brew fermenter. Most recipes will call for a specific ratio of wine and beer additives. If you don’t know how much liquid is there, chances are that you will add too much or too little of spices. This will lead to imbalance of flavors, colors and aromas. Also good record keeping is the key to be able to successfully scale from a small home brewing to pilot recipe research to running your own microbrewery.

Carboy is a Persian word qarābah (قرابه) pronounced Karāvah. In Arabic, it is also called qarrāba, meaning “big jug.” In a way, they are similar to roman amphora, Indian Terracotta Surahi (सुराही), and Fermentation Vats used for storing and transporting precious liquids.

Demijohn on the other hand originally referred to the wicker basket case that was used to pack the glass bottles (carboy). It is believed the word originated in 17th Century France and was originally Dame Jane.

Glass Fermenters are notorious when it comes to brewing accidents. During aging we often store wine and beer in carboy for extended periods. If the airlock is blocked, there is a chance that the pressure gets build up. The problem with glass is that when it burst, its produces a lot of sharp shards which can cause accidents. However, Arishtam’s carboys are shaped like fermentation crocks. Hence they have an in-build airlock which prevents blockage or pressure built up. Hence they will not explode.

Safety tips for Glass Carboy

1. Always check the airlock for blockage. The yeast or krausen can often overflow. When it does it will block the airlock.
2. Keep a foam cushion or a yoga mat as a base for your glass bottles. If the glass bottle is placed on the floor improperly, it will crack.
3. Never hold your filled glass carboy with the neck. Glass has a better compression strength then tensile strength. Support your bottle by keeping a hand at the bottom of the fermenter.
4. an LPG cylinder weighs about 20-25 kg but your glass carboy will weigh ~30kg (10kg for the glass and 20kg for 5 gallons of beer or wine). So don’t be shy in asking for help when transporting or shifting your fragile bottles.

Wet glass can be very slippery. Hence we recommend taking special care for them.

1. You can use the carboy washer. It sprays a let which allows you to quickly clean the carboy. Also, the brass pipe is very small. So it allows the water to drain out once it has cleaned the carboy.
2. If you still see and stubborn stains in your glass (like the ring at the bottom of the teacup) then I would recommend using a strong acid or lye. Glass is inert so you can use strong chemicals to clean it.
3. If there are deposits that need scrubbing then make a mixture of dry rice and detergent. One liter of this mixture can be poured in the carboy and you can give it a nice shake. The rice acts as an abrasive which attacks the deposits.
4. Finally use a rinse-free brewing sanitizer to disinfect all surfaces.

Glass is the preferred container for wine or alcohol. It does not leach, it does not oxidize, its smooth surface does not shelter microbes.

Bulk aging in larger carboys/fermenters is preferred over bulk aging in bottles for following reasons:

1. Sedimentation: The more the wine ages, the more sediment it collects. by bulk aging you get a second chance to remove it and get clear bottles that can be gifted.
2. Infusion: Most Indians love to infuse spices, botanicals, herbs or oak chips in their wine. Bulk gaining in big bottles makes calculations easier. Also it is practical to remove the spices when the right level of spices is achieved.
3. Oxidation: Small bottles have larger head space per unit volume. Bigger bottles one can fill to the brim and be secure.
4. Convinience: It helps procastinate the effort to bottle up the wine till its ready for consumption.
5. Space: Larger the bottle, lesser space it takes

A 2.6 Liter carboy has a dimensions of 15.5 X 15.5 x 23cm

A 5.2 Liter carboy has a dimensions of 19cm X 19cm X 28cm

However glass bottles are blown and have some bottle to bottle variations in dimensions.

Arishtam stocks water sealed fermentation crock. In this traditional design, there is a circular moat at the lid. One needs to fill it with water and put a glass bowl on it.

The anaerobic fermentation will produce the CO2 gases. These gases pass through the water moat (like they do in a regular airlock).

Another advantage of fermentation crock is that since the lid is large, the chances of overflowing of wine is lesser. Also if it does, the grape pulp comfortably sits in the lid and does not make a mess.

With the regular airlocks/bubblers one needs to be worried about the airlock being choked. This could be because the pulp from the wine blocks it from inside or because insects/dirt from outside falls in the small airlock bubbler. The large moat design of the lid prevents these kind of blockages.

Hence fermentation crocks are the easiest and most carefree design fermenters in the market. You can use them for primary ferments as well as bulk aging (kimchi is traditionally stored for 3 years in them)