What is your take on this please
@Deadhead?
Well the decent quality - food grade fermentation buckets we all start in are absolutely fine. They (food grade) don't leech chemicals into your beer, are lightweight , easy to clean in the tub/shower, store and stack easily and are easy to find and are cheap!. You can easily see the level of beer and if fermentation has started/krausen levels. They can scratch (and thus need to take extra care cleaning, the seals become loose over time, they can let light in (depending on the plastic type) and they're not pretty things to look at.
Many higher end stainless steel buckets have the advantage of being a conical so you can dump trub (though many plastic ones have this now), have built in temperature control, are easily to hook up glycol chillers (if they have the inlets, etc). They don't scratch as easily, but you do need to take care still. They're very easy to clean, clamp down the lid, etc. Mine isn't pressure rated, except for a few psi, so I can't pressure ferment, but I can do an oxygen free transfer still (if I had kegs to go to). There are of course ones that are pressure rated (£££). You usually need to order/ go to a specific homebrew shop to find, not your standard Wilko/Range/Farm supply store.
I make beer in both. I don't really notice any difference in the finished product from the material itself.
To me, the bigger thing that influences the beer is controlling the fermentation temperatures, so as long as you have a way to do that, you make yummy beer!
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