Noob Question

Hi guys,

Just got my first setup (mr.Beer) It of course is the 2 gal. one I am looking to bottle. But as I have read Kegging Would be a better option. I have a 2nd 2 gal fermenter coming. Would it be as easy to just get a 5gal keg kit and use it or Use a 2.5 gal One? I am unsure what to do. Sorry for all the dumb question But would love to do something with the beer i have started. Is it ok to leave the beer in the fermentor more than 2 weeks? I am using the Mr. Beer Refill kit.

Thanks for your understanding

Robert
Chiefland,FL

A lot of us, including me, started with a MrBeer kit. It's a great way to become familiar with the process. I used it for 5 or 6 batches, most of which were 5-gallon recipes I got on this site, cut in half. When I finally got my 5 gallon equipment, I knew what I was doing (sort of). Also, I started out bottling and am still bottling after three years (sigh).

Everyone has their own path - some jump in with a 5 gallon kit right away; some switch to kegging as soon as they can. Do whatever your skills, inclinations, and budget allow.

Oh, and I typically leave my beer in the fermentor 4 weeks, then bottle. Others will package it sooner, but you have to understand your hydrometer and how to use it.

Cheers!

Yes, I am not sure I think i want to keg but will know more in 2 weeks and see if it would be better. Rather than bottle maybe to keep the sediment out as much as i can

Robert

Yep, longer in the fermenter won't hurt, in fact it will help!

My knee jerk reaction is to tell you to get the 5gal keg as I'm sure you will move up to 5 gallons as you move forward. That being said, I've often wished I had a smaller keg for splitting a batch (1/2 keg, 1/2 bottle)

Lastly, don't sweat the fact that you won't fill the 5gal keg, you purge the headspace with CO2 when you keg anyhow.

Well all sounds good Now just to find a cheap 5gal setup and try it out

It used to be that 5-gallon kegs were much, much cheaper than 3-gallon kegs. When I got mine a couple years ago, they were ~$20 each. Now they're at least $50. 3-gallon kegs are going for ~$100 if I'm not mistaken.

Okay so if i am correct here. All i have to do is pour my beer from the fermentor. Into the Keg (clean of Course) Close it up Put the Co2 to it and depending on how i go with carbing it. Thats it i don't need to add sugar to it or anything else

Robert

Clean keg.
Fill keg with CO2 one to several times, purging at the top, to remove O2.
Siphon beer in.
Apply CO2 again, kegerators.com has a great chart for pressure v. temp v. style.
Some people like to add sugar prior to this, up to you.

To be clear, you should never "pour" finished beer into any container. You need an autosiphon to transfer beer from one place or another or you risk oxidizing it really badly, which is essentially doom for beer.

Honestly, while kegging is great, I would suggest sticking with bottling for your first few batches. Might as well get a feel for the basics before you step it up some - plus, bottling may well be cheaper to begin with.

Yeah I plan on doing the first batch in bottles then go from there. I did mean autosiphon. thank you all for putting up with my noob questions i know thy have been asked many many times over

Robert

J-Pizzel said:

Clean keg.
Fill keg with CO2 one to several times, purging at the top, to remove O2.

Click to expand...

Wait ... what?

Does anyone actually do that? That seems awfully wasteful to me. You fill the entire empty keg with CO2, then just vent it? Several times?

I just clean and sanitize the keg, siphon the beer in, seal it up, THEN fill the headspace with CO2 and vent a couple of times to purge the oxygen. But by this point, I'm only purging a small volume of air (the remaining headspace in a keg full of beer), not the whole keg.

Does anyone actually fill the empty keg with CO2 and then just vent it away? Several times, before filling with beer? Does that actually make a difference?

rcooper said:

Hi guys,

.... But as I have read Kegging Would be a better option. ....

Click to expand...

Why is kegging a "better" option? Many people bottle and stick to it. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. You have to go with the route that best fits your needs.

Kremlock said:

Why is kegging a "better" option?

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Easier cleaning ritual, more consistent carbonation, no sediment in the bottles (if you choose to subsequently bottle some from the keg for easier transport), no risk of "bottle bombs," faster bottling process, faster carbonation, saves the expense of buying bottle caps, easy to give someone a sample taste without opening an entire bottle... I'm sure there are more, but the first three were really the dealbreakers for me, personally.

EDIT: Wait, you're in Ottawa, too? Cool! Are you in MoB?

kombat said:

Wait ... what?

Does anyone actually do that? That seems awfully wasteful to me. You fill the entire empty keg with CO2, then just vent it? Several times?

I just clean and sanitize the keg, siphon the beer in, seal it up, THEN fill the headspace with CO2 and vent a couple of times to purge the oxygen. But by this point, I'm only purging a small volume of air (the remaining headspace in a keg full of beer), not the whole keg.

Does anyone actually fill the empty keg with CO2 and then just vent it away? Several times, before filling with beer? Does that actually make a difference?

Click to expand...

I sanitize, fill the keg and burp as u described. This other method, probably does a better job of keeping oxygen out, but I don't do it.

Is there any how to's on kegging?

Robert

rcooper said:

Is there any how to's on kegging?

Robert

Click to expand...

Lots of good information in a sticky on the kegging forum

I have read also something about leaving the keg sit for a week Does it have to be conditioned like bottles?

Robert

Yes & no. There are ways to speed up the carbonation such as rocking the keg while hooked up to CO2, using a carbonation stone, force carbing at higher pressures, voodoo, etc. Most people prefer to go natural set & forget which usually takes 2 weeks.

I rock most of mine. If the keg is already chilled to fridge temps before I start rocking, ill drink it the next day.

kombat said:

Easier cleaning ritual, more consistent carbonation, no sediment in the bottles (if you choose to subsequently bottle some from the keg for easier transport), no risk of "bottle bombs," faster bottling process, faster carbonation, saves the expense of buying bottle caps, easy to give someone a sample taste without opening an entire bottle... I'm sure there are more, but the first three were really the dealbreakers for me, personally.

EDIT: Wait, you're in Ottawa, too? Cool! Are you in MoB?

Click to expand...

Yep I am.

I'll agree with you on all those points as to why kegging is better then bottles. I need to show my wife why I need a keezer lol.

Though I have never had bottle bombs, sediments don't bother me and the cleaning process is not all that much different, I have had inconsistent carbonation and bottles do take a LOT of room.

Are you in the MoB?

bottles do take a LOT of room.

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Wait until you have 15 varieties of beer made at once and then tell me about how much room bottles take as compared to kegs. Just how big of a keezer do you intend to get?

Kremlock said:

Though I have never had bottle bombs, sediments don't bother me and the cleaning process is not all that much different

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Sediment doesn't bother me, personally, either, but when serving a beer to guests, it's annoying/embarrassing to have to explain why there's a small puddle of slimy gunk in the bottom of their bottle, and how to carefully pour so as not to disturb it. Heaven forbid if they want to just drink straight from the bottle! Furthermore, if you want to enter beers into competition, bottle-carbing will often cost you a couple of points, as the sediment is inevitably shaken back up into solution during shipping or rough handling by event staff, resulting in a beer more "cloudy" than its competitors.

I find cleaning/sanitizing one keg much faster and easier than cleaning 40 bottles.

Kremlock said:

Are you in the MoB?

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You bet - I'm looking forward to the group hop buy in January/February.

(MoB is the "Members of Barleyment," the local homebrewing club here in Ottawa)

Is it cheaper to buy the beer kits like cooper's or mr beer or use a recipe and buy the separate ingredients

Rob

rcooper said:

Is it cheaper to buy the beer kits like cooper's or mr beer or use a recipe and buy the separate ingredients

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In general, all grain is cheaper than extract.

Of course, there are caveats. You can often find the beer kits on sale. In those cases, they can be cheaper than buying raw ingredients - particularly if you're buying the ingredients in small quantities, at retail prices. The downside is the reason that beer kit is on sale. It's probably nearing its expiry date, so the quality will suffer.

On the other hand, if you buy your raw ingredients in bulk, through a "group buy" with the local homebrewing club, you can get wholesale pricing. You get fresher ingredients, resulting in better beer, and lower cost. However, the startup-cost to buy the equipment needed to go all grain can take many dozens of batches of beer to recoup until you're actually "saving money."

Then there are aspects that are harder to quantify, such as propane/natural gas costs, the impact on your water and electric bill, consumables like the cleaning and sanitizing supplies, Irish moss, gelatin, DME for starters, your time (all grain takes longer than extract), and so on.

Did that help, or just make it more confusing?

Well LOL I stay Confused LOL I now am looking for a good cheap 5 gal fermentor kit i guess it what you call it i don't need the bottles and all that some of them com with just I guess a bucket with spout. Or what really do i need ? A list perhaps if someone could tell me what is the best way to go

Rob

I guess I did not mention that I will make the 5 gals at a time it will take me several weeks to a month or shorter to drink that from a keg

Almost every place sells starter kits that have all the basics covered, more or less. If start their first. Even before the kegging system, you don't want to jump into a new hobby that quick now.

Okay one more question I now have the 6.5 gal ferm. and it has been going 9 days... i don't see any activity in the air lock. I would like to take a reading. Is it safe to open the lid (don't have a spigot on the bucket) or just wait for the full 14 days then check it. Will it hurt to open the bucket to check on things

It's safe to open the lid, though you really don't have to. Airlock activity isn't a surefire signal of fermentation activity. Have you gotten any krausen? If so, it's fermenting. I'd leave it be for at least two weeks, then worry if there's *really* no signs of fermentation activity.

Not sure if it has Krausen Can't see inside the bucket It did bubble for i think around 3-4 days then stopped i think i will leave it be and just wait i think i need a bucket with a spigot so i take samples

Rob

@rcooper: If it bubbled, it's fermenting. Assuming you did everything more or less correctly, it's unlikely that you'll get a stuck fermentation. On the other hand - the more you mess with the beer while it's fermenting, the more you set yourself up for an infection.

Also you really don't want a spigot on your primary fermenter, for a few reasons. One, it's possible that the pressure that develops in the fermenter while the beer is doing it's thing could force beer through the seal, causing a nice little leak all over your floor. Second, pulling a sample from the spigot of a primary would be pointless as all you'd get is trub and dead yeast.

If you're going to pull samples while it's in the fermenter (which is pretty much unnecessary unless you *really* suspect a problem) pull from the top of the beer so you get a clear sample.

If you have an air lock, it's unlikely you'll create enough pressure to cause a seal leak. However, if you do pull from the bucket with the air lock still on you'll back-siphon the solution from your air lock into your fermenter. If you have a dip tube that is well under water, it may create enough pressure to cause the leaking seal...

Well I don't plan on messing with it till 14 days or a few more i did things right just leave the bucket alone and wait till the end and check it no big deal

Ride it out. It won't hurt a thing.

found this on ebay if anyone is interested a keg i placed a best offer of 31 got it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190765511863?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Just wondering if i keg a brew how long can i keep it in a keg without carbonation the beer would be in a fridge. I have one now that is very bitter so i am think and was told it needs to sit for 2 weeks.....i have a 2nd batch going to be ready just wondering if i could keep the 2nd in a keg without carbonation and how long