Fermenting/Bulk Aging Wine in a Corny Keg?

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htc

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I was thinking of splitting a six gallon kit between two kegs. Assuming I pay proper attention to purging and do closed system transfers, does anybody know of a reason not to use a corny throughout the process? Everywhere I read about secondary fermentation, people are stressing minimized head space. Thoughts and opinions?
 
I've been brewing with 4 gallon plastic buckets, and between the extra space for wine to oxidize and my desire to limit the use of sulfates, I've been losing about a quarter of my batches. It doesn't help that I blend my fruit to extract the juice, which means it takes longer in secondary to clarify. I have two carboys, and I'm switching back to using them instead of the buckets for secondary fermentation. I'm also planning on buying a press so I can extract juice with less sediment.

You can do it, but don't skimp on the campden tablets.
 
I keg all of my wines, and bottle a few out of each batch but I love kegging my wine. Whites in the cellar, reds next to the kegerator.

I make them in a bucket fermenter (lots of things in there, like fruit, wine skins, oak, etc), but then put them in the keg once they are clear and no longer dropping lees.
 
I keg all of my wines, and bottle a few out of each batch but I love kegging my wine. Whites in the cellar, reds next to the kegerator.

I make them in a bucket fermenter (lots of things in there, like fruit, wine skins, oak, etc), but then put them in the keg once they are clear and no longer dropping lees.

Do you serve it out of the keg too?
 
Do you serve it out of the keg too?

I was unclear I guess! I ferment in a bucket since it would clog up any keg, and then once it's pretty clear and no longer dropping sediment in a carboy (secondary), I move to the keg. so yes, serve, bottle, whatever, from the keg.

I rarely ferment beer in the keg, although I do for certain beers when I'm not expecting a ton of trub- but wine drops a ton of sediment for longer, and I usually have grape skins, oak, etc in the fermenter and I wouldn't attempt fermenting it in there.
 
I was unclear I guess! I ferment in a bucket since it would clog up any keg, and then once it's pretty clear and no longer dropping sediment in a carboy (secondary), I move to the keg. so yes, serve, bottle, whatever, from the keg.

I rarely ferment beer in the keg, although I do for certain beers when I'm not expecting a ton of trub- but wine drops a ton of sediment for longer, and I usually have grape skins, oak, etc in the fermenter and I wouldn't attempt fermenting it in there.

Are they carbonated, or do you serve with different gas?
 
I was unclear I guess! I ferment in a bucket since it would clog up any keg, and then once it's pretty clear and no longer dropping sediment in a carboy (secondary), I move to the keg. so yes, serve, bottle, whatever, from the keg.

I rarely ferment beer in the keg, although I do for certain beers when I'm not expecting a ton of trub- but wine drops a ton of sediment for longer, and I usually have grape skins, oak, etc in the fermenter and I wouldn't attempt fermenting it in there.

let me introduce you to the clear beer draft system or any top draw unit. The cbds is like 50 bucks and Williams brewing has a cheaper version (not identical) for 17.

for everyone else I imagine he serves on 100% nitrogen just like cold brew
 
Are they carbonated, or do you serve with different gas?

I use my c02 tank..................BUT only enough to push the wine to the decanter (or bottle). So the wine is not carbonated. The cider usually is, a little. My reds are next to the kegerator, at 65F +/- and I push it at approx 1-2 psi, just enough to push it out. The whites are at 55F, ad I push it as low as I can, just enough to dispense but I purge a bit after serving the whites. Ideally I'd have nitrogen or argon, but for the last 8-10 years or so this is what works for me.
 
let me introduce you to the clear beer draft system or any top draw unit. The cbds is like 50 bucks and Williams brewing has a cheaper version (not identical) for 17.

for everyone else I imagine he serves on 100% nitrogen just like cold brew

You can top draw beer, but when you have wine it's a bit of a different beast. I generally have the grape skins, some oak, etc- so it's not going to work with the poppets in place at all- they'll clog immediately. There are sometimes even seeds/stems/etc in the fermenter.

I don't have a nitrogen set up.
 
You can top draw beer, but when you have wine it's a bit of a different beast. I generally have the grape skins, some oak, etc- so it's not going to work with the poppets in place at all- they'll clog immediately. There are sometimes even seeds/stems/etc in the fermenter.

I don't have a nitrogen set up.
Both have filter options. It’s not going to give you clarity type filter but grape skins are not much different than dry hops or heavy fruiting post ferm

edit: didn’t see it was you yooper when I first replied but I still don’t see how it could be all that different
 
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