Keg ferementing

[asterix404]

Hi everyone. I am looking to switch over to fermenting in used kegs. I have used buckets which mildewed and am on glass which I can't clean well and pouring 6 gals of wort means about 2 quarts end up on the floor.

I figured a stainless keg would be perfect. I am thinking half keg kegs, like 15g. I am also curious about conversion systems. NOTE: I am not looking to use a 5G keg as a fermentor. I need at least 7g and 10 seems much safer. I have had brews with huge amounts of head space explode from particularly vigorous strains. I also learned the joys of open air fermentation. Not having an air lock end up 6 feet away and krausen on my ceiling was well worth the risk of doing the thing that brewers have done for 1000 years.

 

[dozer5454]

There appears to be a lot of things going on here. Hopefully I get it all covered.
1st. Not sure what is going on with the "mildew" you have in the buckets. A run of bleach and through rinse with water or just starsan will kill any bad bacteria you may have in a bucket.
2nd. Glass equals 2 quarts on the floor? Are you pouring the fermented beer into a bucket? If so please stop. Adding air after fermentation is a huge no no.
3rd. A standard full keg is 15 gallons and is what a lot of us use as a boil kettle.
4th. I assume by "open fermentation" you mean that you took the top off and have been skimming the yeast trub that floats to the top. I have done this with various beers. As has Sierra Nevada with no issues.
5th. Grab the 3 piece air lock. Toss the lid and guts. Attach a hose and place on the bung as usual. Put the other end of the hose in some starsan. No beer on the ceiling.
Hope this helps. You don't need to go totally stainless or elaborate. Just a few changes to your techniques and life will be good. Side note: I have done quite a few batches in an 8gallon fermenter that was designed for wine. More than enough headspace and no blowout. They are plastic but work amazing and are easy to clean.

 

[dozer5454]

There appears to be a lot of things going on here. Hopefully I get it all covered.
1st. Not sure what is going on with the "mildew" you have in the buckets. A run of bleach and through rinse with water or just starsan will kill any bad bacteria you may have in a bucket.
2nd. Glass equals 2 quarts on the floor? Are you pouring the fermented beer into a bucket? If so please stop. Adding air after fermentation is a huge no no.
3rd. A standard full keg is 15 gallons and is what a lot of us use as a boil kettle.
4th. I assume by "open fermentation" you mean that you took the top off and have been skimming the yeast trub that floats to the top. I have done this with various beers. As has Sierra Nevada with no issues.
5th. Grab the 3 piece air lock. Toss the lid and guts. Attach a hose and place on the bung as usual. Put the other end of the hose in some starsan. No beer on the ceiling.
Hope this helps. You don't need to go totally stainless or elaborate. Just a few changes to your techniques and life will be good. Side note: I have done quite a few batches in an 8gallon fermenter that was designed for wine. More than enough headspace and no blowout. They are plastic but work amazing and are easy to clean.

 

[asterix404]

There isn't nearly as much going on as you think and I am not really a beginner but I am hoping that other people do this and can help me out a bit .

1) The buckets mildewed in storage. I couldn't clean the mildew out of the scrapes, even with bleach and I didn't trust the buckets afterward.

2) Glass carboys. I spill a lot of wort when I am pouring the wort into the container. I want a container that has a nice big hole in the top, or at least one much larger than a carboy. A conical fermentor would be ideal but I don't have 300$.

3) Yes. I know this. I am not looking to do 15g batches yet.

4) Basically yea. When I do a closed fermentation with belgian yeasts, it ends up proving to be problematic for the first 2 or 3 days.

5) What is the link for this? I don't particularly need stainless but I want something that is easier to pour wort into and clean. I basically want a cheap conical fermentor in barrel form.

 

[andy6026]

For #5 look up the term 'blow off tube' and you'll come across how to make one.

 

[brewcat]

For #2, a large funnel works wonders.

 

[aprichman]

I use an sanitized autosiphon to transfer beer into my bottling bucket. I can't imagine trying to pour my beer from the carboy into the bottling bucket - thats just asking for trouble IMO.

 

[KZack]

I am in the same boat. I'm returning to brewing after a 5 year break. I don't trust my brew buckets either.

I have so far built a spunding valve to ferment in my corny kegs. I hope to brew here soon.

*fingers crossed*

 

[martyjhuebs]

Or a siphon hose works for transferring. A long bendable brush or swirling a rag in your carboy will clean your glass. There are also big mouth carboys available and if I'm not mistaken cheaper than glass. I'm just imagining that fermentation in a keg is just as bad as any other solution. I would think everything has its downsides.

Big mouth bubbler
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...VWbWjyW3IfIvCp72VtqPZSBq-kG7DrabcUaArB28P8HAQ

 

[aprichman]

BTW here's some equipment used to convert sankes - I've thought about converting a 1/2 barrel and running 10 gallon batches in it. Main appeal for me would be the ability to transfer the beer from the sanke to a corny using only CO2 which would let the beer almost never see any oxygen.

https://www.brewershardware.com/Sanke-Fermentor-Kits/

 

[bbohanon]

I am in the same boat. I'm returning to brewing after a 5 year break. I don't trust my brew buckets either.

I have so far built a spunding valve to ferment in my corny kegs. I hope to brew here soon.

*fingers crossed*

Welcome back to the madness!
Good to see a fellow NC'er back on the wagon!

 

[wi_brewer]

I brew 10 gallon batches and ferment in 1/2 barrels with the top cut out. Never had an issue.

The only negative is that they are heavy as hell when filled.

 

[lpdjshaw]

10 gal cornies work great if you can find them. Use a piece of tubing attached to a grey "in" connector for a blow off

 

[martyjhuebs]

Main appeal for me would be the ability to transfer the beer from the sanke to a corny using only CO2 which would let the beer almost never see any oxygen.

https://www.brewershardware.com/Sanke-Fermentor-Kits/

Maybe I dont understand this right, but wouldnt you transfer the yeast cake with the beer? You would have to install the spear that nearly toches the bottom to transfer...

 

[martyjhuebs]

10 gal cornies work great if you can find them. Use a piece of tubing attached to a grey "in" connector for a blow off

Back to the yeast cake in the bottom... Would it be possible just to reattach your Gas Line and use the "Beer Out" to send your yeast out of the keg? In a perfect world it would pull the yeast out and be ready to carbonate...

 

[paperairplane]

Use a slightly shorter liquid spear to keep it off the cake.

 

[Clonefan94]

I'm not trying to be an ass, even though this question will probably sound that way. But, why don't you just dry your buckets before you put them in storage? I have a bucket that's been in my fermenting rotation for almost three years now and have never had anything like mildew on them. I just make sure everything is dried well before it goes into storage. Without proper cleaning and drying, mildew will still grow on stainless steel. I've actually had it happen to one of my empty and clean kegs. I didn't realize my kids had let off the pressure and opened it to look inside. Next time I went to use it, there was mildew on the lid.

 

[aprichman]

Maybe I dont understand this right, but wouldnt you transfer the yeast cake with the beer? You would have to install the spear that nearly toches the bottom to transfer...

I believe the spear is 1-1.5" above the bottom of the keg so you would avoid 99% of the yeast cake.