No-transfer brewing?

[kmac322]

Hello,

I've done a few brews that turned out reasonably well, and I'd like to keep doing it, but I don't have the time (or patience) for all the meticulous cleaning and transferring. Would it be possible to do all of the steps in one vessel? I'm thinking something along the lines of:

- Do brew-in-a-bag steeping in a stainless steel vessel
- When ready for chilling, put in copper tubing
- When ready to ferment, put on a lid that can be made air tight, but don't put it on that tightly
- Wait a couple weeks
- Throw some sugar in there, and close the lid airtight
- Wait a couple more weeks
- Throw the vessel in the fridge and serve directly from a tap on the side

Would this work? What are the potential problems? Is there equipment out there I can buy for this? I'd be happy to make something myself, as long as it wasn't too involved (I'd be happy to do, say, anything up to welding).

Thanks!

 

[h22lude]

https://brewhaequipment.com/products/3-in-1-jacketed-conical-fermenter

Doing it with a regular pot is possible. You just need to find a way to secure the lid and make a good seal.

 

[Rcbandl]

The biggest problem would be leaving the beer on the yeast cake and trub for an extended period of time. While leaving it short term 4-6 weeks is not an issue. Leaving it for an extended period of time, it would get nasty. And also pressurizing the yeast cake would cause autolysis. Nice idea but id have to say no way it would work very well.

 

[Aelwyffe]

It may just be me, but when I compare my pale ale that I racked to one that I didn't I always wonder why I didn't make time for racking. In all cases they were *very* drinkable, just the perfectionist in me noticed the difference in clarity and flavor.

I did notice that not racking with warmer fermentation temps seemed to draw out more of the things I wanted to avoid. With the right yeast and temperature, you may have a winner!

 

[BobOki]

I got a Grainfather (grainfather.com) and never looked back. The whole brew process is in one container, and then you do the cooling and transfer to your fermenter in one step, and the flow is all automated. I cannot recommend one enough. I think homebrew supply is giving away a free keg with purchase of one too.

Read up on it on the grainfather thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=550870) and again I gotta say, I love this thing. It made my first time brewing all grain as easy as extract brewing was, it's that amazing and works off 120v so a standard plug in your house works.

 

[h22lude]

The biggest problem would be leaving the beer on the yeast cake and trub for an extended period of time. While leaving it short term 4-6 weeks is not an issue. Leaving it for an extended period of time, it would get nasty. And also pressurizing the yeast cake would cause autolysis. Nice idea but id have to say no way it would work very well.

Racking to a keg for serving may be a better option but serving from that vessel is doable. Just need a conical to remove the trub. The vessel would need to be able to handle the pressure of carbing. Not sure anything like that exists but it is possible.

Look up pressurized fermenting. A lot of breweries do it. It allows them to ferment at a higher temp without getting the off flavors. Home brewers do it as well. All you need is a spunding valve and a corny keg. PSI relieve is usually around 15psi. Above that you may start to get off flavors but typically yeast can take 30psi before they "blow up".

 

[h22lude]

I got a Grainfather (grainfather.com) and never looked back. The whole brew process is in one container, and then you do the cooling and transfer to your fermenter in one step, and the flow is all automated. I cannot recommend one enough. I think homebrew supply is giving away a free keg with purchase of one too.

Read up on it on the grainfather thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=550870) and again I gotta say, I love this thing. It made my first time brewing all grain as easy as extract brewing was, it's that amazing and works off 120v so a standard plug in your house works.

I was looking into this system. I went with brew boss instead. I liked the ability to use my tablet as the controller so I could walk away but still see what's happening. Both are great systems.

I'm not sure this is exactly what the OP wants though as he is looking to mash, boil, chill, ferment and serve all in the same vessel. These systems just mash and boil.

The Brewha I linked above is the closest I have seen to what he wants. This system just can't serve the beer.

 

[McKnuckle]

I can't imagine why you'd want to serve the beer from the same vessel you brewed and fermented it in. Even if it was actually practical, it would mean you couldn't brew again until you finished drinking the last batch! What fun is that?