Question about fermenting in corny kegs

[ktillman1]

I am looking into fermenting in corny kegs. I have few questions about techniques.
1. Do I need to cut the dip tube?
2. Should I place the air lock or blow off on the pr valve or the gas QD?
3. I was planning on about 4.5 gallons is this to much? I orderd FERM cap but do not have it yet. Should I wait to brew?
4. I would like naturally carb in primary then transfer to serving keg.(this is my main reason for wanting to use kegs) I will be buying a valve for this soon. Any suggestion would be greatly appriciated! Thanks

 

[bad coffee]

1: I just took out the dip tube all together, and put a piece of vinyl on the threads of the post. Ghetto blow off. I'm heading towards using the dip tube to rack the beer. I'm just going to bend the tube so it's a bit higher than normal. I'm used to the first pint or two in the serving keg being a little yeasty, so I don't need to exclude ALL trub and yeast from the serving keg.

2: you could just put a QD on the gas in post and use that. Either with a check valve or a blwo off tube. (what I'm moving towards.)

3: I usually brew 5 gallons, and whatever makes the keg makes the keg. Usually with the starter it's pretty full once I cap it. I make sure the gas in dip tube is in the clear.

4: I force carb. It's more reliable, and easier. I tried to krausen a belgian once and it didn't carb all that well.

 

[tha_cyko]

The whole point and advantage of kegging is force carbing, and enjoying your beer a lot sooner. there it's any point to naturally carb in a keg, unless you just Want to wait 4-6 extra weeks

 

[bad coffee]

I think with a spunding valve you can actually carb it faster than adding corn sugar after fermentation. Not sure though.

B

 

[weirdboy]

I naturally carb in the keg all the time. My kegerator holds 3 kegs. When it is full I just naturally carb the others. Then it is only a few days of waiting for it to balance when I swap in a new keg, rather than a couple of weeks.

I also ferment in cornies, though not every batch. I made a jumper to go between liquid posts, which I use after primary to transfer to a new container and move the beer off the big yeast cake on the bottom of the keg. Basically it's just two liquid QDs connected by a short length of tubing. I turn my pressure to maybe 2-3 PSI, purge the "target" keg with CO2, prop open the pressure release valve, and push the beer from one liquid post to the other.

 

[ktillman1]

My main reason for wanting to carb naturally was to save on cost of corn sugar and c02. Why do you think it would take 4 extra weeks? Couldn't I start carbing in primary? Btw thanks for the advice. You guys ever use the ferm cap? If not how much blow off are we looking at?

 

[weirdboy]

I usually add ferm cap at the start of my boil to control boilovers. I assume it is still there when I rack to the fermenter, but I am not sure. I still get a healthy krausen in the fermenter, but almost never use a blow-off tube in place of an airlock.

 

[bad coffee]

I put a squirt of fermcap in with each beer I'm fermenting in the keg. Better safe than sorry. I use it in the boil as well, but it supposedly settles out with the hot break, so I add more to the keg.

CO2 is pretty cheap. It takes about one pound to carb and serve one 5 gallon keg. I figure my 10# tank, which costs me $21 to fill, lasts 10 kegs or so, and that's $2 per keg. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of a batch of beer.