How much pressure can fermentation build up?

[kiwipen]

What is the highest pressure that yeast can build up during fermentation?

 

[Soulshine2]

it could break glass ...hope for popping a carboy bung first.

 

[kiwipen]

Lets pretend it's in a strong steel tank, and also not care about how the beer will end up tasting.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

What is the highest pressure that yeast can build up during fermentation?

As much as the vessel it is in can handle.

 

[Soulshine2]

Lets pretend it's in a strong steel tank, and also not care about how the beer will end up tasting.

ok, i dont keg but the possibility to keg prime exists. so... to answer your question there can be enough pressure to serve beer from a keg.

 

[khannon]

https://www.researchgate.net/public...evisiae_from_cellular_to_molecular_approaches
and
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16082465
are two studies that talk about effects of pressure on Saccharomyces Cerevisiae(beer yeast) I would imagine that they have a point where the pressure kills the yeast. so that is probably your theoretical max assuming you have a container to hold pressure and a way to keep the yeast producing until death..

However, unless you are looking at weaponizing beer, I'm not sure why this is important..

 

[Dave Sarber]

Research bottle bombs. I'm no expert, but it takes about 25-27 psi to blow a mason jar (I think), probably less for a cheap beer bottle. Whether the yeast is dead or alive at this point is moot.
In a metal vessel, it could conceivably go higher. See above post about weaponizing beer. Beer pipe bombs are hard to fuse.

 

[Soulshine2]

https://www.researchgate.net/public...evisiae_from_cellular_to_molecular_approaches
and
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16082465
are two studies that talk about effects of pressure on Saccharomyces Cerevisiae(beer yeast) I would imagine that they have a point where the pressure kills the yeast. so that is probably your theoretical max assuming you have a container to hold pressure and a way to keep the yeast producing until death..

However, unless you are looking at weaponizing beer, I'm not sure why this is important..

I think you're confusing yeast death with what is actually dormancy...
we can kill yeast with high temperatures , we know that.
If we dont filter our beer theres still a trace amount of active yeast that could be used to propagate another batch, its been done. It has reached its limit in dissolved alcohol /CO2 manufacturing so it cant produce any more at least at the rate it was when actively fermenting. So when we leave that little bit of headspace in the bottle before the O2 absorbing cap goes on and set it on a shelf to prime, it has that space to further ferment the priming sugar/spiess and carbonate our finished beer ,leaving CO2 in that headspace, which gives the fizz and pressure when we pop the cap.
likewise if we chill it below its working range,it stops fermenting temporarily, dormancy . Heat it up a little and it'll restart given it has something available to eat , do bottle bombs in a warm basement ring a bell?

 

[Robert65]

It would quickly exceed the limits of a keg, except that it will probably have killed the yeast first, and fermentation won't get far. Laboratories actually use pressure around 100 psi to sterilize things, it's as good or better than autoclaving. Not sure what the point is here.

BTW I like the idea of weaponizing beer. If a truce is called, you can celebrate with your remaining ordnance, once the foam settles.

 

[Broothru]

It would quickly exceed the limits of a keg, except that it will probably have killed the yeast first, and fermentation won't get far. Laboratories actually use pressure around 100 psi to sterilize things, it's as good or better than autoclaving. Not sure what the point is here.

BTW I like the idea of weaponizing beer. If a truce is called, you can celebrate with your remaining ordnance, once the foam settles.

"Make beer, not war!". At least I think that's what we said during the 70s. Dunno, it's all kinda hazy, man.

 

[Vale71]

Starting at 12°P with 74% apparent attenuation and not considering headspace losses up to 17.5 bar or thereabouts at 20°C. The yeast probably won't quit prematurely but fermentation will become somewhat sluggish at some point. Of course to be able to handle such pressure you'd need to ferment in an actual armored tank...

 

[Vale71]

Dunno, it's all kinda hazy, man.

Proof that whatever you were doing, you were doing it right...

 

[Robert65]

Starting at 12°P with 74% apparent attenuation and not considering headspace losses up to 17.5 bar or thereabouts at 20°C. The yeast probably won't quit prematurely but fermentation will become somewhat sluggish at some point. Of course to be able to handle such pressure you'd need to ferment in an actual armored tank...

Okay, next calculations for you: what would be the carbonation in v/v in the finished beer, and how many miles/kilometers of beer line would be need to serve it? [emoji12]

 

[Vale71]

Okay, next calculations for you: what would be the carbonation in v/v in the finished beer,

About 17 vols or 35 g/l.

and how many miles/kilometers of beer line would be need to serve it? [emoji12]

That depends on how far the tank is located from my living room. If you want me to do all the calculations for you you're going to have to let me drink the beer as well...

 

[kiwipen]

However, unless you are looking at weaponizing beer, I'm not sure why this is important..

I expect someone from the government to come knocking on my door soon.

 

[bracconiere]

i'm not sure if it's relevant, but yeast can only ferment up to 12-14% alcohol normally....

 

[twd000]

I performed this experiment once by accident, the first time I used kviek yeast.

Fermented in a keg and forgot to pull the PRV or hook up a dip tube. 12 hours after yeast pitch, I went to check on it and pulled the PRV. Not sure what PSI level it achieved, but it sounded like an air cannon going off. The yeast finished fermentation just fine.

Fermentation generates 20-25 volumes of CO2. If it didn't kill the yeast (which it would), 20 volumes of CO2 at 65F would be 270 psi. I believe corny kegs are rates to 100-120 psi.

 

[Broothru]

Proof that whatever you were doing, you were doing it right...

The Dude abides....

 

[Broothru]

Starting at 12°P with 74% apparent attenuation and not considering headspace losses up to 17.5 bar or thereabouts at 20°C. The yeast probably won't quit prematurely but fermentation will become somewhat sluggish at some point. Of course to be able to handle such pressure you'd need to ferment in an actual armored tank...

17 bar is well north of 250 psi. In a former life when flying off an aircraft carrier the tires were inflated to 300 psi of pure nitrogen. I never figured out who or how they got inflated to that level. And I never was in the vicinity when one blew. Never would want to be.

I have heard and FELT a tire blow on a B727, but it was only inflated to about 170 psi. That was too close.

Brooo Brother

 

[Tennessee Brew]

What is the highest pressure that yeast can build up during fermentation?

I would think it is theoretically impossible to go beyond 50 PSI with natural fermentation because isn't yeast killed off starting around 50 PSI? We are planning to carbonate in plastic soda bottles which have around 12 -150 PSI rating. From my understanding this will never get beyond 50 PSI if even getting to that at all.
.. hey pro's.. am I wrong here?

 

[Vale71]

I would think it is theoretically impossible to go beyond 50 PSI with natural fermentation because isn't yeast killed off starting around 50 PSI? We are planning to carbonate in plastic soda bottles which have around 12 -150 PSI rating. From my understanding this will never get beyond 50 PSI if even getting to that at all.
.. hey pro's.. am I wrong here?

Make that 500+ PSI and you're closer to the actual limit...

 

[bracconiere]

Make that 500+ PSI and you're closer to the actual limit...

is that accurate? figuring alcohol tolerance of around 12-16%? the alcohol would kill the yeast before the co2?

 

[Vale71]

I was talking about pressure alone. I didn't imply that yeast can get to that through fermentation alone. The implication is that it's impossible for yeast to commit "Harakiri" through fermentation-induced pressure alone so that's never really an issue, contrary to what the poster I was replying to seemed to believe.

 

[VikeMan]

I would think it is theoretically impossible to go beyond 50 PSI with natural fermentation because isn't yeast killed off starting around 50 PSI?

I've naturally carbonated kegged beers (to 4 volumes target) at room temp. Accordingly, the pressure got above 50 PSI, right to where it should have for the targeted 4 vols. (Side note: that includes a batch with Wyeast 3724, the one that supposedly "stalls" because of the miniscule pressure added by an airlock.)

I've also done 5 vols in champagne bottles (~66 PSI, but no way to measure) with no apparent issues. These bottles also included Brett, though. I don't know how Brett's tolerance to pressure compares with Sacch.

 

[tld6008]

17 bar is well north of 250 psi. In a former life when flying off an aircraft carrier the tires were inflated to 300 psi of pure nitrogen. I never figured out who or how they got inflated to that level. And I never was in the vicinity when one blew. Never would want to be.

I have heard and FELT a tire blow on a B727, but it was only inflated to about 170 psi. That was too close.

Brooo Brother

17 bar is NOT well north of 250 psi

 

[VikeMan]

17 bar is NOT well north of 250 psi

It's a little north. If you're in Australia.

 

[grampamark]

17 bar is NOT well north of 250 psi

Well, at sea level, it‘s just barely south of it (249.9 psi).

 

[Broothru]

17 bar is NOT well north of 250 psi

Well, if you MUST pick nit.....

17.1 bar is, well, north of 250 psi.

There. Fixed it.

 

[Broothru]

I guess for accuracy sake we must specify Sea Level standard barometric pressure of 1013.1 millibars @ 15°C, measured at 0' Mean Sea Level.

We also need to differentiate, or at least specify, "what" PSI we are referencing. Is it PSIG (gauge) or PSIA (absolute)?
At 17 bar, PSIG is 249.9, but PSIA needs 14.7 psi (one additional bar of pressure) added to the reading (once again assuming standard atmospheric conditions). This would appear to result in a value of 264.6 "PSI" which is, well, North of 17 bar measured as PSIG.

Brooo Brother

 

[Tennessee Brew]

Make that 500+ PSI and you're closer to the actual limit...

WOW really? I guess I was told wrong. Well that is why we are here, to learn from you guys that know.