You really shouldn't need to add yeast unless it's a very high ABV beer or has been bulk aged for a long time. You can cut the dip tube if you want. How much depends on how clear the beer is when it goes into the keg more than on whether you carbonate naturally or with bottled CO2. Or use a floating dip tube. Or just toss the first couple of yeasty pours.I've never kegged before but would like to add yeast for natural carbonation. Do I need to cut some of the bottom of the metal tube so the sediment doesn't come out? If so, how much?
Nope, just add priming sugar like you are bottling.I'd rather carbonate naturally (it also saves on CO2 so it'll last longer). I have to add yeast tfor it to carbonate naturally, no?
Usually no. There is still plenty of yeast in your beer at the end of fermentation. Unless it's very high ABV or has been aging for a long time before you carbonate it. You do have to add sugar.I have to add yeast tfor it to carbonate naturally, no?
No you don't. Unless you want less carbonation. A keg is just a very large bottle. The biology, biochemistry and physics are all exactly the same. So why should we expect more CO2 from any given amount of sugar just because the beer is in a keg instead of a bottle?But use a carbonation calculator as you need less priming sugar in the keg then you do in when bottling
Since you are new to kegging, I would say it would be useful to explore the options before trying. Spunding is a great practice and it is easy. But you do need a way to track gravity points as you are transferring the beer towards the very end of fermentation. But it is oxygen free and reliable. And it is the traditional German way of brewing if that interests you.I've never kegged before but would like to add yeast for natural carbonation. Do I need to cut some of the bottom of the metal tube so the sediment doesn't come out? If so, how much?
No you don't. Unless you want less carbonation. A keg is just a very large bottle. The biology, biochemistry and physics are all exactly the same. So why should we expect more CO2 from any given amount of sugar just because the beer is in a keg instead of a bottle?
Yes it's wrong if you think about it. Yeast ferment each molecule of glucose into two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of CO2. The yeast don't know if they're in a bottle or a keg. But this is all over the internet and people swear that it works perfectly. Because if you add 2.14 oz to a keg at give it two weeks at ambient, and then put it in the kegerator at 10 PSI for another two weeks, you will have perfectly carbonated beer. But that's half natural carbonation and half forced carbonation.*Weird, then BeerSmith's, which I use, carb tool must be wrong
4.27 oz. seems in the ballpark for 5 gallons. It's strange that, for practical purposes, 2.14 oz. is one-half.Weird, then BeerSmith's, which I use, carb tool must be wrong. It shows, for a 5 gallon batch at 2.5V in a 65 degree basement, that the keg would need 2.14 oz of corn sugar, while if bottling I would need 4.27 ounces of corn sugar.
Doing some research, it appears that headspace is the reason that the calculator shows less DME needed for a keg. One post on BeerSmith forums mentions that a keg full with 5 gallons of beer has approximately 10 ounces of headspace , which represents 1.57% of the total volume. Meanwhile, beer bottles, which are really 13 ounces that hold 12, have 1 ounce of headspace, but 5 gallons being 53 bottles, means a total of 53 ounces of headspace, thus the need for more sugar.4.27 oz. seems in the ballpark for 5 gallons. It's strange that, for practical purposes, 2.14 oz. is one-half.
Possible that 2.5 gallons batch size was entered by mistake?
I agree with @mac_1103, nothing wrong with under carbonating and finishing with bottled CO2.
Surface area doesn't matter for the end result, only the headspace volume to liquid volume ratio will affect the final carbonation level. A standard 5 gal corny keg, and a 12 oz bottle with normal fill have about 6% of the liquid volume as headspace, so a corny is just like a big bottle. These headspace to liquid volume ratios were measured, not calculated.I think that @doug293cz did some maths on the headspace in a keg versus that in bottles and the surface areas relating to them both.
Did they happen to say where they got that 10 ounce number? Did they explain how the smaller headspace volume allows the yeast to generate more CO2 from a given amount of sugar?One post on BeerSmith forums mentions that a keg full with 5 gallons of beer has approximately 10 ounces of headspace , which represents 1.57% of the total volume.
Did they happen to say where they got that 10 ounce number? Did they explain how the smaller headspace volume allows the yeast to generate more CO2 from a given amount of sugar?
Thanks. But see the next post - his assumptions and arithmetic are off. For example:See post #4...BeerSmith Forum
Ditto! Also, when I ran out of corn sugar, I just used table sugar and couldn’t tell any difference other than the price.I prime in kegs all the time. Five ounces of corn sugar in five gallons of beer. 68F for two weeks. Haven't overcarbed yet.
As pointed out above, I measured the headspace volume at 0.3 - 0.35 gal when exactly 5 gal of water is put in the keg. I measured the water by weight - 1 gal @ 68°F (20°C) weighs 8.33 lb, so 5 gal weighs 41.65 lb. The headspace volume is then determined by the weight of water required to fill to the rim of the keg. I did not check different kegs to do any characterization of variability among kegs.Yes to the 10 ounce. See post #4...BeerSmith Forum