begin with kegs?

[doc5md]

Hi everyone.... Nice forum here! Favorite beers are Belgians! I've been interested in getting into home brewing for a while now. I have been hesitating as we were planning to move and I figured it would be a good thing for the new house. So, I've been reading and reading to prepare myself.
Well, the house doesn't seem like a 'go' right now. My dad homebrews and while on a recent visit, dropped off a couple things he's no longer using (brew pot, 5gallon better bottle for secondary). We were talking about saving bottles and that some people keg using 5gal soda kegs and my father-in-law (yes, also visiting) says he has some 5gal kegs.... and CO2 bottles
So, I now have 7 corny kegs and a CO2 bottle Oh, and I have an extra fridge in my 60-65 degree basement that isn't even plugged in right now!
I was planning on buying a plastic bucket for fermenting and not really using the secondary except to free up the bucket...
BUT, now I've been reading about using corny's for fermentation. With 7 of them, it seems I'd be able spare one or two for fermentation. It seems pretty cool and perhaps a lot less hassle.
Is it crazy for a newbie to be considering kegging from the start and also to be considering fermenting in the kegs???
Thoughts?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

No, you scored big...even though im not gay i might think of kissing a dude who gave me 7 kegs and a CO2 tank lol..

He basically gave you $500 worth of stuff(at todays prices) or so....no reason to not use it as a newbie..if anything it will be better because you cant screw up bottling with sugar and make bottle bombs.

 

[libeerty]

Sounds like you already know a fair amount even before beginning, so I say keep reading and do it up. A bucket is cheap, too, if you go that route.

 

[theveganbrewer]

Major score. I bottled my first batch and went directly to keg land. Couldn't be happier. I have bottled a batch since then, but only for long trips that I needed beer in bottles on.

 

[Pie_Man]

Yes, it is crazy. You must first suffer through the bottle cleaning, delabeling, sanitizing, adding priming sugar, bottle filling, and capping process before kegging.

Seriously though, that's a great score and I'd start kegging if I were you. Where you live, I would think you could let nature control your fermentation temperature this time of year and convert the existing fridge you have into a kegerator. I like having a temperature controlled fridge for fermentation. People are always selling old fridges and freezers on craigslist, then all you need is a temperature control device. If I were you, I'd probably start with the kegerator, than make a ferm fridge when the weather is no longer supportive of fermentation temps. Kegging saves you a lot of time, it also gives you more control over carbonation which can be tricky when using priming sugar and bottles.

Also, corny kegs are only 5 gallons, so be careful using that as a primary fermenter. It's the same issue as the other 5 gallon vessel you have, not enough headspace for a standard five gallon batch.

 

[squeekybobo]

I wish I had an in law like that... Mine does meads and bottles them all. I'd say ferment in the kegs, but you'll have a lot of trub at the bottom that you want to rack off of before serving it. Kegs as a secondary vessel isn't a bad idea, though...Just my opinion. I use buckets or a 6 gallon better bottle for my primary, then rack to keg after a few weeks, where they sit for a bit while dry hopping and then hook that up to the co2 to carb.

 

[squeekybobo]

And especially since you'll most likely want to jump in with a Belgian, consider a bucket or larger carboy (6 gallons or more) for primary. 5 gallons doesn't leave much for the krausen, and you'll want to use a blow off tube!

 

[theveganbrewer]

Adventures in Homebrewing has a corny lid with hole and stopper plus airlock for less than 10 bucks. I did a post on it a while back.

http://homebrewbargains.com/item/cornelious-keg-lid-for-secondary-fermenter-on-sale-62-off-999.html?category_id=9

I have used one on a 5 gallon batch and didn't have blowoff.

Being that you did just get gifted like 250-300 bucks worth of free gear, I'm sure you can afford a 6 gallon glass carboy

 

[doc5md]

Thanks everyone! I knew I had a great score. just wanted to make sure I wasn't a crazy nut for considering fermenting in a keg and kegging right from the start. I may go with a 6.5 gallon bucket to give some headspace for the belgians, though I suppose I could split a batch into two corny's.
Thanks again... getting excited to get this all going!

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

And especially since you'll most likely want to jump in with a Belgian, consider a bucket or larger carboy (6 gallons or more) for primary. 5 gallons doesn't leave much for the krausen, and you'll want to use a blow off tube!

This, get a big bucket...a local shop sells 8 gallon brew buckets...i would never ferment in anything < 6 gallons..even then thats pushing it for a lot of beers...your going to be constantly worrying about the airlock.

At 8 gallons you can do a super imperial stout and never need a blowoff.

 

[Justintoxicated]

This, get a big bucket...a local shop sells 8 gallon brew buckets...i would never ferment in anything < 6 gallons..even then thats pushing it for a lot of beers...your going to be constantly worrying about the airlock.

At 8 gallons you can do a super imperial stout and never need a blowoff.

never? you sure heh