I just got a fermzilla all-rounder with the intention of fermenting under pressure. Poking around, I haven't really seen much about how people are doing this. Here are some questions I have:
I'd love to hear from anyone using a fermzilla (because it's a bit different than those with conicals that bottom drain), but any pressure ferm and transfer advice would be greatly appreciated.
- What pressure do you use? The Fermzilla can do up to 35 psi, but I'm guessing I don't want to go that high. What's your choice and why?
- Do you start out w/o pressure and then ramp up as fermentation progresses? The fermzilla comes with standard ball lock connectors, I could use my CO2 tank and generate some initial pressure. I'm guessing letting it happen naturally would make more sense, just thought about it as a way to adjust my spunding vavle.
- I would like to use the CO2 output from the ferm to push starsan out of my keg. Will the pressure eliminate the risk of krausen blowout or will I still need a blowoff tube? I'd like to run my usual duotight connectors and tubing...going from the vent ball lock on the ferm to the gas in on the keg 1. Then liquid out on keg 1 to liquid on keg 2 (to capture the starsan pushed out), with the spunding valve on the gas port of keg 2. Is this viable or will I risk hoses and connectors getting clogged with krausen?
- If I open it to add dry hops, should I re-pressurize?
- Really have a lot of questions about transfer to the keg. Obviously the beer at that point will be more carbonated than fermenting w/o pressure.
- Do I need to transfer under pressure (kinda like a giant version of a counter pressure filler)? I'm concerned about foaming. I really have no clue about how this works. I figured I'd move the spunding valve to the gas port of the keg and set it to something just under the pressure in the fermenter. Say the ferm is at 10 psi, set the valve to 7 or 8.
- I currently transfer with siphon/gravity. I connect the output of the ferm to the liquid line of the purged keg. Then connect the gas line of the keg back to the fermenter for a closed transfer. Can I still do this if I have a pressurized transfer? If so, what's the best sequence of connections to make that work? I know I'll have to start with positive pressure (relative to the keg) to get flow going, but once I get some siphon action, I'm assuming they can reach equilibrium (pressure wise) and still work. I'd prefer not to use the CO2 from a tank to push the entire volume of beer to the keg if possible.
I'd love to hear from anyone using a fermzilla (because it's a bit different than those with conicals that bottom drain), but any pressure ferm and transfer advice would be greatly appreciated.