Carbonating in secondary

[knowltonm]

Has anyone tried carbonating in secondary? I read something about this but I'm not sure I would want to try it. When would this even be an advantage over force carbonating a keg or priming the batch right before bottling? It seems like there's too much that would go into it...pressure valve/regulator and counter pressure fillers would be needed. Thanks. (forgive me if this is a repeat, I searched and couldn't find a thread)

 

[FlyGuy]

What kind of vessel do you use for a secondary? You can't carbonate in carboys or better bottles, unfortunately. They won't hold up to the pressure.

 

[knowltonm]

We do use glass carboys. Would using a regular fermenting bucket work?

 

[FlyGuy]

Nope, sorry. Buckets won't seal or hold the pressure required. Nor are they a recommended vessel for conditioning beer (they tend to leak O2).

 

[knowltonm]

Oh yeah, forgot about that little catch. Am I best to just put this out of my mind and stick with traditional methods? New things intrigue me and I naturally want to try them...but this may not be worth it.

 

[Professor Frink]

You need a SS conical fermenter to be able to carbonate in the secondary, it's not feasible for most homebrewers.

 

[WortMonger]

I carbonate in my primary. I transfer clear carbonated beer into my serving keg from the primary. You wouldn't have to do anything but ferment in your carboy and transfer (a few gravity points out) to a sealed off keg that you set with a initial CO2 pressure to really seal it (this is if you are using a Corny). The pressure relief stuff is cheap enough to make and worth it if you are wanting to naturally carbonate (simple pressure gauge/adjustable pressure relief valve). Even working with a pressure gauge only and releasing pressure manually works. You would have more sediment than I would in your serving/secondary keg, but that comes out after a couple of pints anyway. Without taking over a thread with my information you can check it out here. Maybe you could get an idea from it or something. Anyways, hope it helps you out and I would be happy to answer any questions. I haven't used bottles in years, and got into keg natural carbonation this last year.