Do I relly need a primary fermenter?

[spaceyaquarius]

I am brewing a 5 gallon batch for a Corny keg, and want to try natural conditioning to carbonate this time. Can I just pour the cooled batch (after pitching the yeast at 75 degrees F) straight into the keg and then wait 2-3 weeks to try the beer?

Besides the yeast pitching and stirring, why would I need the primary fermenter and then the glass carboy if it's all just going to go into the keg anyway?

thanks!!

 

[BlackGoat]

It doesn't ALL go into the keg. Roughly 1/2-1 gallon of dead yeast, hops, proteins, and other gunk is at the bottom of every 5g batch of beer that you make, so a bunch of that would end up getting served from your keg if you did your primary in it. When you rack your beer from your primary into something else (whether that be a keg, bottling bucket, or a secondary) you are racking it off of the trub because nobody wants to drink that and it could lead to plenty of off-flavors down the line if your beer stays on that for an extended period of time.

How would you seal the keg and allow the CO2 to escape during fermentation?

 

[spaceyaquarius]

It's a Belgian Wit Wheat Beer (Hoegaarden Clone) that does not need to look clear, or have anything added to it in the secondary fermenter. I always siphon perfectly and never get any trub into either fermenter.

Should I go ahead and use the primary 5 gallon plastic bucket for 2 weeks and then transfer into the keg, or can I just go straight into the keg?

 

[E_Marquez]

I am brewing a 5 gallon batch for a Corny keg, and want to try natural conditioning to carbonate this time. Can I just pour the cooled batch (after pitching the yeast at 75 degrees F) straight into the keg and then wait 2-3 weeks to try the beer?

Besides the yeast pitching and stirring, why would I need the primary fermenter and then the glass carboy if it's all just going to go into the keg anyway?

thanks!!

Some do this I guess..
me, I don't want all that yeast., yeast waste in my keg of beer being served.

And well.. I want to serve beer from my kegs, so i ferment in buckets. .. I just dont own enough Kegs to leave wort/beer in them for weeks at a time

 

[Darwin18]

You could just put the priming sugar in the keg, transfer the beer to the keg, and allow it to condition and carbonate at room temperature. Fermenting and carbonating in the same keg isn't a great idea unless you want to drink the trub.

 

[jmcm_brew]

Plus the keg pulls from the bottom so if you have more than a minimal amount of trub which will likely be the case just from the cold forcing anything down from suspension... It will go to the glass

 

[LuiInIdaho]

You have to put your wort into something for fermentation -- be it a keg, a bucket, or a carboy. This is your primary fermenter. You could even keep your wort in the boil kettle and pitch your yeast in that, but then your boil kettle would be your primary fermenter. I see no way around the problem of NOT using a primary fermenter.

Whether you want to use a keg as your primary fermenter and serve your beer on all the trub and yeast cake, that is up to you. But I wouldn't do that. I would at least rack the beer off of the yeast cake and trub and into the serving keg after at least two weeks of it being in the primary fermenter (your bucket, carboy, or keg).

I have not been using a secondary fermenter, but then I have not been real pleased with the clarity of the beer. So I am experimenting with using a secondary fermenter to achieve better clarity. But I ALWAYS use a primary fermenter.

Mark

 

[spaceyaquarius]

Ok, makes sense. What I should have really asked is if I need a secondary fermenter (carboy).

Of course I need the airlock to let the pressure out, and the bucket to keep the trub in. Then just siphon once into the keg and then add the sugar.

I've read on HBT that naturally carbing in a keg needs less sugar than bottling. So if bottling is 5 oz. of corn sugar, then how much for a 5 gallon keg???

THANKS!!!

 

[BlackGoat]

Many, if not most of us do not use a secondary unless we have a specific reason such as aging on fruit or wood. You do not need a secondary fermentor, but can use one if you choose to. I ferment in a bucket or better bottle, then rack to either bottle it or directly into the keg once its done fermenting.

 

[LuiInIdaho]

Ok, makes sense. What I should have really asked is if I need a secondary fermenter (carboy).

Of course I need the airlock to let the pressure out, and the bucket to keep the trub in. Then just siphon once into the keg and then add the sugar.

I've read on HBT that naturally carbing in a keg needs less sugar than bottling. So if bottling is 5 oz. of corn sugar, then how much for a 5 gallon keg???

THANKS!!!

I am also conditioning my beer in the keg like you are proposing. I can't remember exactly the amount of priming sugar I used in the keg, but it was close to 2 oz of priming sugar for the keg. I used beersmith to help me determine how much priming sugar to use. I have also read somewhere else that the amount of priming sugar is like half of what would be used for bottle conditioning.

Mark

 

[E_Marquez]

I've read on HBT that naturally carbing in a keg needs less sugar than bottling. So if bottling is 5 oz. of corn sugar, then how much for a 5 gallon keg???

THANKS!!!

I've read that as well HERE on the internet..
But not an any of the established published reference for home brewers, nor is it a adjustable variable in any of the priming calculators I've seen.

I'd be interested in someone explaining their position, background, research or experience that led them to this position of needing less priming sugar for the same volume (say 5 gal) is consolidated single vessel (keg) vs 50 individual ones.

 

[BlackGoat]

I haven't done this yet, but my understanding is that there is much more head space in 50 individual bottles compared to a typical corny keg filled up to near the top. More headspace requires more CO2 to fill that headspace. I have no technical background on this so don't rely on me

 

[spaceyaquarius]

that sounds right. I think it's about the head space. Especially when you consider that most people use the bottling wand, which by itself takes up volume in the 12 oz. or 24 oz. beer bottle, then even if the bottle is overflowing, there is more head space in the bottle than what you would get from a commercial beer from the store.