twd000
Well-Known Member
Posting this thread under Kegging forum, although it's really a combined fermenting/kegging topic.
Looking for feedback on my plans - shoot holes in it, suggest improvements, or let me know if anyone has tried it.
Currently I ferment 5 gallon batches in 6.5-gallon glass carboys, then siphon to corny kegs and force carbonate.
I've been reading about closed transfers, cold-side aeration, LODO brewing and formulating ideas on how to improve/streamline my process without going full LODO.
1. traditional HIDO BIAB brew day, rack to corny keg with auto-siphon. Attach Clear Beer Draft System (or generic knockoff) to liquid post.
2. cool to pitching temp in fermentation chamber, pitch yeast
3. attach rudimentary blow-off tube to gas-out post and terminate it in a jug of Starsan for first ~3 days of fermentation.
4. swap blowoff tube for spunding valve and set to 30 psi to achieve 2.5 volumes carbonation.
5. move to kegerator to crash cool and serve
Wah-lah! Closed fermentation and serving, no oxygen ingress, only one vessel to clean instead of two. No permanent modification to my kegs in case the idea doesn't work
Questions:
Can I fit a 4.5 gallon batch into a corny without clogging the gas-out blowoff? Would a few drops of Fermcap-S allow me to ferment full 5 gallon batches? What about fermenting under ~2 psi of back pressure?
How do I anticipate when I'm at 4 gravity points remaining? Can I temporarily set the spunding valve at ~2 psi and attached a picnic tap to pull a liquid sample? I've read of people estimating specific gravity by weight with a precision scale, but not sure how feasible that is.
How long do I have at 40F before yeast autolysis kicks in? I've read about it, but never tasted or experienced it. I've had 4-month old bottle-conditioned Sierra Nevada that was stored warm and shows no signs of autolysis. Isn't that yeast sitting on the bottom basically the same as my keg, just more of it?
Looking for feedback on my plans - shoot holes in it, suggest improvements, or let me know if anyone has tried it.
Currently I ferment 5 gallon batches in 6.5-gallon glass carboys, then siphon to corny kegs and force carbonate.
I've been reading about closed transfers, cold-side aeration, LODO brewing and formulating ideas on how to improve/streamline my process without going full LODO.
1. traditional HIDO BIAB brew day, rack to corny keg with auto-siphon. Attach Clear Beer Draft System (or generic knockoff) to liquid post.
2. cool to pitching temp in fermentation chamber, pitch yeast
3. attach rudimentary blow-off tube to gas-out post and terminate it in a jug of Starsan for first ~3 days of fermentation.
4. swap blowoff tube for spunding valve and set to 30 psi to achieve 2.5 volumes carbonation.
5. move to kegerator to crash cool and serve
Wah-lah! Closed fermentation and serving, no oxygen ingress, only one vessel to clean instead of two. No permanent modification to my kegs in case the idea doesn't work
Questions:
Can I fit a 4.5 gallon batch into a corny without clogging the gas-out blowoff? Would a few drops of Fermcap-S allow me to ferment full 5 gallon batches? What about fermenting under ~2 psi of back pressure?
How do I anticipate when I'm at 4 gravity points remaining? Can I temporarily set the spunding valve at ~2 psi and attached a picnic tap to pull a liquid sample? I've read of people estimating specific gravity by weight with a precision scale, but not sure how feasible that is.
How long do I have at 40F before yeast autolysis kicks in? I've read about it, but never tasted or experienced it. I've had 4-month old bottle-conditioned Sierra Nevada that was stored warm and shows no signs of autolysis. Isn't that yeast sitting on the bottom basically the same as my keg, just more of it?