Fermenter Spouts

[lostboysbrew]

Greetings,

A little more advance question. We have recently converted kegs into fermenters, using half barrels and quarter barrels for fermentation. They work great!! Very sanitary and easy enough to clean. My question goes out to other that have gone this route. Is there anything out there, or does anyone have a solution to putting a spout on the side to pull off a sample to taste test/measure specific gravities throughout fermentation??? currently go through the hassle of sanitizing a racking tube and pulling off a couple pumps but would like to not have to do that since it is risky witht he fear of infection.

Any thoughts????

 

[buzzkill]

to me its not worth the trouble, but one day I will get one of those handy dandy sanky fermenter things. but I never bother with taking samples, I just let it go for a few weeks and transfer to cornys. I can check gravity at this time.

 

[lostboysbrew]

we like taking samples to make sure our gravities are where they need to be. case in point, we have a belgian dark strong right now that stalled out at 1.035. if we transfered and measured then we would have found out that it was too high and we'd be screwed. just looking for an easier way to take samples off is all.....

 

[buzzkill]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sanke-fermenter-conversion-128262/



this is the sh!ts

 

[maida7]

I use a sanitized turkey baster to pull samples from the top opening.

 

[Randar]

I have a second CO2 tank and regulator and can quickly connect to one of the orange carboy cap ports (the narrower one) to "push" out a sample through the sanitized racking cane.

If you follow good sanitary practices You will be fine.

You're more likely to introduce opportunity for infection or sanitation issues by welding a valve to the side to achieve this than to simply do as I posted above.

If it's actively fermenting (vigorously) you won't even need the CO2, you can just get the racking cane in there and allow pressure to build to the point of pushing some out of the racking cane. It only requires a couple PSI to transfer.

 

[Randar]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sanke-fermenter-conversion-128262/



this is the sh!ts

I have one of those and like it, but I can buy a dozen racking canes and carboy caps for the price of 2 of those and they accomplish exactly the same thing.

 

[maida7]

YO, Randar (and others):

Do you capture, store and re-use yeast from fermenting inside a Sanke keg? I'm new to fermenting in a sanke keg (I'm currently fermenting my first batch) and I'm curious about what can be done and what methods work best.

TIA

 

[Randar]

You could definitely capture with a burton union system. Otherwise, the only way I have found to capture it is to wait until it is finished and when racking off, you can "wash" the yeast once you've racked the majority of beer out of the keg.

I have tried to rack from the bottom using CO2 and the racking cane to capture yeast and the domed section just has too gentle a shape to force the thicker yeast slurry down to the bottom. I ended up getting more beer than yeast and leaving the majority of the cake in the bottom. It basically just washes out a small area around the bottom of the racking cane and the rest of the yeast is undisturbed.

Really the only major drawback vs using my conical (other than dry hopping with whole leaf hops, which is a PITA with the small Sanke port)

 

[buzzkill]

rack the beer out,then add some boiled and cooled water to keg. shake it up,rack out yeasty water. works very well for me.

 

[maida7]

You could definitely capture with a burton union system. Otherwise, the only way I have found to capture it is to wait until it is finished and when racking off, you can "wash" the yeast once you've racked the majority of beer out of the keg.

I have tried to rack from the bottom using CO2 and the racking cane to capture yeast and the domed section just has too gentle a shape to force the thicker yeast slurry down to the bottom. I ended up getting more beer than yeast and leaving the majority of the cake in the bottom. It basically just washes out a small area around the bottom of the racking cane and the rest of the yeast is undisturbed.

Really the only major drawback vs using my conical (other than dry hopping with whole leaf hops, which is a PITA with the small Sanke port)

What about flaming the opening at the top and simply pouring out the cake (after racking out the beer)? Then possibly washing it for storage or reuse. I suppose that if I left some beer behind after racking I could swirl it all up with the cake and it would be more liquidy and easier to pour.

I'm strictly a pellet hop kinda guy

 

[maida7]

rack the beer out,then add some boiled and cooled water to keg. shake it up,rack out yeasty water. works very well for me.

Yeah that's a plan. How much water do you use? And do you need to wash the yeast afterward or is it already washed from the racking water?

 

[buzzkill]

I use about a half gal. (but just a guess) and pull out enough to fill a big canning jar and dump the rest. I dont wash it after that but Im lazy. just put in in the cooler till it settles,dump out most the top water.

but I would bet money that Im not doing it right.

 

[Randar]

What about flaming the opening at the top and simply pouring out the cake (after racking out the beer)? Then possibly washing it for storage or reuse. I suppose that if I left some beer behind after racking I could swirl it all up with the cake and it would be more liquidy and easier to pour.

I'm strictly a pellet hop kinda guy

Well, theoretically you sanitized everything inside that fermenter anyway, so what benefit does flaming give you if you did a good job up front?

That said, I clean off the Sanke port and then spray/wipe with Star San before pouring.

As for adding water? You can add a quart or 2 of distilled or boiled/cooled water. For anything but the extremely dense yeast cake-forming yeasts, you don't really need to add any water if you leave a little beer in there with it to slosh it all around. I usually swirl/slosh until I can look at the bottom when the keg is tilted and clearly see the metal at the bottom. Then I pour it out to a sanitized beaker or gallon jug with a sanitized funnel on top. Into the fridge to settle, then decant and pour or pipette off only the best middle layer of yeast.

 

[Randar]

Also, I don't really "store" yeast this way. I freeze stocks taken from the original pouch, but if possible, I try to plan 2 to 3 brews in close enough proximity using the same yeast so I can do this a day ahead of brewing and have the "rinsed" yeast in proper volume for the next batch.