Fermenting in a keg

[redrocker652002]

OK, so I have been thinking of ways to get my fermenting vessel into a temp controlled environment and freeing up my hall closet so my wife can have it back. LOL I have looked at mini fridges and wine coolers. They all seem to have a small lower shelf that gets in the way and causes the bucket not to fit. I am still looking, but was thinking of something else that I thought might work. If I buy a used Corny keg and use it as my fermenting vessel, it will fit in the kegerator I have and I can control the temp using my InkBird. I can get a used keg for about 50 bucks, rig up a blow off tube to the pressure relief valve and off I go. Thoughts on this? Am I making this way to simple? I am sure there is more to this than I am seeing, but just thought I would ask.

Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[balrog]

Corny kegs are ~5.25-5.4 total gallons, and you need to factor krausen (esp with wheat beer yeasts) or it can get exciting. Other than that, anything that can be cleaned & sanitized, and kept closed with airlock if that's your preferred fermentation method (there are some who like open yorkshire square ferments for instance), then there's no reason it won't work.

 

[NTBeer]

I would suggest using a disconnect and blow off tube on the gas post instead of the PRV.

 

[renstyle]

Your idea is sound. Definitely scale your batch sizes to account for the lower volume of a used corny.

There are 6.1/23L corny kegs out there new, which allows pretty much a full 5gal beer + headspace + trub. They run in the $120 range, so not as inexpensive, but something to think about.

You can use the PRV to host an airlock, or opt to use the gas post to a blow off vessel. This is what I use. I haven't had any high krausen which has plugged the gas post (so far).

Spare fridge + $16 heat pad from amazon + Inkbird, exactly what I use. It works well.

 

[MajorJC]

I have looked at mini fridges and wine coolers.

Are you limited in space? What size area do you have to work with?
I'm really happy with my Midea 17-cu ft Frost-free Convertible Upright Freezer/Refrigerator.
It has a built in temperature controller and can be set to Freezer or Refrigerator mode, However, I'm still using my Inkbird controller for finer temperature control.
I've got 8 gallons of water in the bottom as a heat sink to help stabilize the temperature.

 

[odie]

I ferment in the corny. they hold 5.5 I fill with a full 5 gal of wort and have no issues of krausen blowing out (except hefes). Use a blow off tube on the gas post.

a typical mini fridge will hold 2 cornies... but you may have to cut out the door liner and/or bend down the evaporator.

A bonus is you can serve from the same keg you ferment in.

 

[DrinknBuddy]

I ferment in kegs in the same chest freezer I use to serve in. I just set it to 65 degrees. I use 4.5gal for my recipe volume. Never had a problem with any blow off. I purchased extra kegs for primary fermenters and drilled a 3/4in hole in caps for my bubblers. I then transfer to secondary keg at 1 week using gravity and CO2 through the out ports on both kegs never exposing the beer to any air or little buggies. After 2 weeks I just turn the temps to 41 degrees and start carbing.

Edit Youhave to have a total of 2 caps for each primary keg. One with a 3/4in hole drilled. You can't transfer under pressure without changing the cap to one without a hole.

 

[11thStBrewing]

I've been fermenting and serving from the same keg for the last 3 batches. I only brew 3 gallons so I can brew more often. Will be doing this for the foreseeable future. Been no issues at all and saves time/cleaning.

Floating dip tube can really help if you're serving from the same keg or for transfers. I've heard of people cutting the stock dip tube a bit shorter, but haven't tried it.

I use the FlotIt V2 and love it. Highly recommend them.

I use a blowtie spunding valve on the gas post, but don't always pressure ferment. I also haven't had to worry about krausen, as I don't push the volume. If I did push it I would remove the PRV and setup a blowoff /airlock on it.

 

[DrinknBuddy]

O yes I forgot till 11thSt said it. I cut 1 inch off of each primary dip tube to help with cleaner transfers.