Fermenting in Corny Keg

[Beer4All]

Looking to begin fermenting in 5 gal corny kegs.... Currently using a 7 gal. Fermonster. Reading the other forums and web sites people seemed to be limiting their batches to different sizes based on pressure fermenting, etc.

Want is the average batch size everyone (into fermenter) has been using on non-pressure fermented batches and the resulting finished batch size after trub loss? Any feedback, tips/tricks would be appreciated. Cheers!

 

[firerat]

I've been fermenting in corny kegs for years.

I ferment 5 gallon batches all the time. i trimmed the gas in tube to acomodate. It can get messy sometimes. LOL Blow off tubes are you friends.

Corny kegs can actually hold closer to 6 gallons in there.

 

[Beer4All]

Do you notice the blow offs above a certain gravity or hit and miss? (Maybe both I guess)

Do you use the gas in connector for the blow off or remove it and place a tube over the threads?

What about your transferring to a serving keg? What is your process there?

 

[firerat]

Do you notice the blow offs above a certain gravity or hit and miss? (Maybe both I guess)

Gravity not as much as what type of yeast i'm using. I rarely make anything over 1.070 though. Some yeasts are really agressive and will go nuts causing a lot of blowoff. I don't do kveiks in cornies anymore. That was a mess.

Do you use the gas in connector for the blow off or remove it and place a tube over the threads?

Gas in connector. I've done it both ways. I've even unscrewed the pressure relief ring and stuffed a tube in there. In fact I think i still have my modified lid with the gas port drilled out to fit a stopper and airlock. All work fine. Usually just use the gas in though due to being easier for closed transfers.

What about your transferring to a serving keg? What is your process there?

Part of the reason I like using the gas port is for easy transfering.

I love doing closed transfers. First i cold crash for a day or so. Then fill a keg with starsan and push it out with co2 and purge. Then hook co2 to the feremnting keg. I use a picnic tap to get all the trub and whatnot out either into sanitized jars for yeast harvesting or just dump. Take a sample for gravity reading and use a jumper to transfer to the new clean and purged keg. Go really slow. I use a gas out fitting to release pressure of the receiving keg.

Viola!!

 

[Beer4All]

Good info thanks!

Was thinking of hooking an empty sanitized keg to the fermenting keg with a gas out connector on the fermenting keg and a liquid in on the empty keg. Place a spunding valve on the gas out of the empty and use the CO2 from fermentation to purge the empty keg.

Could also use a 3 keg jumper system to push starsan from one keg to another during fermentation to leave a completely purged keg.

 

[Gusso]

I've done a couple of pressurized fermentations in corny kegs. Same thing basically. A floating diptube is a good thing!

 

[Beer4All]

I've done a couple of pressurized fermentations in corny kegs. Same thing basically. A floating diptube is a good thing!

What is your typical batch size into fermenter? How much beer are you left with after trub loss?

 

[Off Balance Brewing]

I've done a couple in kegs so I can pressure ferment lagers. 15 psi helps hold the krausen done and I fill wort to the weld line. I'm not totally sure but I think I end up with like 4.5 gallons with what the floating dip tube leaves behind.

Last batch I did a continuous purged empty attache like you said. Ended up with a purged pressurized keg. Then since they are the same pressure you can gravity siphon under pressure. All closed, pretty slick.

Like it so much I'm looking to get an all rounder fermenter to do larger batches.

 

[VikeMan]

Corny kegs can actually hold closer to 6 gallons in there.

About 5.3 to 5.35 gallons. @doug293cz has measured some.

 

[madscientist451]

I've been wanting to ferment in kegs for years, and yesterday I finally got around to setting one up. I poured 2 quarts of water in the keg and then reached in with a wooden stick and used that wet mark to figure how much of my dip tube should be cut off. I figure when I cold crash all the yeast will be below that line. My first run will be today with a no boil extract NEIPA. I'm going to dry hop in the keg and do a closed transfer to the serving keg.
Eventually, I'll probably get a floating dip tube.

 

[Gusso]

What is your typical batch size into fermenter? How much beer are you left with after trub loss?

I put about 4.5 gallons in (I use a foam reducer). I should get ballsy and try for more. I also serve from the same keg. Another thing is that I can chill my wort in my pool! I probably have a quart or so of sludge when the keg is beat.

 

[Gusso]

Now, I typically use a 10 gallon Torpedo keg for my pressurized fermentations.

 

[yowzers]

Floating dip tube like this. Ball and Keg: Home Brew Keg Level Indicator With this you can even ferment and serve from the same keg if you want to. I typically transfer out to another keg after cold crash, but it does work just fine to drink straight out of the fermentation keg.

 

[Nathan Graen]

I do a 4.5 gallon batch.

• Gas tube cut flush with the top
• Liquid tube cut an inch off the bottom
• Spunding valve on the gas QD
• Fermcap to help with krausen
• Brewed extra strong and extra bitter to top off with a gallon of boiled water after fermentation

 

[Beer4All]

For pressure and regular ferments, do you pre-charge the keg with CO2 pressure to help it seal before fermentation starts or wait until it builds naturally?

 

[twd000]

[*]Brewed extra strong and extra bitter to top off with a gallon of boiled water after fermentation
[/LIST]

I thought about high gravity brewing but concerned about oxidation. Do you do anything to dearate your water before adding it?

 

[Nathan Graen]

I thought about high gravity brewing but concerned about oxidation. Do you do anything to dearate your water before adding it?

Boil and cool it.

 

[Nathan Graen]

For pressure and regular ferments, do you pre-charge the keg with CO2 pressure to help it seal before fermentation starts or wait until it builds naturally?

The last few times I've actually precharged with the air compressor. I'm not sure if it's a bad idea or not. It is an oil-less compressor, and I figured the yeast needed Oxygen anyway. Cheaper than CO2. Let's me make sure it's sealed and dial in the spunding valve pressure setpoint.

 

[Gusso]

For pressure and regular ferments, do you pre-charge the keg with CO2 pressure to help it seal before fermentation starts or wait until it builds naturally?

I just set my SPUNDit and let it go.

 

[Beer4All]

I just set my SPUNDit and let it go.

What pressure do you use on the spunding valve?

 

[Gusso]

Depends. I just did a lager at 25 psi.

 

[odie]

doing my first ferment in a keg.

I measured 5 gal in and then it took another 5 pints to completely top the keg.

5 gal plus 4 pints would allow me to still work the lid.

If my math is right, that's 5.5 gals usable volume with a close cut gas dip tube.

 

[fragged]

doing my first ferment in a keg.

I measured 5 gal in and then it took another 5 pints to completely top the keg.

5 gal plus 4 pints would allow me to still work the lid.

If my math is right, that's 5.5 gals usable volume with a close cut gas dip tube.

That's right about where mine are at too. I was fine to fill to the line/weld with 5 gallons wort, including pitching amount as long as I used fermcap. Screwed myself a couple times with lagers on that pitch amount portion though - ADD YOUR YEAST FIRST!!! I also usually spunded into an empty, purged keg(so actual spund valve is on the gas post of 2nd keg). Had plenty of times where there was stuff in that second keg.

My problem with this whole thing was always the hit to capacity. 5 gallons minus trub = less than 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon container. It's silly, but my head couldn't get past it. Bought a fermzilla all-rounder and haven't looked back. I have to admit though, it was sort nice to not be able to see into the fermenter when using the cornies, now I'm opening the chamber all the time to get a peek.

 

[Gusso]

That's right about where mine are at too. I was fine to fill to the line/weld with 5 gallons wort, including pitching amount as long as I used fermcap. Screwed myself a couple times with lagers on that pitch amount portion though - ADD YOUR YEAST FIRST!!! I also usually spunded into an empty, purged keg(so actual spund valve is on the gas post of 2nd keg). Had plenty of times where there was stuff in that second keg.

My problem with this whole thing was always the hit to capacity. 5 gallons minus trub = less than 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon container. It's silly, but my head couldn't get past it. Bought a fermzilla all-rounder and haven't looked back. I have to admit though, it was sort nice to not be able to see into the fermenter when using the cornies, now I'm opening the chamber all the time to get a peek.

I get that. I mostly use my 10G Torpedo for pressurized fermentations. But I still will use a 5 corny for an all-in-one every now and then.

 

[fragged]

I get that. I mostly use my 10G Torpedo for pressurized fermentations. But I still will use a 5 corny for an all-in-one every now and then.

I'm sure I'll do it again for one reason or another. Maybe like a RIS or something.

 

[odie]

My problem with this whole thing was always the hit to capacity. 5 gallons minus trub = less than 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon container.

but it's a 5.5 gal container...ok, I know, you gotta plan for the 1/2 gal of trub too...

I run the entire kettle thru a bucket strainer. I get pure, clean, no-trub wort into the fermenter. And then I get 99% of my beer back out and into my kegs...1% stays with the yeast cake when I harvest the yeast.

This is my first go doing it in the keg. I racked a full 5gal + 1 pint into the fermenter plus my yeast pitch. I'm getting no blow out so far. Only a slight discoloration of the water in the blow off tube jar. When it's done I figure the first pint is my yeast harvest and the next 5 gal is my beer.

 

[greywolf]

I've been doing this for a few years now. I set the spund to 5 or so for around a week and then take it off and let pressure build to 30 or so. You could leave the spund on and set it for 30 if you like. . I usually need it for the newest batch and on the backside of fermentation its not really needed. I'll let it age until its turn comes up. Check it in a few days and vent it off if its high. Chill and serve from that keg. Less screwing around transferring and no oxygen problems. Chilled on gas its ready as soon as the hops particles settle down.

 

[odie]

trying out my new "yeast thief"...I stole some active yeast out of my fermenting keg to pitch into another beer today. The current keg is still fermenting out.

This only works if you have your original dip tube. Not a floating dip tube.

 

[John Spiegel]

This is an old thread, but had a question:

Is it possible to bend your dip tube instead of cutting it? I read about it in an article somewhere a while ago (can't find it again. Sorry) and it seemed like a nice option in case you wanted to use the fermenting keg as a serving keg again in the future. Thoughts? Or would it be likely to just snap?

On the topic of using the CO2 to purge your serving keg: I have a bowtie spunding valve from kegland that (I think) has their quick disconnect on the "out" of the valve. Could I use that on the gas out of my fermenting keg to only send CO2 above my fermenting pressure to purge the serving keg? This should keep the fermenting keg at a consistent PSI from the start, yes? Or am I misunderstanding something?

 

[VikeMan]

^ If using fermentation CO2 to purge the keg that will eventually receive the finished beer (i.e. the eventual serving keg), you need to put the spunding valve on the keg that's being purged, not on the fermentation vessel. This way, the valve regulates the pressure of the whole system and keeps atmospheric O2 from entering the eventual serving keg. The gas output of the fermenter would be connected directly (no valve) to the liquid post of the serving keg.