Has anyone done this?

[ktillman1]

For the first time I fermented in a corny keg. When it reached a few points from the F.G I pulled the airlock off the QD allowing it to naturally carb. I cold crashed it yesterday and was planning on transferring to a serving keg. Today I put a picnic tap on and pulled a sample. Wow. It's clear it's carbonated and it's pretty good. I brewed it one week ago today. I'm drinking it now right out of the keg I fermented it in. It is still a little green. I wouldn't do this for all my beers. This was a 1040 pale ale and it fermented quite dry. I have to say I made a drinkable beer from grain to glass in one week. Didn't know this was possible. +1 to corny kegs

 

[joeybeer]

Nice !! I need a high speed grain to glass sometimes !!

 

[Jtc2811]

Congrats. You have created your first cask ale. Welcome to the fold of the "real ale" community. It's a unique taste, isn't it? Heavy seas brewery in MD has been going nuts over cask conditioning ales, and as such try to give people the opportunity to try cask vs normal draft whenever they can. Same IPA, very different experience for me. Not better or worse, but definitely traditional.

 

[ktillman1]

Are cask ales primaried in cask? Or just secondary and naturally carbed?

 

[broadbill]

How did you get around the trub/yeast left over from primary?

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Congrats. You have created your first cask ale. Welcome to the fold of the "real ale" community. It's a unique taste, isn't it? Heavy seas brewery in MD has been going nuts over cask conditioning ales, and as such try to give people the opportunity to try cask vs normal draft whenever they can. Same IPA, very different experience for me. Not better or worse, but definitely traditional.

He didn't just primed and conditioned the beer in the keg, he fermented AND naturally carbed it (without priming) in the same vessel. It's one step beyond just a cask ale.
:rockin:

 

[ktillman1]

I bent my dip tube out until it touched the side of the keg. This left about 1.5-2 inches for the trub. I thought i would still have a problem but even from the first sample i pulled it was pretty clear.

 

[gr8shandini]

Actually, there's a pretty good thread about doing this using a pressure release valve:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/

I haven't tried it yet, but apparently, there are some positive benefits to carrying out your primary fermentation at about 5 psig (makes sense, as this is roughly the hydrostatic pressure in a 10 foot tall fermenter like you would find in a brewery). Then, as you near the end of the fermentation, you can set the release valve to whatever you need on the carb charts and hit your CO2 volumes exactly.

 

[mr_goodwrench]

I have been planning on doing just this once I get enough work done on the new place to get back to brewing on a regular basis.

 

[cmoon]

When it reached a few points from the F.G I pulled the airlock off the QD allowing it to naturally carb.

Please explain how you did this (I don't know what a QD is). I would try this but have no clue how to mount an airlock on a keg. Beyond that, it sounds like a great technique!

Nevermind: Much is explained in this thread! https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/converting-corny-keg-into-fermenter-162688/

 

[ktillman1]

This really is a great way to ferment. I think the spunding valve would be really helpful. The thing I like most is how easy it is to take a sample for a hydrometer reading. Just hook up a picnic tap and draw it out. No worry about 02 exsposure or risk of infection. I did a 4.5 gallon batch and had no blow off. I still plan on getting some ferm cap just incase. I am drinking this beer now but still plan on transferring I just need more beer line to build a transfer hose. Hope to hear from some one who does this regularly.