have you tried fermenting and serving from the same keg without transferring?

[North_of_60]

I've also just let it go 14 days. I figure I can test gravity at any time by hooking up a picnic tap and filling a test jar. I figure there will be enough push from the co2 that the yeast created.

I do this but without a picnic tap, I just use a liquid tap with a short pice of tubing attached.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I definitely use the floating dip tube.. so I can hop stand in there without eorruyjng about filtering or bagging.

 

[user 263363]

So I just fermented my first batch in a keg. I do 2.5 gallon batches and have some 5 gal kegs for fermenting. I used a floating dip tube, but let me tell you that I absolutely hated trying to get that tubing on that small piece of metal tube.

It sounds like people are having luck with leaving the metal dip tubes. What say you all?

I think I’ll cut a couple inches off one and use that for my next batch.

I am really looking forward to trying my first keg fermented batch!

 

[Carolina_Matt]

I've been doing this for about two years now, and I like it. It's easy, it's convenient, and it saves on CO2 since the beer is naturally carbonated by the end of fermentation. There are several pages here that show the positives to this. I'm about to get a Fermzilla All Rounder though.

On my last batch, I decided to use fermentation co2 to purge a new keg, then I transferred the beer to that keg. I was a little surprised that only 4 gallons transferred. I fill the keg pretty much to the top when I ferment, and I figured I was getting ~4.25-4.5 gallons when you account for blowoff and the yeast cake. I didn't realize I was only getting 4 gallons. I've thought about getting a 6 gallon Torpedo keg, but they're a little too tall for my chest freezer and the prices keep going up on them. I'll try the All Rounder so that I can start with 6 gallons and end with 5 full gallons, rather than shortchange myself. It'll also be nice to be able to see the fermentation, as I've never had a clear fermenter so I haven't seen the process in person.

 

[murphyslaw]

In golf we sometimes hear people say "par is just a number." I think us homebrewers could some of that mentality here.

It took me a while to try fermenting in kegs because I wanted every bit of 5 gallons finished. It was like a mental block I couldn't get over. But man, I'm a married man with two young kids and a three tap kegerator my basement. I'm not drinking 12 gallons of beer fast enough to lose sweat over not having another 3 gallons.

 

[NickTheGreat]

In golf we sometimes hear people say "par is just a number." I think us homebrewers could some of that mentality here.

It took me a while to try fermenting in kegs because I wanted every bit of 5 gallons finished. It was like a mental block I couldn't get over. But man, I'm a married man with two young kids and a three tap kegerator my basement. I'm not drinking 12 gallons of beer fast enough to lose sweat over not having another 3 gallons.

This is the thought I keep having. Seems like I'm going to short myself some beer.

But your point makes more sense. I've got three kegs in my fridge, from many months back. And it's just me drinking it 98% of the time.

The time saved and ease of use would likely make this well worth while.

 

[T Murph]

This is the thought I keep having. Seems like I'm going to short myself some beer.

But your point makes more sense. I've got three kegs in my fridge, from many months back. And it's just me drinking it 98% of the time.

The time saved and ease of use would likely make this well worth while.

This is why I no longer brew batches larger than 5 gal and I don't brew again until I getting low or what ever it takes depending on what the next one will be. Plus I still enjoy having a sixtel of one of my favorites from commercial breweries on hand. I used to have a 4 tap kegerator plus a few waiting on open taps. Not anymore. I just can't drink it fast enough and don't have enough friends coming around to help me finish them off.

 

[theredviper]

So I just fermented my first batch in a keg. I do 2.5 gallon batches and have some 5 gal kegs for fermenting. I used a floating dip tube, but let me tell you that I absolutely hated trying to get that tubing on that small piece of metal tube.

Did your floating tube come with silicone tubing? Mine all have and they are a little tricky to attach but not that bad.

 

[user 263363]

Did your floating tube come with silicone tubing? Mine all have and they are a little tricky to attach but not that bad.

yeah I had to boil the end of the silicone tube to get it over the metal. It would be infinitely easier if I could attach it then slide it down in to the keg but it’s too big.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

This is the thought I keep having. Seems like I'm going to short myself some beer.

But your point makes more sense. I've got three kegs in my fridge, from many months back. And it's just me drinking it 98% of the time.

The time saved and ease of use would likely make this well worth while.

I think fermenting in kegs greatly improves the quality of my hoppy beers, being able to limit O2 extremely well. My though process was I'd rather have 3.5-4 gallons of great beer than 5 gallons of solid beer.

 

[DuncB]

@Carolina_Matt
You will find with the all rounder that you can bump the volume up because the top pressure you can apply early in the ferment, say 5psi
will help to hold the krausen down. Dry hopping in any vessel sucks up lots of liquid, I like the hops in a bag put in on a magnet and then raised out on the magnet. You get a bit of drip drying that way. I always manage more than 25 litres to keg / bottle with the fermentasaurus.

 

[theredviper]

Does anybody have tips/tricks/tools that help with cleaning kegs when they are blown? Fermenting and serving in the same keg has been great, until it comes to the cleaning. There's usually a krausen ring that's a bit dried on, and getting in there to clean it is a pain.

Just wondering if anybody has a secret tool or brush that works well.

 

[murphyslaw]

Does anybody have tips/tricks/tools that help with cleaning kegs when they are blown? Fermenting and serving in the same keg has been great, until it comes to the cleaning. There's usually a krausen ring that's a bit dried on, and getting in there to clean it is a pain.

Just wondering if anybody has a secret tool or brush that works well.

Children with small arms that can fit inside.

 

[balrog]

Does anybody have tips/tricks/tools that help with cleaning kegs when they are blown? Fermenting and serving in the same keg has been great, until it comes to the cleaning. There's usually a krausen ring that's a bit dried on, and getting in there to clean it is a pain.

Just wondering if anybody has a secret tool or brush that works well.

I use 20m with the mark2 keg washer, just a pump shooting up into inverted keg, using a couple tablespoons homemade PBW. Before I had the pump, I would put the homemade PBW and a gallon of water in the keg, lid back on, pump up with a little CO2 and blow some out to fill line out with cleaning solution, then invert several times every 3-5 min, over 20-30m. Blow all out and rinse 3 times, blowing out through line ea time.

It also helped to run a quart of plain water into the liquid out using a pump sprayer fitted with ball lock post, as soon as keg kicked. That won't do anything for the krausen line, but the liquid out line at least did not sit full of sludge that way.

 

[murphyslaw]

Oxiclean works wonders. I usually just fill the keg to the brim with oxi and hot water. Come back the next day or whenever I get to it.

 

[DuncB]

I give a good rinse out with water and then some warm Homemade PBW and the CIP spray. Have you tried a dishwashing brush they are angled and might get there. Given that the kegs are pressure safe if you don't have CIP you can fill with hot PBW and then seal keg and invert it leave for a good while.

 

[theredviper]

Thanks everyone. I do have a dishwasher brush that's angled. Part of the hassle is doing the cleaning, then rinsing, then looking. Then realizing you missed a spot, etc. I will try soaking with oxyclean.

 

[odie]

Does anybody have tips/tricks/tools that help with cleaning kegs when they are blown? Fermenting and serving in the same keg has been great, until it comes to the cleaning. There's usually a krausen ring that's a bit dried on, and getting in there to clean it is a pain.

Just wondering if anybody has a secret tool or brush that works well.

If I plan the same or similar beer...I just brew it up and dump it in the dirty keg. Plenty of hungry yeast left after the keg blows.

 

[hopjuice_71]

If I plan the same or similar beer...I just brew it up and dump it in the dirty keg. Plenty of hungry yeast left after the keg blows.

I have also done this a few times. It felt like some kind of blasphemy, but it worked great.

 

[mtnagel]

How does everyone dry hop using this method? This is what I've done before - hooked it up to a low level of CO2, release pressure, stop CO2, open the lid, turn on CO2, drop in hops quickly, seal lid and purge with CO2. I need to dry hop in the next day or so and wondering if there is a better method.

 

[hopjuice_71]

How does everyone dry hop using this method? This is what I've done before - hooked it up to a low level of CO2, release pressure, stop CO2, open the lid, turn on CO2, drop in hops quickly, seal lid and purge with CO2. I need to dry hop in the next day or so and wondering if there is a better method.

That is exactly how I do it. Until I can build some kind of hop dropper thingy for a keg I may start adding a bit of Ascorbic Acid at the same time.

 

[moreb33rplz]

For cleaning, dump trub, rinse with hit water, soak with pbw or equivalent, scrub with carboy brush, maybe with dish sponge right under lid lip if necessary. Rinse with hot water. To sterilize use a gallon or so of stars an, close lid, swish around, dump. I also disassemble before pbw soak and soak the keg hardware in separate container of pbw

For dry hops, I open the lid for a second, chuck in a mesh bag of hops, reseal, purge a few times.

 

[mtnagel]

For dry hops, I open the lid for a second, chuck in a mesh bag of hops, reseal, purge a few times.

What's the reason for the bag?

 

[renstyle]

Granted, all experience is anecdotal, but anyways, regarding the issue getting the floating dip tube attached...

Tonight I attached a floating dip tube to a 23L torpedo keg, one that I had just removed from my old 19L corny fermenter keg.

The key is to get the post/silicone warmed up.

I needed to rinse my former 19L fermenter, did so inverted in the sink with the sprayer hose. Once I had warmed things up a bit, the silicone tubing dislodged easily.

Same for the new torpedo keg, warmed it up during its initial DIY-PBW cleaning with the short 3" dip tube already installed. The transplanted silicone tubing attached with no trouble.

Everybody has their own experiences, and this is my own, done just this evening...

 

[VirginiaHops1]

How does everyone dry hop using this method? This is what I've done before - hooked it up to a low level of CO2, release pressure, stop CO2, open the lid, turn on CO2, drop in hops quickly, seal lid and purge with CO2. I need to dry hop in the next day or so and wondering if there is a better method.

If you're trying to do it all in a corny keg(which I guess is the point of this thread), this is probably your best bet. I used to dry hop this way. I think it's probably mostly fine but there certainly is O2 getting into your beer regardless of what you do. If you're noticing any oxidation maybe you can purchase something that has the ability to add on a separate dry hopping chamber. I'm seeing manufacturers now starting to make kegs specifically designed for fermenting with TC ports which is cool. Trying to fill that void in between buckets/carboys/cornys and a full on conical.

 

[NickTheGreat]

What's the reason for the bag?

I'm not the guy you replied to, but I dry hopped in a keg once with loose leaf hops. It was just as bad as you'd imagine, as far as plugging and such were concerned.

So I always use a bag now when dry-hopping in the keg. Some sort of overcompensation for past transgressions.

 

[mtnagel]

I'm not the guy you replied to, but I dry hopped in a keg once with loose leaf hops. It was just as bad as you'd imagine, as far as plugging and such were concerned.

So I always use a bag now when dry-hopping in the keg. Some sort of overcompensation for past transgressions.

Yeah, leaf would be bad, but I've done pellet hops before and they crash out.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

One thing I've suspected over the last couple years of fermenting in kegs: due to the narrow shape and limited surface area, it takes the yeast longer to get going. When I fermented in buckets, I seemed to notice bubbling within 24 hours. When I started fermenting in kegs, it seemed to take closer to 48 hours.

I just started fermenting my first batch in an All Rounder on Saturday, and sure enough it started to bubble within 24 hours.

 

[odie]

One thing I've suspected over the last couple years of fermenting in kegs: due to the narrow shape and limited surface area, it takes the yeast longer to get going. When I fermented in buckets, I seemed to notice bubbling within 24 hours. When I started fermenting in kegs, it seemed to take closer to 48 hours.

I just started fermenting my first batch in an All Rounder on Saturday, and sure enough it started to bubble within 24 hours.

I suspect it might be the lid seal not sealing. I've had some kegs where the big lid o-ring will not seat without a little blast of pressure. So when fermentation first starts, CO2 seeps out the lid. After a couple days when the fermentation is going strong, the CO2 is coming fast enough to seat the o-ring.

Not every keg but on some.

 

[ba-brewer]

Most of my keg lids did not hold a seal with little to no pressure until I replace the lid seal with these. Some would require a 30psi blast before they would even hold 10-12psi serving pressure.
Oversize Keg Lid Sealing 'O' Ring

I still need to fiddle with a keg ever now and then but I get much better seals under low pressure now.

 

[balrog]

Oversize Keg Lid Sealing 'O' Ring

+1

Big fan, especially for some of the used kegs I bought.

 

[theredviper]

Most of my keg lids did not hold a seal with little to no pressure until I replace the lid seal with these. Some would require a 30psi blast before they would even hold 10-12psi serving pressure.
Oversize Keg Lid Sealing 'O' Ring

I still need to fiddle with a keg ever now and then but I get much better seals under low pressure now.

Is there anybody else that sells these? Hard to get them shipped here (Canada), unless there's a supplier I'm missing.

 

[ba-brewer]

@theredviper, if does say it is an exclusive item to williams, but if you do some looking at O-ring venders you might find something local to you. I suppose it is possible they are made custom for them but it could be a standard product.
Looks for a diameter of .310 vs .280

 

[balrog]

@theredviper, if does say it is an exclusive item to williams, but if you do some looking at O-ring venders you might find something local to you. I suppose it is possible they are made custom for them but it could be a standard product.
Looks for a diameter of .310 vs .280

THe only thing I could quickly find was 0.312" width, and you have to order then to custom make 4"OD rings, which, after shipping and tax, would be about $5.40 delivered for 10, in about 3 weeks. Of course, Williams is currently out of stock on theirs, at $4.49+$7.99 shipping.

 

[Off Balance Brewing]

Instead of the thicker orings I've had good luck bending the arms on the lid to pull the lid up more during close. Especially the Chinese repop lids.

For the dry hoping you can buy food safe sous vide magnets and put one in you mesh dry hop bag and one on the outside of the lid. Pull the magnet when you want to drop the hops. No lid to open

 

[renstyle]

Instead of the thicker orings I've had good luck bending the arms on the lid to pull the lid up more during close. Especially the Chinese repop lids.

For the dry hoping you can buy food safe sous vide magnets and put one in you mesh dry hop bag and one on the outside of the lid. Pull the magnet when you want to drop the hops. No lid to open

For both regular fermentation and dry hopping, I've had good luck with ample amounts of keg lube at transfer from the kettle, even with older rings.

Once I transfer, I dose O2 with a wand for a minute. Then seal the ferm-keg. I give it a good 10psi burst from the tank to ensure the lid seals, then let it off gas when setting up in the ferm chamber.

So far it's worked out.

 

[brewbama]

I have a modified version of this. I ferment in a bucket with spigot for part of the fermentation and transfer to a purged keg to finish. …

I do this ^^^

 

[odie]

Instead of the thicker orings I've had good luck bending the arms on the lid to pull the lid up more during close. Especially the Chinese repop lids.

another trick is to place a penny under the arm

 

[moreb33rplz]

I bought only the super cheap $25 kegs from AIH and just replaced all the hardware and orings, and no pressure issues since.

Just kicked my black lager last night, brewed it 11/5/21, fermented, lagered, and served in the keg the whole time. And it was deeeelicious