Keg or SS BrewBucket?

[_HH_]

Morning all!
I’m thinking of making the switch from bottling to kegging, and am on the hunt for a fermenter which will allow me to transfer using CO2 straight to my keg.

My first thought was to get a BrewBucket, but as I tend to do mainly 10-15litre (2.5-4 gallon) brews, would there be any reason not to just get an extra keg and ferment in that?

I’ve already had a good read of most of the info I can find on fermenting in kegs, and I can’t find anything that looks like it would be a problem as long as I leave enough headspace to prevent the poppets getting gunked up with krausen.

With a floating dip tube I should be able to avoid most of the trub, added to which the keg would be about a third of the price of the BrewBucket, and would allow me to pressure transfer without modifying the BrewBucket lid.

...is there anything I’m missing here? It seems like a perfect solution for me, but I’m very aware that as a relative noob (30 brews and none in SS/kegs), I still at the stage of not knowing what I don’t know!

Thanks in advance for your help with this one,
Henry

 

[brew703]

I've read also about fermenting in a keg but it wouldn't work for me as I brew 5 gal batches (into keg) and fermenting in a keg would be too small. But for what you are brewing I think a keg would be a better solution. You would have to get a spunding valve I believe which is about $40 or you can make them cheaper.

Anvil does make a 4 gal fermenter for $99. I ordered their 7.5 gal fermenter but returned it due to scratches on the inside. Not sure if their 4 gal fermenter has the same issues.

I ordered a SS Brew bucket last week. Hasn't come in yet but looking forward to trying it out.

 

[FunkedOut]

For that batch size, a 5 gallon corny is a great fermenter at a great price.

Lots of great things about a keg fermenter.
Transfers are a breeze with short jumpers and CO2. No oxygen exposure.
Speaking of oxygen, as soon as you pitch and seal it up, you can hit it with a few psi of pure oxygen and shake the keg to aerate the wort. Then pull the release valve.
Spunding is easy.
Fermenting under pressure is easier than trying to catch the last few point.
You can use pressure as an indicator of fermentation progress rather than gravity samples. If it’s still generating CO2, it’s not done.


An alternative to the floating diptube...
Make a couple more brews, and after you rack off the yeast cake, swirl it up and measure how much you left behind.
I found ~1.5qts for 5 gallon batches.

Fill the fermenting keg with that much water.
Now take the dip tube from the fermenting keg, and bend it gently, so you can still slide it back in.
Insert the bent tube until it is at the surface of the water.
Assemble and get going!

 

[FunkedOut]

@brew703 If you shop around (eBay, Craigslist, classifieds, etc), you can grab a 10 gallon corny for less than a brew bucket.

eyewash stations are good to go.
if it’s safe enough to squirt in my eye, I’ll drink it.

 

[hopjuice_71]

FunkedOut nailed it.

I have switched almost entirely over to fermenting in kegs. Just to make sure you are aware, other than volume, which isn't an issue to you, one of the downsides is a few more fiddly things - dip tubes, poppets and posts - that you have to make sure are clean after each brew. However, the upsides FAR outweigh the downsides. The ability to exclude O2 on the cold side and naturally carbonate from the fermentation made a huge improvement in my beers, especially how long they stay fresh. Also, spunding isn't absolutely necessary. I start my fermentations with a blowoff connected to the gas in. Towards the end of fermentation I put on a spunding valve to capture the last of the CO2, which is awesome; however, you could just let this ride with the blowoff for the full fermentation then force carbonate in the serving keg. You can also cold crash in a keg with no concern for suck back of any sort. Oh, and it is otherwise pretty much impossible to find such an affordable stainless steel fermenter, with all of their advantages, that will have a pretty much never-ending supply of replacement parts.

Cheers

 

[FunkedOut]

Good point on the cold crash and suck back.

Just make sure you add at least a few psi of CO2 so you don’t draw a vacuum and possibly collapse a wall.

 

[brew703]

@FunkedOut I had looked on craigslist locally and didn't find anything. I've never come across a 10 gal corney. I skimmed through ebay and didn't see any 10gal corneys.
I even thought about going with a Sanke but same issues apply for me. There are some larger Sankey's out there but too big.
For now, I'm going with the SSBT. I'll be able to do pressure transfers (1-2 PSI) but the thought of being able to ferment in a keg and control O2 and to naturally carbonate is a plus

 

[_HH_]

Thanks so much for your responses guys - really helpful!

@FunkedOut, thanks for your response, it’s really helped to confirm that this is the right way to go for my situation. I hadn’t thought of modifying the dip tube - great idea.

@hopjuice_71, spunding is on my list of things to learn about! I’m still not up to speed on fermenting under pressure, and whether I can use a spunding valve for the whole duration of fermentation. From what I’ve read, it goes on at the beginning set to around 15psi. Some people only put them on when there are a few points left though, is there any downside to using it for the duration of fermentation? I don’t (as yet) brew lagers or light beer, just IPA and best/original bitter.

I’m heading down to the brew shop this afternoon and will see what goodies they have in store!

 

[hopjuice_71]

Thanks so much for your responses guys - really helpful!

@FunkedOut, thanks for your response, it’s really helped to confirm that this is the right way to go for my situation. I hadn’t thought of modifying the dip tube - great idea.

@hopjuice_71, spunding is on my list of things to learn about! I’m still not up to speed on fermenting under pressure, and whether I can use a spunding valve for the whole duration of fermentation. From what I’ve read, it goes on at the beginning set to around 15psi. Some people only put them on when there are a few points left though, is there any downside to using it for the duration of fermentation? I don’t (as yet) brew lagers or light beer, just IPA and best/original bitter.

I’m heading down to the brew shop this afternoon and will see what goodies they have in store!

Yes, you can spund the whole time if you want. Lots of ways to do it. Usually start at a lower psi between ~6-15 psi then ramp up the pressure near the end of fermentation to capture CO2 volumes to whatever you want for the given fermentation temperature (e.g. final pressure should be around 23 psi at 68 F for 2.2 vols of CO2). Fermenting under pressure can, apparently, suppress the expressiveness of yeast, so it may not be best for some styles/yeasts. If it is a beer driven by yeast qualities, that is the only potential downside of fermenting under pressure I know of.

But, I never spund the whole time anymore. I learned the hard way that some strains of yeast try mightily to escape the confines of their fermenter prison, even under a bit of pressure.. ..and ended up with my spunding valve gummed up and spewing streams of yeasty krausen. So, I use a blowoff tube - just a tube attached to gas QD - for the beginning of the fermentation then pop on the spunding valve later on to capture the last of the fermentation's CO2. Use of fermcap and closer attention to how much volume I am trying to ferment, as well the yeast strain I use, also now factor into my process