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Tweeder

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Ok I tried a search but no luck. This may be a dumb question but here it goes. To fill you in on what I am doing I am starting to build a 3 cornie kegerator from a fridge. I will be filling it with 2 local brews and the 3rd will be my little beer project. I was informed by a friend on this set up. I have 1 6.5 gallon plastic bucket with spigot and airlocked top. From what I was told I can ferment my brew in the bucket then simply pour the beer straight into the keg from the spigot, seal then add co2 for force carbonation. I am brand new to brewing and haven't done a batch yet. Will this work? Bad idea, good idea, or is there another cost effective route to still be able to brew, and keg, a good batch. Please feel free on your opinions as I am clueless to if this will work. In theory it sounds fine but need advise. Thanks in advance.
-Rick-
 
Noob answer. While it would work, by pouring you will be oxidizing your beer. Attach a hose to the spigot and run it down the the bottom of the keg. That way the beer wont splash and wont really oxidize much. Better yet, I would suggest that you get another bucket for fermentation. Spigots can be the source of unwanted bacteria in fresh wort that have no protection from alcohol yet. After fermentation you can rack straight to the keg. Leave the spigot bucket for bottling. After kegging purge the air out under CO2 pressure to remove air sitting in the keg.
 
You could definitely do it that way, and you'd get beer. But, if you want better beer, there are a number of other steps that you could take.

Like beerthirty wrote, you might get some off flavors if you oxidize the beer by pouring it into the keg. Better to siphon it into the keg.

For most beers (other then beers that are normally cloudy like a hefe), you are going to want to transfer the beer to a 2nd container (secondary), usually a 5g glass carboy, before it goes into the keg. When you transfer the beer, you leave behind a lot of the junk at the bottom of the bucket (trub) so the beer will become clearer. Some people only use 1 bucket (primary) for all their beers though and get good results.

Do you have all the rest of the equipment that you'll need to brew the beer (big pot, hydometer, big spoon, sanitizer, etc)?
 
You can definitely go from primary into the keg. Lots of people (myself included) still occasionally rack into a second carboy, but that's really more of a bulk aging process than a secondary ferment. After yeast is done or nearly done fermenting, it seems to spend some time "cleaning up after itself". More time on primary yeast seems to produce cleaner beers. Bulk aging is helpful for big beers and those that need a long time to mellow before serving.

However, I do see a small, easily fixable flaw in your plan.

Most bottling buckets (e.g. with spigot) drain from so low in the bucket that you'll likely get a lot of yeast and "goop" from the bottom of the fermenter if you try to drain it through the spigot. A better idea might be to use a racking cane and hose (a few bucks apiece from your LHBS, or easy to approximate with some creativity and a nearby Home Depot) to gently transfer the beer off the yeast cake. The result: Less junk to settle out in your keg. The first few pints are often a little cloudy anyhow, but why make the clearing process take any longer than it needs to?

Cliffs Notes: Good plan, just use a racking cane and hose instead of a spigot or simply pouring from fermenter to keg.
 
Man I am already impressed by this forum. Thanks for all the help so fast without alot of flaming.:D I was kind of thinking in the same lines as you all were. I was thinking glass carboy to ferment then siphon over to the keg. Would that still work? Plus I think I would enjoy seeing the "magic" through the glass carboy vs wondering what the hell is going on through the plastic :eek:
I am going to by a 5 gallon SS kettle with lid and an SS spoon tomorrow as well. As for as sanitizing goes I can just use chlorine bleach right, like 1 teaspoon per gallon or something like that.
I started reading "How to Brew" online a couple of days ago, but really need to purchase the hardback, and have began to understand it a little better. I am kind of trying to learn how to crawl before I walk type of thing right now but would like to end up with my own recipes from scratch with some good brew. My friend from work has begun to walk me through it all and so far he has brewed some really good creme ales with some very basic equipment so I am hoping for a nice turn out before UGA starts kicking some ass on the gridiron this year!
Once again thanks for all of the insight, also I am going to be fermenting in my spare bedroom closet since my garage is like an inferno this time of year, does it stink like ass during the fermenting or the boil? Don't want the better half raising too much hell....LOL
-Rick-
 
Generally we try not to flame anyone on their first day unless they ask for it. :)
My suggestion is to get yourself some no rinse sanitizer like Star San. It's much easier to work with than bleach and does a great job. With bleach you have to rinse like crazy or your beer will taste nasty. The problem with all that rinsing is your water isn't sanitized.

I think boiling smells great but some of the guys women don't like it. Fermentation sometimes smells, depending on which yeast, but generally it doesn't. A few of the specialty yeasts put off the famous "rhino fart" smell but it goes away....eventually.
 
get a bigger pot than 5 gallon, say 6.5-7. its real hard to make a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon pot unless you do partial boils. Yah, dilute bleach solution will work but then you have to rinse and depending on the conditions of your tap water and pipes it may not stay sanitized. If you can, get a no-rinse sanitizer like starsan. Its a concentrate so its very economical to use, sanitizes in 60 seconds, doesn't require rinsing and becomes yeast food in the fermenter. oops nurmey already posted most of this. Remember no airlock activity does not mean its not fermenting. Once you have pitched your yeast at the correct temp, just walk away, thats right walk away. If you have the time or patience leave it for 2-3 weeks. You will thank the yeast later. Now its time to keg or transfer to secondary. I keg and let it sit for another 4-6 weeks to condition before tapping. Brew On.
 
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