Primary Fermenting in a Corny Keg

[Denny]

Can I just take a standard gas disconnect and fit a tube on for a blow off? Do I really need to remove the gas dip tube?

yes and no.

 

[mjohnson]

If you only have 3 gallons in each, you probably can use the gas disconnect. Especially if you use fermcap or something. One caution, if for some reason the beer would need a blowoff, it will cause problems and probably clog. I bet it would be ok though.

Regarding the dip tube, my trub/yeast cakes typically fits mostly in the concave bottom. If you bent a dip tube so it was against the edge of the keg, you would probably get very little gunk. Full disclosure, I don't dump my cold break from the boil kettle into my fermenters.

 

[adamtroxel]

A question I forgot to ask -

If you were given the task of setting up a corny as a fermenter - how would you do it?

Id like to learn from others' experience and do the correct job the first time

-adam

 

[mjohnson]

Add wort to corny. O2 it. Pitch yeast. Add fermcap. Take off gas nut and little tube. Push on 1/2" vinyl tubing with worm clamp for blowoff.

There isn't really anything to it. Although, if you mess up and put the blowoff on the liquid side, please take pictures.

 

[Monster Mash]

Don't put a full 5 gallons into it, you might get 4 with a lot of blowoff....

 

[oakbarn]

I use these all the time for lagers. I do nothing special except to have a blow off tube connected to one of the gray ball lock connectors that goes into a gal plastic bottle filled with star san ( I like the way it foams as I can "see" it is fermenting as there is not a lot of bubbling like on an ale. We fill the corney with about 2 inches of head room.

We:

1. Sanitize one last time.
2. Move the cooled wort into the Corney (covered with a "Dave Rag" (Paper towel wetted with Star San)
3. Add Oxygen
4. Add Yeast
5. Put on Lid
6. Pressure to 30 psi (to seal lid)
7. Let off pressure
8. Move to fermentaion chamber
9. Put on Blow off Tube
10. Drink a Home Brew.

I have never done an ale in one butt think maybe 3 to 4 gallons would be max you could do.

You can also get rid of the trub by simply putting a little pressure and using the black out to dump the trub after a day or so.

I have even dry hopped but that can cause them to clog where you might have to back pressure the out or siphon to another container if that does not work.

BTW: Do not connect the Blow Off to the Out. You will find about a gallon of Wort in your fermentation chamber an wonder "W T H?".

 

[1MadScientist]

A question I forgot to ask -

If you were given the task of setting up a corny as a fermenter - how would you do it?

Id like to learn from others' experience and do the correct job the first time

-adam

Adam, I'm pressure fermenting in a corny. I got the idea from WortMonger's thread. I am able to put nearly 5 gallons of wort in the corny, I stop at the welded seam, add my dry yeast seal and shake, un-seal and add 10 drops of foam control, re-seal. I have very little blow-off. I also pressure transfer to a serving corny, no secondary. You can look at my photos in the link to see what I do, oh yes, also BIAB. ~richard

 

[Brewcrew02]

I like the built in handle. No worries about dropping a glass Carboy. Stainless beats plastic always.

Plastic, Glass, Stainless, SHOOT!!!

 

[justsome1]

A question I forgot to ask -

If you were given the task of setting up a corny as a fermenter - how would you do it?

Id like to learn from others' experience and do the correct job the first time

-adam

Here's a good YouTube video on it.


[ame]http://youtu.be/29F7QR6vT4U[/ame]

 

[JayMac]

Just thought I would add my 0.02 to the whole "no difference between fermenting in a corny or in a carboy" conversation. I talked to my waste water treatment prof (damn you chemical engineering curriculum!) and we just covered a section on zone settling. I asked the prof after class what effect reducing the diameter of a fermentation vessel would have on the attenuation of the yeast, and my prof had a few things to say.

She pointed out that due to the similarity in the size of culture mid way through fermentation, the yeast inside the corny will flocculate sooner. Since the same number of yeast cells are confined to a smaller space, they hit critical density sooner, and will fall to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Additionally, having a smaller diameter will reduce the surface area of wort that the yeast comes in contact with, which would prolong fermentation times. Needless to say, she made the point that she couldn't see why a corny keg would facilitate greater consumption of maltose by the yeast in these conditions.

This was all speculation on her part, but it seemed to make sense to me. This is purely qualitative, and I think someone will need to brew an 8 gallon batch, and separate the wort into a carboy and corny keg. The yeast would ideally be cultured so that we can be sure that they have the same viability. Finally, readings should be taken every couple of days so the progress for each can be tracked over the fermentation period (who know, maybe the corny ferments quicker, and flocculates sooner as well!).

I don't have a corny to spare, so I'm hoping someone brave out there is willing to do this experiement!

Cheers,
Jay

 

[cyberbackpacker]

I've been fermenting this way for at least 4 years now, and I can say from my own brewing that attenuation has never been an issue. In addition when I first transitioned from bucket fermenters to kegs I brewed many of the same recipes I had done in the past, and there was no significant difference in attenuation between batches. Similarly, all of my ferments are temp controlled, and my process is standardized for yeast pitching and aeration. IOW, a fairly controlled set of parameters existed outside of the change in fermenting vessels.

Bottom line, perhaps the overall volume(5-6 gallons) and relatively minor decrease in size does not have as great of an impact in this scale; I am not disputing the science, but based on the equipment and observation techniques available to us outside of a well equipped lab, I feel very comfortable fermenting in kegs (originally corners but the last couple of years 1/6 barrel sankeys), and see no reason to scare people off from using them either.

There are many factors that can impact your fermentation, but fermenter size is not one I would concern myself with too much at this level- temp control, proper yeast pitching rates, and oxygenation of wort are the biggest factors I have experienced over the years. If those are dialed in and you notice a perceptible difference in your beer post fermentation, then maybe switch back to a bucket or carboy. I still believe though that even if you notice a measured difference in attenuation, the perception of the final beer is what matters.

My $0.02!

 

[oakbarn]

I have also sorta have done the same with Ales. We have a 14 Gallon Stout Conical and Carboys. When we brew a 15 gallon Batch, It will not all fit in the Stout Conical, so we have to use a carboy. We have them in the same room and I normally make a starter. We cannot tell the difference between that brewed in the Stout Conical or the Carboy and the FG is normally exactly the same.

Fermentation Size is a factor in brewing, but I do not think it has much effect in Home Brew vessels.

 

[pipelastova]

Very good thread even if it is old, I learned a lot. I suppose I will try using corny kegs as primary and see what happens.

 

[Chipman]

I've been using a corny keg to ferment in for a while now. I like the stainless steel aspect of it, as it's indestructible! The handles are also really nice for carrying it. Also, they're a breeze to clean! Unless your elbow doesn't fit inside the opening that is...then it'd be a pain.

I use the regular cap with the pressure relief valve still on it. I did however remove both posts to expose the threads, and then use tubing and hose clamps to make two little blowoff tubes. Hasn't failed me yet even with really active fermentations.

4 gallons is about as much as I trust in there so too much doesn't get blown off. I have ended up with 1 batch of over-carbed beer that I attribute to under attenuation in fermentation due to a small batch size. Perhaps 3 gallons made it into the fermentor. This was alllll my fault though, nothing to do with the equipment!

 

[robrouter]

hey i just tried my first fermentation in a corny keg and transferred last night .Here is a guide I found while searching.
http://www.terifahrendorf.com/Closed-Pressurized-Fermenatation.pdf
So far excellent way to ferment 60 bucks for an extra keg its worth it.