Sankey Fermentation Question

[cadeucsb]

Quick question...

I have been reading a ton on people that use sankeys to ferment and I have a kegerator setup that I would love to use to dispense homebrew.

My question is if I ferment in an empty sankey (stem removed, cap/airlock), after fermentation can I either re-install the stem, put it on C02 to carb or... add sugar directly to the fermenting sankey, reinstall cap and let it naturally carbonate?

Essentially, can I do it all in the same sankey that I want to dispense from? Or as an alternative, primary fermentation in my carboy...secondary in the sankey.

 

[buzzkill]

yes you can... but.. you will need to cut the dip tube. the yeast cake isnt fun to drink.

 

[cadeucsb]

yes you can... but.. you will need to cut the dip tube. the yeast cake isnt fun to drink.

can you expand a bit on that?

 

[buzzkill]

you cut the dip tube an inch or so..this way you wont suck up the yeast. it would be better to ferment in 1 and xfer to diff to serve out of. I like to ferment in my sankey and rack to 2 cornys after its cleared. leaving the gunk behind to dump,or save for next round.

 

[Nohup]

You must know that after fermentation, there is a few inches of solid, nasty, trub in the bottom of the fermenter. (mostly made of yeast, break material and hops).
You do NOT want that coming up your dip tube and into your glass.
Some people cut a few inches off of their dip tubes so that they draw from above the trub, and get just the beer.

I have never done it that way, and think it would be a mistake to try.
Just ferment in one sanke, transfer to a second when it's done, put your spear into the second, cool, carb, and enjoy.

For a variety of reasons, mainly related to safety, I would never naturally carb a kegged beer. The volume in a sanke is difficult to measure, and there is no safety release on a sealed keg. It just seems like an accident waiting to happen.
Carb it up with the same CO2 your serving with, it takes less time and tastes all the same.

Enjoy your sankes, Once you go down that road, you'll never go back to buckets or carboys.

 

[cadeucsb]

you cut the dip tube an inch or so..this way you wont suck up the yeast. it would be better to ferment in 1 and xfer to diff to serve out of. I like to ferment in my sankey and rack to 2 cornys after its cleared. leaving the gunk behind to dump,or save for next round.

yea, i think I may ferment in my 6gal carboy, then secondary/carb in the sanke

 

[buzzkill]

this is a good read.


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