Secondary in keg

[kjr24]

So guys I have anouther question. I have seen a couple people do there secondary right inside the keg. If I'm gonna put my next beer in the keg would this be easier, would I just be able to start carbination after a week or so in the keg?

 

[friarsmith]

You can definitely condition your beer in a keg, but for most ale strains you'll probably want to leave the beer in PF a bit longer than if you were transferring to secondary.

IMO, 2ndry is unecessary for most types of beer providing you exercise some patience. According to multiple sources much smarter than me, and 15 years of my own trial & error, your beer will benefit from "finishing out" on the yeast cake.

For most ales in the 5-7% abv range, I leave the beer in the PF 15-20 days (which gives time for dry hopping), then directly transfer to a keg.

My typical PF schedule for an American or English Ale strain is
7 days w/ keezer set to 60-65, or in chilly basement
4 days at 4-5* warmer than Days 1-7 to finish out ferm
7 days at 45-50* in the keezer (or a cold garage in the fall winter)

7-4-7... just like the airliner

Then after 2-3 days in the keg at 35-38*, add gelatin and carbonate at 10-12psi. Around day 28-30, after pushing out a half pint of gelatin sludge, the beer is fresh and ready!

 

[kjr24]

Ok so this seems like a pretty good schedule. If you don't mind me using it. I used a wirlfloc tab at 10 min with this help with clarity or will the gelatin be helpful too.

 

[55x11]

Ok so this seems like a pretty good schedule. If you don't mind me using it. I used a wirlfloc tab at 10 min with this help with clarity or will the gelatin be helpful too.

I use something similar - instead of sticking to "7 day fermentation" I check the gravity and yeast activity and when it's almost done and fermentation slows down, I ramp up the temperature - often to mid-70ies, for at least a few days of finishing it up and yeast cleaning up after itself. It could be 4-5 days after fermentation, or it could be 8-10 days, but 7 is probably about the average. After that I cold-crash it (cool it down to 35F or so) and once it's below 40, I gelatin it, wait another 24 hours or so and keg it.
I prefer to gelatin in fermenter so I don't need to deal with gelatin sludge in the keg, which could clog dip tube.

I don't do 7 days of cold-conditioning. This can be accomplished in the keg.

Dry-hopping can be done in the keg or in the fermenter. I do it both ways, depending on schedule etc. Dry-hopping on the back end of active fermentation will give you different flavor than in the keg when beer is clear. I also like when hops stay in the keg for entire duration of serving - disadvantage is that dry-hopping in keg is likely to introduce a bit more oxygen than clean transfer from fermenter into CO2 purged keg.

 

[friarsmith]

Ok so this seems like a pretty good schedule. If you don't mind me using it. I used a wirlfloc tab at 10 min with this help with clarity or will the gelatin be helpful too.

There's nothing proprietary about the schedule I use, so use it if it works for you. I generally plan/schedule 3-4 brewdays in succession then take a break for a month, so, for example an ale might be chilling/clarifying at 45-50 degrees for the final 5-7 days in PF in the same keezer that a lager is in the first 7 days of primary.

When used with a good post-boil whirlpool, irish moss or whirlfloc reduce trub in your primary fermenter, which helps final clarity. Gelatin and other fining agents give the beer a polished look and are useful if you're trying to get a more clear beer in less time. They're not mutually exclusive. If I could only use one, I'd go with whirlfloc/moss.

 

[kjr24]

OK guys, thank you for the helpful tips.