Using Corny Kegs for Fermenters

[Fatcatthegreat]

Was looking around the brewery (AKA garage) and noticed I had acquired about 10 5 gal corny kegs, all in decent shape. I had an epiphany (which was shocking since at my age they don't happen often and when they do you wonder if you are flashing back to the 60's). What is to keep someone from using a keg for a fermenter

Ok, I admit it. I hate siphons! Have since my first batch in 1967. I hate them so much I even quit brewing for a couple of years. You can modify a keg without too much trouble. Maybe shorten the dip pipe a bit and modify the top to accept a bubbler. Then you could do all your transfers using low pressure CO2. I figure I could transfer to another keg for secondary and to a third for bottling or carbonation in the keg. Siphons would be bye-bye.

I am sure someone outside of commercial brewers has done this. How did it work?

 

[Shackleford_rusty]

Ive never done it, but have seen threads of people doing it. They hook an airlock or a blow off tube onto the gas side post and they're ya go. Only downside i can think of is only being able to do a 4 gallon batch to allow headspace. Then having a gallon of airspace in serving keg that wil need to be purged.
BUT
If you would do a 8 gallon batch just fill 2 kegs. Make it more worth your while.

 

[MGamber]

Works great for me. I add 10 drops or so of Fermcap to keep the krausen down, transfer the wort from the kettle to the keg, pitch, put on the lid and I use a blowoff tube with a gas connector that runs to a jug with a couple pints of sanitizer in it. I used to remove the poppet in the post and the pin in the connector but after forgetting to remove the poppet once, I don't do that anymore and haven't had a problem. When fermentation is done I transfer to a serving keg with CO2. The only real drawback is that it kind of limits the size of the batch you can do but there are several upsides, such as minimizing contact with air to almost nothing, not siphoning and fitting several in a chest freezer converted to a temp controlled fermentation chamber.

I don't bother shortening the dip tube. When it's time to transfer, I pull the liquid connector off one end of the tube and apply gas and let it go until the beer is running clear. It's usually a pint or so. Then, while it's flowing, I push on the other connector (no air!) and push it onto the serving keg.

A corny is actually about 5 1/2 gallons, so you can do a full 5 gallon batch. The foam will clog the blow off tube a bit at high krausen so there's nothing for a few seconds and then it sounds like an Uzi, but that's nothing that will hurt the yeast or the beer.

 

[MGamber]

Oh...per temperature control, I've also had success with just taping the probe so the side of the keg with a folded paper towel over it to reduce influence from the ambient air temperature. No need to modify the keg at all. Kegs come in various sizes and, for fermenters, I use shorter, wider kegs because they fit in the freezer with a spunding valve. If you don't have those restrictions, any keg will work.

 

[BeardedBrews]

I have just recently switched and I am enjoying it so far. I'm using a floating cask pickup tube since my biab ends up leaving a bunch of trub that would be difficult to transfer. As a plus side, you can ferment under pressure and end up with a fully carbonated batch when you transfer to your serving keg.

 

[schematix]

Corny kegs are 5.25 gallons when completely full. I’ve carefully measured several different varieties.

 

[Iseneye]

Thread below is up to 538 posts. It's been thought of before.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/pressurized-closed-loop-corny-keg-fermenting.600563/

I have been fermenting in kegs for several years. I haven't had issues except when I was dry hopping in the primary keg. Poppets would clog during transfer which was irritating. There are ways around that.

 

[schematix]

Thread below is up to 538 posts. It's been thought of before.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/pressurized-closed-loop-corny-keg-fermenting.600563/

That's a good thread. I always keep a link to it in my signature.

 

[WesBrew]

just did 10 gallons with one for the first time with spunding valve. worked well. was nice with the other 7 gallon fermentor that has a valve at bottom. I had one vessel to test and taste from and the keg I just left alone.