What I did for beer today

[Cheshire Cat]

Today I kegged my Butty Bach clone 19 litres at 4.3%. I’ll give it 3 weeks to carbonate and condition.

 

[Deadalus]

Bought the PVC parts to assemble a keg washer so that I can wash my fermenters when I bottle next. Also, have a pump and small spray ball on the way from Amazon. Forgot the bucket though, stupid bucket.

In case you haven't seen these, I'd recommend one of two modifications to prevent "sudsing up" . This is best exemplified when washing a carboy. The suds and water build up in the fermenter because vacuum forms while draining.

1. Use a tote instead of a bucket, it spreads the suds out underneath.
2. A short section 6-10" ? of larger diameter >3/8" tubing in parallel to the rotary ball stem through the fermenter mouth. This would break the vacuum. This concept was suggested to me. I did not implement but used a tote. However, I have an SSBT keg washer now as well, and their design uses this idea. It works with a bucket. Probably could zip tie the tubing to the rotary stem. Though I haven't tried it yet on my DIY washer, this is likely the better option.

 

[Brockness Monster]

I like the vaccum breaker idea, especially considering I am using this on converted Sanke with a much small diameter opening. I will definitely try zip-tying a piece of tubing to the rotary ball stem. My only issue with a tub/tote is that I plan on using 4 lengths of 1" PVC as a floating "platform" for the keg to rest on and I am not sure that the longer length required for the tub/tote will hold the weight of the keg for very long. I am going to try it with a bucket, but I will keep this rec in mind if I start having issues with foam.

 

[ClaudiusB]

I messed up the brewing system.
I perform equipment checks to ensure my system diagnostic is functioning as designed and the faults are displayed on the correct local or remote displays.