Fermenting in a Keg?

AGbrewer said:
I don't like fragile equipment, I'm kind of a bull in a china shop type person. I've dented/cracked plastic and glass in the past along with scratching each one. Not interested in doing it again.

Kegs just seem to fit the niche for what I want of being durable and sanitary on the cheap. I really do like all the comments that everyone has been bringing up, but to be honest, I think that I've about convinced myself to use kegs and run with 4 gallon batches. If I find that 4 gallon batches of Big Beers can't stay in a 5 gallon keg, I'll probably look into dropping the recipe size or forking over the money for a 7 or 8 gallon SS fermenter.
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Makes sense: 4 gallons in a 5-gallon keg gives you 20% head space, it can work. Good luck with it!
 
Mark Farrall said:
I've done batches in kegs, both primary and long term aging/secondary fermentation. My thoughts:
  • Batch size needs to leave a bit of headroom in the keg for the krausen.
  • You can sometimes struggle to get a seal at low pressures, so try lube on the seal or just add a little CO2 to get some pressure.
  • You'll need to either bag your dry hops or put a mesh filter around your dip tube (even after you've trimmed it a little) as the hops get disturbed and will block the disconnect
  • I have used trimmed and untrimmed dip tubes for different situations. A trimmed dip tube definitely makes it easier to start filling relatively clear beer straight away
  • Closed transfers are much easier
  • Add a bit of CO2 when you cold crash in case the keg doesn't seal and sucks in atmosphere
Currently I prefer my Speidels for primary fermentation and use the kegs for long term aging/secondary. Ball lock disconnects on the Speidels gives them fairly similar functionally.

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After seeing your post and picture I ordered up a Speidel fermenter. It arrived today, love the idea of having handles, Nice looking piece of equipment. Can't wait to try it out.
 
I recently bought a couple of Speidels, very happy with them
 
I have SS Brewbuckets and they are slick, but they aren't cheap.
 
I currently use the Anvil 7.5 Gallon SS Fermenter. Got it on sale for $79 when it first came out. They are near double that price now...

Really wish I wasn't such a cheap guy!
 
The Brew Mentor said:
Really wish I wasn't such a cheap guy!
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Remember when cleaning out that keg that your time is worth something.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but finding a place to bulk age 15 gallons of beer for 10 - 18 months isn't easy in my house. Plus, I'd have to clean out a glass carboy, plastic bucket, or something else anyways.
 
west1m said:
After seeing your post and picture I ordered up a Speidel fermenter. It arrived today, love the idea of having handles, Nice looking piece of equipment. Can't wait to try it out.
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Well I had a chance to try out the new Spidel fermenter today. First thing I noticed that I had not paid attention to before was it's not clear , I was used to watching the ferment churn and work. Next thing was when I stashed in my fridge for fermenting, it is bigger around than a Big Mouth Bubbler. I had to take out the catsup shelves in the door to get the door closed.
I have been using a new electric boil kettle. doesn't boil as vigerously as propane (110 V) . I dumped in the bittering hops asit began to boil then decided to boil longer to get the water the loss down to around a gallon. I went about an extra twenty minutes, will this make the beer more bitter?
 
Undoubtedly you'll have a few more isomerised alph acids, but there's a decent chance you won't be able to tell the difference. The isomerisation rate drops off somewhere after 60 minutes if I remember correctly. Then there's a whole bunch of losses through boiling and fermentation that tend to lower higher bitter beers more than lower bitter beers. So hard to say, but I'd be surprised if it will be enough to make it undrinkable.
 
It'll be more bitter but I doubt by much.
 
Also recon depends on what beer you brewed a darker malt forward beer will hide this better than a wheat bier for instance.
 
this is just a simple lightly hopped (trying to get away from the bitter taste) thing. "West1m Easy Ale" on the homepage "frementing Now" banner.
 
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