5 gal keg for fermenting 2.5 gal batches

[SmallScaleOperator]

Hi all,
I am looking to up my batch sizes from 1.3 gallon to 2.5 gallon. I am think of to packaging in 2.5 gallon kegs, and fermenting in a 5 gallon corny so I can do pressure ferments and low O2 transfers.

Any thoughts on using a 5 gallon keg. Will that be too much headspace for say a 3 gallon ferment?

 

[McKnuckle]

Not at all a problem, in fact it's perfect. Nothing (O2) will get into that headspace unless you cause it to happen. I also make 2.5 gal batches and sometimes ferment in a larger keg (5 or 3 gallons under pressure). Get yourself a top draw dip tube like the one at William's Brewing and you'll be off to the races.

 

[juggabrew]

Yes! It’s awesome and I loved it when I was doing 3 gal batches. One thing I did was trim the liquid dip tube about 3/4” to leave yeast trub behind. I vented from the gas in post to a jar of starsan(only once did I hook up to the wrong post...beer was all over the bottom of chest freezer).

 

[GTaylor]

That is what I do with my batches and it works great, allows for easy closed transfers. I didn't trim the dip tube, just push the trub through a blow off tube and then connect the transfer hose when there is clear beer. Haven't had a problem with a blocked post yet

 

[SmallScaleOperator]

Thanks for the responses, I didn’t know if 2.5 gallons would have too much headspace in a 5 gallon keg. I’ve seen those floating draw tubes too and thought that may be a good option. How do you all dry hop inside these?
We are moving the summer so I’ll probably switch over once we are settled into our new location.

 

[Robert65]

Hi all,
I am looking to up my batch sizes from 1.3 gallon to 2.5 gallon. I am think of to packaging in 2.5 gallon kegs, and fermenting in a 5 gallon corny so I can do pressure ferments and low O2 transfers.

Any thoughts on using a 5 gallon keg. Will that be too much headspace for say a 3 gallon ferment?

I run a 6 gallon ferment (for a 5 gallon kegged batch) in a 10 gallon corny, exactly the same proportions. I use a floating dip tube to rack. Best system I've ever found.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I ferment in kegs and absolutely love it. It's great being able to do completely closed transfers easily and cold crash under pressure. Also makes spunding possible. Clean-up is a breeze too, much easier than trying to clean a plastic carboy. I used to do smaller batches to fill my 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs but lately I've scaled up and try to do as big a batch as I can fit in the keg, I aim for about 4.25 gallons into the fermenter. I eventually came to the realization that for the same amount of work I wanted to get an extra gallon or two out of my brew day.

I tried the floating dip tube and had issues with it clogging or leaving too much beer behind so my preferred method became using one of those canister hop filters and drilling out a hole in the top and inserting the liquid dip tube into it inside the keg. I still have to trim the dip tube since it can't reach the deepest point in the keg but only by about 1/2 inch or so. If I'm doing a batch that's heavily dry hopped I'll wrap the canister with a mesh bag for extra filtering. Doing it this way I've had flawless transfers every time with very little beer left behind.

 

[McKnuckle]

@VirginiaHops1 did you only have problems with dry hops clogging the floating dip tube, or also with yeast/trub?

 

[VirginiaHops1]

@VirginiaHops1 did you only have problems with dry hops clogging the floating dip tube, or also with yeast/trub?

Yes, dry hops clogged it badly. I pretty much would only use the floating dip tube in my primary fermenter and dry hop in another keg(using canister filter). But even in my primary keg the floating dip tube was finicky and would sometimes leave too much beer behind, so I've since pretty much ditched it altogether.

 

[McKnuckle]

Thank you. I have two brands of floating tubes - the cheaper William's Brewing one with the simple ball, and the Clear Beer Draught System with its heavier design. I have a hop filter for the CBDS as well, but I haven't used it yet since I don't dry hop much.

So far I have only fermented in a keg and served without transferring, which has been a mostly good experience. I say "mostly" because one time, I guess the gunk at the bottom was floating around pretty high, and at a certain point, the beer started getting cloudy. Eventually I had to cut it short.

Next time, I plan to ferment and then transfer to a fresh keg, hence my question about clogging.

I do use the floating tubes for serving "clean" kegs, too, and have no complaints about that application.