Comments on the Fermtor BS show

[Push Eject]

Because of the inherent danger, I don't like advocating the transfer from a carboy though CO2 pressure. While the risk of something happen might be low, if properly monitored, the consequences, if something happens, can be fatal.

Glad to see you posting over here again, Kaiser. This is a little overly dramatic.

I, for one, do advocate it. I've been doing it for 10 years. Like anything else in life, if you do it drunk you'll probably get hurt.

I also have found that the carboy cap fails before the glass explodes. Just don't be an idiot. Take personal responsibility. Stick to just enough pressure to move the liquid and you'll be fine. I just do a few bursts of 5psi to move 5 gallons.

Cheers.

[bikefoolery]

Update to Corney vd Carboy experiment.

Hydrometer readings at 2 weeks.

(1) 1.014
(2) 1.017

Tasting was similar as above.

The Fool.

[Kaiser]

Glad to see you posting over here again, Kaiser.

Thanks. I’m on an off. There is a lot of knowledge here, so I peek in from time to time. I try not to spread myself to thin when it comes to brewing forum attendance.

I, for one, do advocate it. I've been doing it for 10 years. Like anything else in life, if you do it drunk you'll probably get hurt.

I hear you. It’s just b/c I heard about carboys exploding just from yeast getting clogged in the air lock. That’s why I think the carboy cap may or may not come off before the glass breaks. Due to its smaller area, the force pushing out the carboy cap is much less than the force pushing out the glass. Just think about some one who gets a clogged line and thinks that he can push it out with more pressure. Unlike a full carboy, where there is not much gas that can suddenly expand, an almost empty carboy can be like a bomb.

Not trying to push my opinion, just offering my thoughts on the subject. And since you guys are listened to by a wide audience it might be useful to limit the liability. Just like the warnings that people give about changing the wiring of a AC unit: If you don’t know what you are doing, let it be.

I used to rack with air pressure applied through a hand pump. But the assembly of the carboy cap and getting it on was too much work for me. I’m with Jamil. A simple siphon started with the turkey baster is easier and involves less parts. I even cut off the bent end of the racking cane so I can clean it with the dip tube brush.

Kai

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Buckets can be an excellent choice also. I don't think any of these is really a "bad" choice. Just different pluses and minuses.

And it depends on the pluses and minuses you as a brewer want to put up with.

[Brewchief]

All of my 10 gallon batches are fermented in 10 gallon kegs with no noticeable difference to bucket/carboy fermenting. But then they are the same height as a corny with of course a greater circumference, so they are relatively closer in shape.

[NAVET]

I'm new, VERY NEW, to brewing and have been listening to just about every beer related podcast I can find. I was listening to the podcast and jamilz (I think it was him anyway) mentioned he would like to have food grade bags to put in a bucket for fermentation.
http://www.foodgradebag.com/Catalog/Shop.html
Is this what you guys were talking about? They are a bit pricey, but they are out there.

[bikefoolery]

Update to Corney vs Carboy experiment.

Hydrometer readings at 3 weeks.

(1) 1.014
(2) 1.016

Hydrometer readings at 4 weeks.

(1) 1.014
(2) 1.016


Tasting notes from hydrometer samples: Sample (1) has slightly better hop aromatics and better balanced. Not as sweet as sample (2). Both are good tasting beers, but may be a little under bittered for the style. Most likely from using hop bags in the boil kettle and getting lower utilization. Will be easier for my BMC fan friends to enjoy.

Going to bottle this weekend. Will let all of you know how the final product turned out in about a month.

The Fool.

[JKoravos]

I generally agree with Kai, I don't see an obvious technical reason why a corny would be that much different than any other fermentor that homebrewers are using. I've thought about fermenting in one, but the main reason I don't is safety. If you think about the path which the CO2 has to travel to get out of the keg, it's a pretty small cross-section I don't think it would be that difficult for both the gas outlet and the pressure relief to become clogged with trub and gunk, which would lead to a pretty catastrophic failure of the keg. Maybe it's not a likely occurrence, but it certainly triggers the safety bell in my head. I've sat on plenty of safety reviews for chemical process equipment. I doubt that fermenting in a corney would pass one of those reviews.


BTW, good job on the experiment, bf.