Brewing Master

Question:

Concerning 15.5 gal. kegs: I got an Anheuser Busch keg (for which I paid a $5 deposit at a keg shop, and got a recipt for) and cut the top off of it.  This required a carbide-tipped drill bit and four carbide-tipped jigsaw blades (I know that a Saw’s All would make quick work of this). I tried to make a brew with this keg and was disappointed when I discovered that the beer had a terrible metallic taste; I suspect that the keg was made of some funky aluminum alloy and the wort leached the metal somehow – anyway, I threw out the batch. Moral of this story: Make sure your keg is SS; and it is probably worth buying a reasonably priced keg with a faucet already attached. Happy Brewing, Jack Portland, OR "Sorry, my karma ran over your dogma."

Response:

: Concerning 15.5 gal. kegs: Do you have any more details?  I was about to do the same because I heard so many other people using the kegs.  Are sure sure it was aluminum?  I thought most (all) of them are stainless steel.  How did you clean it beofre you used it? rolf : I got an Anheuser Busch keg (for which I paid a $5 deposit : at a keg shop, and got a recipt for) and cut the top off of : it.  This required a carbide-tipped drill bit and four : carbide-tipped jigsaw blades (I know that a Saw’s All would : make quick work of this). : I tried to make a brew with this keg and was disappointed : when I discovered that the beer had a terrible metallic taste; : I suspect that the keg was made of some funky aluminum alloy : and the wort leached the metal somehow – anyway, I threw out : the batch. : Moral of this story: : Make sure your keg is SS; and it is probably worth buying : a reasonably priced keg with a faucet already attached. : Happy Brewing, : Jack : Portland, OR : "Sorry, my karma ran over your dogma." — Rolf B. Erickson            | Alloy Technology Division   | Alcoa Technical Center      | Aluminum Company of America | (412) 337-4742              |

Response:

: how about physically moving the keg after the boil?  15 gallons of beer : up on a platform is a problem.  6 gallons is barely doable with 1 man, : and strongly prefers two. : The big problem is lifting the pot off the burner and getting it to : groundlevel; the rest is awkward but straightforward. The #2 design requirement of my system was that at no time would a filled keg ever have to be moved during a complete brew cycle–we use a pump to move the wort from the kettle to the fermenter. — Kirk R Fleming

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hello. . . I was wondering if you could take a SS keg (15 gals.?) that has been converted to a brewpot (ie.-hole cut in top w/ lid, and valve on bottom) and cool the wort, then primary ferment in it? I thought I ‘heard’ someone talking about this here. . . I realize that the lid would have to be as tight fitting as possible (with a small hole drilled in it for an airlock), possibly with a removeable seal of some sort? I’m trying to figure an efficient way to do full 10 gal. boils, ferment in the pot, then drain off into 2-5 gal. carboys. for secondary. The only major obsticals I see are: -getting the cold break/trub/etc. out before primary -making an efficient custom airtight lid -outside boils (ala King Kooker) -getting a quality keg for small $$ that I can modify to make lid of my specs. Any thoughts? (Especially from the guy that was doing this) Thanks in advance!! jeffrey green

I’ve never fermented on the hot/cold break and hops but I have used my SS pot for a fermenter. Whenever I brew a fruit beer I rack from the primary into my brewpot full of fruit. Then just place the lid on. No need for drilling a hole for an airlock. The CO2 escapes around the edges of the lid and positive pressure keeps out airborne nasties. There is also no worry of clogged airlocks or blowoff tubes. Andy Donohue PS The fermentation also removes any carmelized sugar from the inside of your brew pot.    

Response:

Hello. . . I was wondering if you could take a SS keg (15 gals.?) that has been converted to a brewpot (ie.-hole cut in top w/ lid, and valve on bottom) and cool the wort, then primary ferment in it? I thought I ‘heard’ someone talking about this here. . . I realize that the lid would have to be as tight fitting as possible (with a small hole drilled in it for an airlock), possibly with a removeable seal of some sort? I’m trying to figure an efficient way to do full 10 gal. boils, ferment in the pot, then drain off into 2-5 gal. carboys. for secondary. The only major obsticals I see are: -getting the cold break/trub/etc. out before primary -making an efficient custom airtight lid -outside boils (ala King Kooker) -getting a quality keg for small $$ that I can modify to make lid of my specs. Any thoughts? (Especially from the guy that was doing this) Thanks in advance!! jeffrey green

Response:

Several folks (at least) use Sankey kegs for fermenters.  I went to a lot of trouble fitting a gasket to a 10" hole in the top of the keg and fitting the lid itself with an airlock, but one r.c.b told me I was going overkill–just cut a hole in the keg that a standard stainless or glass pan lid fits into and call it done.  IOW, he just allows the CO2 to escape around the edges of the lid–sort of a semi-open ferment, and claims this has been no problem for him. — Kirk R Fleming -BEER: It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

Response:

The only major obsticals I see are: -getting the cold break/trub/etc. out before primary -making an efficient custom airtight lid -outside boils (ala King Kooker) -getting a quality keg for small $$ that I can modify to make lid of my

how about physically moving the keg after the boil?  15 gallons of beer up on a platform is a problem.  6 gallons is barely doable with 1 man, and strongly prefers two. The big problem is lifting the pot off the burner and getting it to groundlevel; the rest is awkward but straightforward. — R E HAWKINS

Response: