HELP! King keg

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DanBoldock

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Hello I am new here and need help I have already made a couple of brews that went well with equipment I borrowed from a friend so I decided to buy my own gear. Went to the local brew shop in Sheffield and the guy recommended a king keg top tap with an s30 so I bought the lot and a Yule brew (cinnamon and ginger) for x-mass now what I need help with is the following

1. He advised you can do the first fermentation in the keg itself without using a fermentation bin is this correct and if so do you leave the lid loose or seal it? (Surely you would be left with sediment)
2. Do you have to add sugar to the second fermentation like the instructions usually recommend
3. The kit Yule brew any tips and it doesn’t say to add brewing sugar at the start?
4. My mane concern is the start of the brew using only a single barrel

Many thanks guys
 
The guy in the home brew shop must have been a trainee or something.

Brew the beer in a fermenting bucket, once it's done transfer into your King Keg and add priming sugar. Stick it somewhere warm for a couple of weeks for secondary fermentation to take place, then preferably somewhere cooler for another couple of weeks to condition, then drink!

I theory you could use a keg to ferment in but you want to transfer it into another keg to secondary ferment and serve. Buckets are much cheaper though.
 
Idiot assistant,if you bought the shooting match ie fermenting bucket and barell then why ferment in the barrel? Anyway brewing bucket for 2 weeks then two weeks in barell in warm area and two in a cooler area before drinking,2+2+2 rule and if possible take hydrometer readings on brew day and barrelling day making sure the hydrometer gives stable readings over the final few days of the fermentation
 
Thanks guys I thought it was strange he told me this but another person in the shop (customer) also said you can do this and he does it with his king keg I just can’t see it or understand how this works think am going to stick to what I know and have tried, but I thought if I can do it with one barrel then why not am just unsure as all instructions you get for brews obviously include using a ferm at the start of the process.

Do you still add brewing sugar at the beginning and what sugar would you recommend for the priming on the second firm. Any tips to dissolve the sugar first? (On second brew)
 
DanBoldock said:
Thanks guys I thought it was strange he told me this but another person in the shop (customer) also said you can do this and he does it with his king keg I just can’t see it or understand how this works think am going to stick to what I know and have tried, but I thought if I can do it with one barrel then why not am just unsure as all instructions you get for brews obviously include using a ferm at the start of the process.

Do you still add brewing sugar at the beginning and what sugar would you recommend for the priming on the second firm. Any tips to dissolve the sugar first? (On second brew)
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention the top tap comes with a flotation device sodraws beer from the top does this still mean I have to use a firm bin as most of the sediment will drop anway?
 
Hi!
If you have bought the Bulldog Brews Yule Brew Beer Kit, this is a two-can kit that requires no additional sugar for primary fermentation. Ferment in a brewing bucket, as has been suggested. When fermentation is complete, dissolve your priming sugar (ordinary household sugar) in a small amount of boiling water, allow to cool and pour into the bottom of your King Keg. Rack the fermented beer into the King Keg on top of the sugar solution, set up the float, seal the keg and leave somewhere warm for two weeks.
 
Bigcol49 said:
Hi!
If you have bought the Bulldog Brews Yule Brew Beer Kit, this is a two-can kit that requires no additional sugar for primary fermentation. Ferment in a brewing bucket, as has been suggested. When fermentation is complete, dissolve your priming sugar (ordinary household sugar) in a small amount of boiling water, allow to cool and pour into the bottom of your King Keg. Rack the fermented beer into the King Keg on top of the sugar solution, set up the float, seal the keg and leave somewhere warm for two weeks.
Click to expand...
Cheers mate

I’ve spoken to the guy in the shop again to clarify a couple of things and he stands by the point you can use the one barrel but he didn’t realise about the hops that are added on the 4th day so he said on the 8th day remove the bag and prime the brew in the same barrel as pressure will have been lost he told me to slur the mix with the dissolved sugar in to start the second fermentation.

It makes sense am just concerned about sediment in the valve as he says not to open the barrel but forgot about the hops
 
If you ferment in the king keg with the lid on, you basically have a quite powerful bomb. if you then open it to dry hop, the lid will likely take your head off on the way to embedding itself in the ceiling. Do yourself a favour and buy a fermentation bucket like every other homebrewer in the world. :wink:
 
stevey said:
If you ferment in the king keg with the lid on, you basically have a quite powerful bomb.
Click to expand...

The King Keg has a primitive automatic pressure release valve in the form of an elastic band around a hole in the valve body.
 
DanBoldock said:
I’ve spoken to the guy in the shop again to clarify a couple of things and he stands by the point you can use the one barrel but he didn’t realise about the hops that are added on the 4th day so he said on the 8th day remove the bag and prime the brew in the same barrel as pressure will have been lost he told me to slur the mix with the dissolved sugar in to start the second fermentation.
Click to expand...

What he's advocating is keeping the beer on top of the dormant yeast and trub for the entire lifespan of the brew. Since it's under pressure in the King Keg I'd be a little concerned about off-flavours developing over time. You'd be much better served by using a bucket like the rest of the world (except that assistant).
 
Hi!
Of course, you could ferment in the KK without tightly sealing the lid - that would allow the CO2 to escape, just like a brewing bucket. There would be no pressure build up when opening the lid to add hops.
 
DanBoldock said:
Cheers mate

I’ve spoken to the guy in the shop again to clarify a couple of things and he stands by the point you can use the one barrel but he didn’t realise about the hops that are added on the 4th day so he said on the 8th day remove the bag and prime the brew in the same barrel as pressure will have been lost he told me to slur the mix with the dissolved sugar in to start the second fermentation.

It makes sense am just concerned about sediment in the valve as he says not to open the barrel but forgot about the hops
Click to expand...
The first advice is simple.... ignore what man in shop tells you.
Next buy a fermentation vessel (FV) and use that for the primary. You could consider buying an airlock to use with it although this is not mandatory.
Then add hops that you have bought with the kit when the fermentation has died down. Personally I would do this about day eight. Leave hops in for five or six days. At this time the primary should have finished and the beer is starting to clear of yeast. However you will need to check with a hydrometer ideally on two consecutive days when you should have the same reading. Then siphon off to your PB and prime as instructed. You can either add the sugar as a cooled boiled solution or just chuck the sugar straight into the PB and fill up on top of it like I do.
And I agree with Foxbat. It's not a good idea to leave your beer on the trub (dead yeast cells etc) for an extended time, that's why everyone uses a separate FV before packaging (except perhaps the man in shop).
 
foxbat said:
The King Keg has a primitive automatic pressure release valve in the form of an elastic band around a hole in the valve body.
Click to expand...

His shop assistant didn't appear to tell him not to do the lid up though. Even with the release valve it will still be holding a lot of pressure. Have you ever taken the lid of an empty one after a couple days without venting?
Imagine if the shop assistant says that to every complete novice homebrewer...
 
Thanks guys took your advice I had already started the brew in the KK but less than 24 hours later I transferred it to a FV and it was interesting the pressure was unbelievable I don’t believe the 2 way valve worked as well as it should have if I had taken the lid straight off am sure it would have hit the ceiling had to take it outside and use a sterilised drip tray for it to overflow into whilst I released it slowly.

Thanks again looking forward to a xmass brew in a few weeks going to take it slow and steady with this one not rushing it like the last two
 

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