Fermenting in keg

[baldockm]

Hi, I've kept my head down on this forum but learned much from you all over the last few years - thank you.

I am currently doing my first fermentation in a corny keg. I've just dialled down the temperature to cold crash but I don't know if I should be preparing the keg in any way. I purchased a spunding valve for future pressure experiments and have attached it to the keg - it arrived too late for most of the action so I attached it out of curiosity really - after dry hopping. The keg has 8psi in it.

Should I remove the spunding valve, add more pressure or do anything other than let it get cold?

many thanks
Martyn

 

[RGeats]

Hi, I've kept my head down on this forum but learned much from you all over the last few years - thank you.

I am currently doing my first fermentation in a corny keg. I've just dialled down the temperature to cold crash but I don't know if I should be preparing the keg in any way. I purchased a spunding valve for future pressure experiments and have attached it to the keg - it arrived too late for most of the action so I attached it out of curiosity really - after dry hopping. The keg has 8psi in it.

Should I remove the spunding valve, add more pressure or do anything other than let it get cold?

many thanks
Martyn

I would say leave the spunding valve attached so you can monitor pressure. I'd be concerned of the pressure dropping too much as the CO2 is absorbed. I'm not sure how much head space you have in a corny when fermentating, but can't imagine it's a lot.

Are you going to transfer from the corny after cold crashing, or serving from it? Either way you will probably want higher pressure to carbonate anyway. So you could safely add more pressure now to mitigate the risk of the pressure dropping too much.

 

[baldockm]

I would say leave the spunding valve attached so you can monitor pressure. I'd be concerned of the pressure dropping too much as the CO2 is absorbed. I'm not sure how much head space you have in a corny when fermentating, but can't imagine it's a lot.

Are you going to transfer from the corny after cold crashing, or serving from it? Either way you will probably want higher pressure to carbonate anyway. So you could safely add more pressure now to mitigate the risk of the pressure dropping too much.

Ok, thanks. I’ll keep an eye on it and add more pressure when it drops. I don’t really understand the physics but have read elsewhere, subsequent to posing the question here, that the keg should be able to handle the ‘vacuum’? Ok.

I’ll be transferring to a new keg to serve.

 

[RGeats]

The keg will unlikely hold a vacuum I don't think. They are designed to seal under pressure, so if you start drawing a vacuum I think air will find its way in.