Lawrence Brewers Guild

We have two half barrel kegs that I was going to turn into brewing equipment and I was wondering what everyone thinks would be a good combination.

We are still brewing kits (have only brewed all grain a few times, thanks to a very generous gentleman and his brewing partner) and we would like to make the jump to all grain soon (in the next 1/2 year or so).

Personally, I think that I want one of them to be a fermentor so we could have something to ferment the larger batches we will be producing (also I think that it would fit perfectly in the fridge that we bought for that purpose, or. . . at least it would fit better than building a shelf and trying to fit two 6.5 gallon glass carboys in it).

I have seen various sanke fermentors in the forum and on the web and they all seem a little different. Some use CO2 to push out and some use arms. . . . .

The other one could either be a brew kettle or mash tun (sp?) I guess. . . not really sure. I think that brew kettle would be more valuable, but that might limit our brewing to 15 gallons (I think).

I guess it comes down to me not knowing the best use of the two kegs. . . I just don't want to make something and later find out that I limited my brewery or could have done it a different/better way.

We would be using the excellent skills of Swagman to do most/if not all of the work so I would need specifics to tell him what we are looking for. Though I bet if we just told him what we are looking for in an end product he could make it happen easily. . . that guy has produced some AMAZING work!

Thanks for all of your input, advice and support in advance!

Id use them for a Keggle and a HLT. Find a cooler for a MT. Use as a fermenter brings about issues of how you are going to clean it. Thats why there are so many designs.

HLT=Hot liquor tank, right? Is that a mash tun or different?

Is a keggle is just a word for a keg turned into something (mash tun or boil kettle)?

Sorry, never good at abbreviations.

Anyone that turned a keg into a fermentor have advice on how to clean and what not?

Sorry.

Yes. A HLT is a vessel just to heat water in either for strike and/or sparge water. If you use a cooler as a MT, you cannot heat water in it to strike your grains, so another vessel has to do that. And no matter if you choose to batch or fly sparge, you will need a vessel to heat that water up with too. So this is why I suggested using your kegs as a HLT and a Kettle.

Keggle= A keg turned into Kettle!

If you use a keg as a mash tun, you are limitted to about 12-13 gallons at about 1.080 wort (about 25-28 lbs grain). I have done a 1.101 with 31 lbs of grain in the keggle and it was a bugger.

If you do not have a keg washer, I would stay away from using the kegs for fermentation.

Whatever you choose, a March pump will be in order.

Jason

I do have the equipment to make a keg washer. . . . just haven't had time to make it yet.

All very good points. . . anyone else?

rushrich wrote:I do have the equipment to make a keg washer. . . . just haven't had time to make it yet.

All very good points. . . anyone else?

What are your plans on converting one to a fermenter?
What are your plans for a keg washer?

A keg washer should also have a heating element in it. PBW works like a charm with hot water, around 150*. Also, beer stone is going to be a huge problem with a stainless fermenter. So a acid wash using Five Star Acid #5 should be considered at 120*.
Here is a excellent protocol..This is what Brick does at 23rd..

15-20 min PBW wash at 150*
Plain water rinse (triple rinse is the old fashion way of saying it)
15-20 min Acid 5 wash at 120*
Plain water rinse
Your choice of sanitizer (Starsan)

This is a must thing to do. You can get away with build up in a Keggle, but you cannot in a SS fermenter. You will also be surprised how quickly beer stone will form. If you dont keep up a protocol it will build up over a few batches and its a bitch to remove and will cause off flavors in your beer.

Great advice. I had to google beer stone and it does look like something that I don't want in my brewery.

Hmmmm. . . .

I've got a simple keg washing setup with a cleaning regimen similar to Andy's. Works great for my sanke fermenters. White vinegar with some salt with also remove beer stone if you don't have an acid like Andy mentioned. One of these days you and Mike should stop by to check it out.

Fwiw...Acid 5 and PBW is available at Foxx and on the grain buys....

I use my keg washer all the time. It is one of the most useful brewing tools I have. It is used to clean my rig, wash carboys, clean/sanitize CFC and clean/sanitize kegs.

Build one and make your life easier.

What I built:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1924&hilit=+keg+washer

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2032&hilit=+keg+washer

Jason