Carbing/Conditioning in a Cube before keg

Just wondering if anyone has done this before??

I'm thinking about getting a kegging setup going over the next month or so however at $70 odd per keg i'd be interested to know if using a 20L Cube after fermentation then bulk prime it then letting it carb naturally over a month or two then transferring to keg to dispense is a stupid idea?? is it not done???

if it is stupid how long can one rack a secondary off safely for (straight from fermenter to a cube no priming etc)


Iv noticed with my bottled beers how much better even kits taste after a good 6-8 weeks of conditioning... i would like to be able to have 1 in the keg on the pour, 2+ in the cube conditioning, leaves room for 1 in the fermenter and a couple of No-Chill cubes around to get the process running perfect.....


my alternative is to just try and streamline the bottle cleaning process, i dont mind bottling i just hate cleaning and sanitizing them by hand, i use far too much sanitizer up and it takes me way too long to do 30 bottles......

 

Why would you bother? If you can't afford kegs, just keep your fermented beer in the fermenter/cube at 2C for 6 weeks. When you're ready to drink, drain into keg and force carb it, drink next day.

 

so racking off to secondary with a upto 6 week cold condition is quite feasible??

sounds good enough for me

cheers

 

the cube wont take the pressure of full carbonation.
also just sitting at room temp in just a cube is just asking for an infection.

 

Yes, as long as your sanitation techniques are sound your beer will be stable at 1 degree for 6weeks.

 

personnaly i wouldnt even bother racking to secondary and risking infection and oxidation. the yeast will be quite stable at cold conditioning temps.

 

I have been carbing and conditioning in cubes for over five years, they are great for cask conditioning. I don’t have a kegging setup, I just dispense from the cube tap or sometimes connect my beer engine.

The only issue I have found is the tap may drip under pressure. You can fix this by pulling the tap apart and smearing a little Vaseline in the groove.

To pull the tap apart put it in a cup of boiling water for a few seconds, it will expand and pull it apart easily. I use pliers to grip the top.

Cheers Sean

 

You may be surprised at the pressure a cube can take. I posted a picture of one of my cube casks here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/68215-fermenting-in-cube-forcing-expansion-to-create-head-space/#entry962744

 

Yikes, I would certainly not be relying on this! That's one hell of a mess to clean up if one of the seams goes or if the tap gets pushed out!

Cheers,
tallie

 

It does sound a bit dodgy but if you think about it it’s no different from priming glass bottles, probably safer. If you over prime bottles the first you know about it is when they go bang. Cubes just swell up slowly so you have a visual indication of what’s going on and can release the pressure.

I just keep an eye on them for the first few days and if they swell up so much that I can’t slip my fingers under the handle I just drink a pint or two.
I have never had a seam split or a tap pushed out the only problem was the taps dripped a little when I started but Vaseline sorted that out.

Cubes are a great cheap alternative to kegs for brewers fed up with bottling or just want to try cask conditioned “real ale”.

I brought back real ale casks from the UK but prefer to use 15 litre cubes as I can dispense the first 5 litres without having to let any air in, the rest will keep for about 7or 8 days @ in the fridge. I only use my casks for our club events as once tapped they need to be used in 3 or 4 days.

Cheers

 

sounds like and interesting idea for a disposable camping / day out / party keg

 

If you are going camping / day out, it is best to rack of the yeast to another cube before you travel and drink it within 3 days. UK breweries transfer to a clean cask if it they are sending beer to real ale fest and it won’t have time to settle.

 

The various methods above are great for UK style ales. If you are short of temperature-controlled space or kegs, I make better use of the existing fridge real estate and bring the beers on more quickly by:

Fermenting in primary in the temp control fridge, then crashing it down to around -1 degree for a couple of days to substantially settle

Transfer to a 20L vessel like my BCF water "tub" where the beer comes almost to the rim and can be CO2 flushed, and pop it in my hops/grains fridge freezer and just let it sit as if it's a big bottle, till there's a keg free. Cube would also be good but I've had problems finding a cube that holds exactly 20L which is why the BCF one is absolutely brilliant.

Depending on the yeast it can still work very slowly at the 4 degrees or whatever in the fridge so on kegging it's already a bit spritzy on the tongue and is perfect for UK ale after only a day or so in the kegmate. Advantage of getting it into the other fridge is that it frees up the fermentation fridge for the next batch, plus you have matured, bright keg-ready beer whenever it's needed.

 

my God home brewers are an inventive, inquisitive, experimental bunch! love yous alls AHB'ers!

 

i guaranty that you wont get anywhere near 2.7 volumes in a cube before they bust. you would be lucky to get more than one volume in there. it might be fine for most of the british styles which are suppose to have very low carbonation.

as for your point about it being no different to bottles, wrong they have been designed as a pressure vessel where as the cubes your using havent been

 

Sorry Didn’t mean to cause offence I assumed you had not tried carbing a cube, just saying you may be surprised at the pressure they can hold I know I was.

Not sure how many volumes you can get in a cube before they bust but when I have over primed them the beer has been over carbonated.

I know cubes are not bottles and not designed as pressure vessels, I just meant if you over prime them they won’t burst without warning like bottles can, they slowly swell up like crazy so you can release pressure before they burst. The keg I use as a kettle wasn’t designed for that and my esky wasn’t designed to be used as a mash tun but it works well.

The op didn’t ask if you could get near 2.7 volumes in a cube, just asked if anyone had bulk primed a cube and let it carb naturally. I was just letting him know that I had. He also said he didn’t like cleaning and sanitising 30 bottles, so just letting him know he could dispense from a cube.

I also find bottling and cleaning a pain and as I brew all grain have streamlined my brewing to about 6 hours every two or three weeks. I only need to clean and sanitise three cubes the fermenter and chiller while I am pottering about during the mash and boil.

Anyway I think Bribie G response is more in line with what the op wanted to know.

Cheers

 

So here's what might be a stupid question.

Why is leaving beer in a cube at room temperature "asking for an infection" but people can leave beer in secondary fermentation for months with no problems? Aren't they basically the same thing? Finished beer sitting around outside the fridge?

 

Cubes WILL take the pressure of secondary fermentation. In fact I pressurise to 12 psi to pour with no issues. A very effective and cost efficient party keg!!

 

Holy shit. Someone is going to cop a hell of a blast in their face following the above advice. A keg costs maybe 2.5 - 3x a cube. Do the maths.

FFS, don't endanger yourselves for cheap beer!


Sheesh!

 

Many uses, no blasts or failures yet nick!!