PRODUCTS USED IN THIS VIDEO AVAILABLE AT MOREBEER! 🔥 FermZilla Tri-Conical - www.morebeer.com/products/fermzilla-conical-fermenter-71-gal-27-1.html BlowTie 2 Spunding Valve - www.morebeer.com/products/blowtie-2-spunding-valve-complete-kit.html BrewBuilt™ X2 Jacketed Uni Conical Fermenter - www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x1-jacketed-conical-fermenter.html BrewBuilt™ Spunding Valve - www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-pro-spunding-valve-1-bar.html BrewBuilt™ Kit for Fermenting Under Pressure - www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x1-uni-conical-pressure-fermentation-kit-1.html Subscribe to MoreBeer! on UA-cam - ua-cam.com/channels/v58v5jA_N-kdVMpLB-yL5w.html
Suprised you guys didn't mention using a corny keg for pressure fermentations. Just add a floating diptube and you have a great budget unitank. Excellent video otherwise.
I have been brewing under pressure for almost 10 brews this year. I primarily brew only lagers, and I brew at about 62-65f at 12psi for most of them. Able to get a brew faster, and cleaner... and have never had a lager with off flavors (besides maybe sulfur).
Good rationale and tips. They sign with my experience as well with the exception that I always use 15 psi for every yeast stain without any problems. Going too much over that, I have noticed incomplete fermentation though. I’ve been pressure fermenting ales and lagers since 2017 and haven’t looked back. It’s a great way to ferment for most beer styles except those that benefit from esters such as Hefeweizen.
@@markosolaris550 I generally do not. It negatively impacts the ester production which is what gives ales much of their flavor. If I do, it’s mainly because I want a very slight positive pressure to account for slightly elevated room temperature or to ensure a positive seal against air getting into my fermenter.
I tried pressure brewing 5 batches ago, all ales, and I'll try a lager soon. Every ale has brewed faster and tasted smoother than before, smooth like lagers. Next batch will be a lager. :) I brew ales at 15 PSI and every one's been perfect. I'll probably do my lager at 12 PSI. Even last week's vanilla porter was completely fermented in 3 days, 1.067 to 1.18, was super smooth (even with extra vanilla), and easy to push into a keg for aging. I'm on a tight budget so use a FermZilla All Rounder, doing 6gal batches, and I only get 1/2" krausen, though I also add 6 drops of vegetable anti--foaming oil. I also can't say enough about ending up with half-carbonated beer, not just that it saves on CO2, but also because a keg chills & pressurizes in half the time. I also chain-brew: do a 6 gal batch, push the fermented beer into a keg (using a bit of extra CO2 pressure from my tank), then pouring a new batch right into the fermenter which still has the trub at the bottom, now having twice the active yeast as before, kind of reminiscent of session beers, hehe. I don't do this more than 3 times, though, for various reasons. (Yes, you can have too much yeast, though you can always remove half of the trub before pouring in the new batch.) In short, I now only do pressure brewing. It's possible that I might some day do a special batch where I won't want the pressure, but I really can't imagine needing to do that. And hey, if you don't want pressure, swap the gas-in post with an airlock, and voila!
I am researching whether I should transition to brewing under pressure. It would be helpful to see a complete brewing video from the initial brew, transfer to the fermentation vessel, hook up of CO2, and how the setup allows for the release of CO2 generated during fermentation, while keeping the pressure on, *and* the temp. control setup during making the beer. I keep seeing the setup in bits and pieces and it would be helpful to me to see the entire setup in a real brewing situation. My fermentation process is designed for my size and strength level, so as I've improved and evolved my brewing to improve the quality of my beer, I've created a setup that reduces the instances of lifting heavy liquid-filled vessels from one location (my kitchen where the initial brew happens) to my backroom where the primary and secondary fermentation and kegging take place. I know this would be a longer video out of necessity but it would help immensely with my purchasing decision since I am on a tight budget. Thank you for this video and the quality products you sell. Cheers!
Same here too. I'd also like to see a complete list of parts for the lower cost option. What is that assortment of coiled tubing inside the fermenter? Link me to a complete kit if you want a sale!
I'm going to try a pressure ferment in a jacketed keg with my next IPA. Some spunding valves look like they will easily connect up to a ball lock connector. Thanks for the tips!
So I have an all in 1 PRV from Spike. Once I start fermentation (Spike Flex+), I just let the pressure build, until it reaches my target, usually about 8 psi, but when I go to dry hop, I need to relieve the pressure before I can add. After hop add, it takes longer to build pressure. Do you recommend adding co2 to build the pressure back? Also, I bottle my beer, so I use an old catalyst fermenter as a bottling bucket, add my sugar water, transfer from the fermenter to the bucket, wait, and then bottle. Sometimes my beer is over carbonated. How should I adjust the amount of sugar based upon pressure fermenting? Any idea's of formulas?
If I were to pressure ferment in a corney keg can I connect my CO2 up to initially set the pressure to 20 psi that is required to get the corney keg lid to seal? I'd drop the pressure down after the lid is sealed, but I am concerned that the initial burst of CO2 will harm the yeast. I was thinking to use a spundng valve to ferment at around 15 psi.
Great question! I personally have never pressure fermented a German Hef, so I can't speak to it directly. With that said one of the main ideas behind pressure fermenting is to cut back on ester production and a classic German Hefeweizen should have banana / clove esters & phenolics from the yeast. Not to say a pressure fermentation will cut those out all together, but in theory they should reduce them slightly. So it might be a good way to keep some of the aroma's minimized if you're finding to much yeast driven character. Hope this helps, cheers!
Maybe you guys can try explaining again when your not competing. Was very hard to keep track and understand what you even said. I rewinded many times without figuring out what was said.
What I'm not totally clear with is the carbonation impact: as you said, you will have some carbonation in your beer if you ferment under pressure. But how much volume? How much is there already? If I force carbonate after, should I adapt my pressure time and fermentation? Can this be combinated with added-sugar fermentation?
Without using something to measure the amount of CO2 in solution like a Zahm & Nagel CO² Volume Meter it's really hard accurately account for it. You could work backwards from a standard carbonation chart/calculator to get a good idea. For instance if you had your spunding valve set at 12 psi and your fermentation temp is at 68 you should have about 1.5 volumes of CO2 in solution already. Hope this helps!
If you bottle it can be a pain because you need less sugar to add a little bit of CO2. If you keg, it is EXTREAMLY easy. After fermentation you know your temp and you know the pressure. This will get you about 90% of the way there. Once you transfer to keg, just hook up the CO2 from bottle and set pressure to desired Volumes of CO2 pressure. As it cools the bottle adds more CO2 to beer. You generally want to "rest" or condition a couple days to clear up and cool. During that time the CO2 will be topped off and you will be at perfect CO2. This is the "set and forget" method of carbonating. No need to shake or do anything.
@@MoreBeer_ Aye, compute the CO2 volume in your fermenter (based on PSI and temperature), subtract it from your target PSI, and that tells you how much volume you're short on. Myself, I just push my half-carbonated beer to a keg, then set the keg PSI to where I want it, and start it chilling. You can chill the fermenter if you want, but it basically puts the yeast to sleep, though you do get clearer beer. Mine's pretty clear anyway, so I only chill the target keg, allowing me to immediately pour another batch of cooled wort into the fermenter for the next batch.
I pour my pre-carbonated beer through a coffee filter to (mostly) decarbonate. Those tiny bubbles clinging to the hydrometer account for a huge difference in FG readings in my experience.
I am yet to be sold on pressure fermentation. Since I received my fermzilla I have cleaned it and sanitized religiously before every brewday. I have completed 2 batches (3rd in progress) but the first two were terrible, they both had significant off flavors. The first batch took about 2 weeks in the keg to settle out to be finally drinkable, this may have not been related to the fermenter but related to lowering my ph in the mash and then tossing in strawberries after primary which added more acid to make the beer even more sour. The second batch I didn't add fruit to at all, however even after almost 2 weeks in the keg it is not even close to being drinkable. I think this was my mistake which you mentioned in your video but I had not heard of it prior because I just jumped right in. First when I pitched my yeast I pressurized my fermzilla to 15lbs and let it rock. BAD MOVE, from what I have read you need to let it pressurize naturally. Second when I was transferring I pressurized my keg to 15lbs and then let a bit out to make it have less pressure than the fermzilla but it was not transferring. My mistake was removing the pressure from the fermzilla which mixed everything up again and I transferred a bunch of nasty stuff with my beer. I also transferred room temperature carbonated beer into a cold keg which made it foam and overflow a lot, removing my natural carbonation. This batch I am also fermenting under 10lb of pressure as I thought maybe the 15lb had caused the off flavors but according to your video 15lbs should be fine. You live and you learn but it's hard to justify remaining on pressure fermenting since after 8 brews these were my first 2 failures that didn't taste good at all, every other batch i thoroughly enjoyed.
I only brew under pressure now, and have never had off flavors, except perhaps a bit of sulfur depending on the yeast strain. I pitch and add pressure to 15psi immediately, then back off to about 12psi... I maintain it at 12 psi. But, with you adding fruit and things... I assume you are brewing ales? Ales def do not benefit from pressure nearly as well. I would stick to just temp control and a bubbler for any ales, and use pressure only for lagers.
@@Tense I follow pretty much the same process. I do cap my ales with 20% left while ramping up the temp and let the pressure build to 20+/- psi depending on the desired CO2 volumes. See Brewers Friend carb calculator. Cold crashing then naturally carbonates the beer. CO2 bottles go a long way now. I've been very happy with pressure fermentation. Haven't found a yeast yet that didn't perform.
@@Tense Yea I have been brewing a cream ale and the first pressurized experiment was to let if ferment out and then remove pressure which pulled everything back into suspension, added fruit and let it clear for transfer. It was sour as heck! I should have not adjusted the pH and just let the fruit do it honestly. The last time though no fruit and it was terrible and undrinkable, as actually a yellow cloudy color. This time I don't think it can be called a cream ale because I went with a Saf Lager 23 so hopefully while I used a lager yeast it will taste somewhat decent lol we shall see!
What kind of off flavors are you getting? You mention a sour taste, that could be from the fruit/citric acid or the mash adjustments as you mentioned etc. But also CO2 does have carbonic acid and can lower the pH of your finished beer slightly as well. Typically you want your mash in the 5.2-5.4 pH range then after fermentation most beers are around 4.5 pH. But let's get back to fermenting under pressure, as Vito mentioned most commercial ales are brewed under pressure due to the fact they are in massive tanks with typically another foot or so of water creating back pressure in the blow off bucket. When you run the numbers on that we're talking about 2-5 psi. So it might be worth trying a batch in that range and seeing if you like the flavors better. We agree, it's not that fermenting under pressure is a magic bullet, but it allows you to suppress or express esters etc. as you like amongst the other benefits. So think of it as another arrow in your quiver of ways to craft your finished beer. Hope this helps, cheers
@@MoreBeer_ Yeah the sourness in the first batch was no doubt due to adding the food and lowering my pH with acids. That one was finally drinkable after a few weeks but the second batch it still sitting there gross. I'm not sure even how to explain the flavors who knows LOL. I just know that it's too disgusting to drink after 2 weeks in the keg. My third batch was done with the logger yeast but still a cream ale grain bill so hopefully this one comes out better it's starting to clear up a few more days and I'll probably transfer it. When you mention two to five PSI are you talking about on my next batch I should limit it to no more than 5 lb pressure?
I just picked up a brewbuilt X1 from you guys added pressure pack and spuding valve tower. The directions are lacking but I assume the prv that comes in the pack is to replace the prv that built into the lid? It doesn't fit nor do ones I swap off a keg and the built in prv is rated to like 2lbs. What am I missing?
I normally have an open first fermentation, add some sugar and pressureferment in 1,5 bar for CO2. I would never use plastic vessels for pressure fermentation. Use a 30 l stainless steel keg. And allways remember safety.
Thanks Great info as always. I have pressure fermented a few time. The issue I have ran into when doing my closed transfer to the Keg the Co2 seems to come out of suspension basically shacks up the beer inside the fermenter and turns into a cloudy mess.
If you are able too, cool the fermentor and beer first, then transfer to keg. This will do two major things: First is it will get more yeasts and proteins to drop out of suspension clearing the beer before you transfer. The second is the beer will hold the CO2 in liquid at colder temps better than room temp. The cold transfer is hundreds of times better than a warm temp transfer.
I've been pushing beer from my FermZilla to a keg by simply swapping the spunding valve for a gas line from my CO2 tank, then increasing the FermZilla by 3-5 PSI, and I've never had a problem...no foam, no cloudiness, perfect xfers every time. It goes w/o saying that I'm using a float tube so I'm only drawing off beer from the top. :)
I have a question every time I transfer my beer to another vessel. Well it’s under pressure for mentation. It kicks up a whole bunch of yeast. What am I doing wrong? Thank you.
You need to keep constant pressure on the fermenter. As the pressure drops in the fermenter, the CO2 starts to leach out of the beer causing the turbulence you're seeing. 🍻
Not all will work under pressure, a lager yeast does good but google what yeasts are great for pressure fermenting. Some yeasts will fail to do their job under pressure.
I have been pressure fermenting all types of beers for 8 years. There are NO yeasts that can't be pressure fermented. NONE!!!! I will give anyone 1 million dollars if they can give me a yeast that does not work at 15psi. There is a lot of false info out there about pressure fermenting. Most of the bad info is from equipment manufactures that don't make a pressure fermentor.
To me it doesn't make sense that pressure would keep in aroma. The pressure in the gas phase is equal to that in the liquid (henry's law), so what's your logic behind that claim?
I find it to be obvious when dry hopping. If timed right, add the hops and cap the fermenter to allow pressure to build. Hopefully fermentation is complete before pressure builds beyond the point where the CO2 (and aroma) are exiting the spunding value. I haven't perfected that process yet but I'm getting close. 🍻
Can't argue with law especially henry's. With that said I think what Vito was getting at is what most commercial brewers do, that is cap your tank and let pressure build up after you dry hop. Leaving a blow off or airlock on after dry hop makes your brewery smell great but I think we can all agree those aromas are better in your finished beer.
@@MoreBeer_ Thanks. If you were referring to dry hopping when co2 is still being produced and escapes through the airlock og spunding valve, then it makes sense. Aroma will escape to heaven with it
PRODUCTS USED IN THIS VIDEO AVAILABLE AT MOREBEER! 🔥
FermZilla Tri-Conical -
www.morebeer.com/products/fermzilla-conical-fermenter-71-gal-27-1.html
BlowTie 2 Spunding Valve -
www.morebeer.com/products/blowtie-2-spunding-valve-complete-kit.html
BrewBuilt™ X2 Jacketed Uni Conical Fermenter -
www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x1-jacketed-conical-fermenter.html
BrewBuilt™ Spunding Valve -
www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-pro-spunding-valve-1-bar.html
BrewBuilt™ Kit for Fermenting Under Pressure -
www.morebeer.com/products/brewbuilt-x1-uni-conical-pressure-fermentation-kit-1.html
Subscribe to MoreBeer! on UA-cam -
ua-cam.com/channels/v58v5jA_N-kdVMpLB-yL5w.html
Suprised you guys didn't mention using a corny keg for pressure fermentations. Just add a floating diptube and you have a great budget unitank.
Excellent video otherwise.
Great call, Justin!
I have been brewing under pressure for almost 10 brews this year. I primarily brew only lagers, and I brew at about 62-65f at 12psi for most of them. Able to get a brew faster, and cleaner... and have never had a lager with off flavors (besides maybe sulfur).
Good rationale and tips. They sign with my experience as well with the exception that I always use 15 psi for every yeast stain without any problems. Going too much over that, I have noticed incomplete fermentation though.
I’ve been pressure fermenting ales and lagers since 2017 and haven’t looked back. It’s a great way to ferment for most beer styles except those that benefit from esters such as Hefeweizen.
Awesome, cheers Larry 🍻 we love your channel!
Hi, Larry do You fermenting hoppy beers under pressure or not..thank You
@@markosolaris550 I generally do not. It negatively impacts the ester production which is what gives ales much of their flavor.
If I do, it’s mainly because I want a very slight positive pressure to account for slightly elevated room temperature or to ensure a positive seal against air getting into my fermenter.
@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY thank You
I tried pressure brewing 5 batches ago, all ales, and I'll try a lager soon. Every ale has brewed faster and tasted smoother than before, smooth like lagers. Next batch will be a lager. :) I brew ales at 15 PSI and every one's been perfect. I'll probably do my lager at 12 PSI. Even last week's vanilla porter was completely fermented in 3 days, 1.067 to 1.18, was super smooth (even with extra vanilla), and easy to push into a keg for aging. I'm on a tight budget so use a FermZilla All Rounder, doing 6gal batches, and I only get 1/2" krausen, though I also add 6 drops of vegetable anti--foaming oil. I also can't say enough about ending up with half-carbonated beer, not just that it saves on CO2, but also because a keg chills & pressurizes in half the time.
I also chain-brew: do a 6 gal batch, push the fermented beer into a keg (using a bit of extra CO2 pressure from my tank), then pouring a new batch right into the fermenter which still has the trub at the bottom, now having twice the active yeast as before, kind of reminiscent of session beers, hehe. I don't do this more than 3 times, though, for various reasons. (Yes, you can have too much yeast, though you can always remove half of the trub before pouring in the new batch.)
In short, I now only do pressure brewing. It's possible that I might some day do a special batch where I won't want the pressure, but I really can't imagine needing to do that. And hey, if you don't want pressure, swap the gas-in post with an airlock, and voila!
If you don't want pressure, just open spunding valve fully.
I am researching whether I should transition to brewing under pressure. It would be helpful to see a complete brewing video from the initial brew, transfer to the fermentation vessel, hook up of CO2, and how the setup allows for the release of CO2 generated during fermentation, while keeping the pressure on, *and* the temp. control setup during making the beer.
I keep seeing the setup in bits and pieces and it would be helpful to me to see the entire setup in a real brewing situation. My fermentation process is designed for my size and strength level, so as I've improved and evolved my brewing to improve the quality of my beer, I've created a setup that reduces the instances of lifting heavy liquid-filled vessels from one location (my kitchen where the initial brew happens) to my backroom where the primary and secondary fermentation and kegging take place.
I know this would be a longer video out of necessity but it would help immensely with my purchasing decision since I am on a tight budget. Thank you for this video and the quality products you sell. Cheers!
Same
Same here too. I'd also like to see a complete list of parts for the lower cost option. What is that assortment of coiled tubing inside the fermenter? Link me to a complete kit if you want a sale!
#Fusels and #Esters … Two old high school girl friends?
Do you have any experience capturing the co2 released through the sounding valve in cold water or using it to carbonate other beers ?
I'm going to try a pressure ferment in a jacketed keg with my next IPA. Some spunding valves look like they will easily connect up to a ball lock connector. Thanks for the tips!
So I have an all in 1 PRV from Spike. Once I start fermentation (Spike Flex+), I just let the pressure build, until it reaches my target, usually about 8 psi, but when I go to dry hop, I need to relieve the pressure before I can add. After hop add, it takes longer to build pressure. Do you recommend adding co2 to build the pressure back? Also, I bottle my beer, so I use an old catalyst fermenter as a bottling bucket, add my sugar water, transfer from the fermenter to the bucket, wait, and then bottle. Sometimes my beer is over carbonated. How should I adjust the amount of sugar based upon pressure fermenting? Any idea's of formulas?
For once the title wasn't a clickbait, you really covered everything. Going to brew my first batch in pressure fermenter soon.
We're really glad to hear that! 🍻
If I were to pressure ferment in a corney keg can I connect my CO2 up to initially set the pressure to 20 psi that is required to get the corney keg lid to seal? I'd drop the pressure down after the lid is sealed, but I am concerned that the initial burst of CO2 will harm the yeast. I was thinking to use a spundng valve to ferment at around 15 psi.
Do you recommend it for a German Hefeweizen?
Great question! I personally have never pressure fermented a German Hef, so I can't speak to it directly. With that said one of the main ideas behind pressure fermenting is to cut back on ester production and a classic German Hefeweizen should have banana / clove esters & phenolics from the yeast. Not to say a pressure fermentation will cut those out all together, but in theory they should reduce them slightly. So it might be a good way to keep some of the aroma's minimized if you're finding to much yeast driven character. Hope this helps, cheers!
Thanks for breaking down pressure ferment down so well!
Absolutely, thanks for watching! 🍻
Maybe you guys can try explaining again when your not competing. Was very hard to keep track and understand what you even said. I rewinded many times without figuring out what was said.
Here's another try for you: ua-cam.com/video/hysitEjbZcA/v-deo.html
Great details about fermenting under pressure in this video! Thanks.
What I'm not totally clear with is the carbonation impact: as you said, you will have some carbonation in your beer if you ferment under pressure. But how much volume? How much is there already? If I force carbonate after, should I adapt my pressure time and fermentation? Can this be combinated with added-sugar fermentation?
Without using something to measure the amount of CO2 in solution like a Zahm & Nagel CO² Volume Meter it's really hard accurately account for it. You could work backwards from a standard carbonation chart/calculator to get a good idea. For instance if you had your spunding valve set at 12 psi and your fermentation temp is at 68 you should have about 1.5 volumes of CO2 in solution already. Hope this helps!
If you bottle it can be a pain because you need less sugar to add a little bit of CO2. If you keg, it is EXTREAMLY easy. After fermentation you know your temp and you know the pressure. This will get you about 90% of the way there. Once you transfer to keg, just hook up the CO2 from bottle and set pressure to desired Volumes of CO2 pressure. As it cools the bottle adds more CO2 to beer. You generally want to "rest" or condition a couple days to clear up and cool. During that time the CO2 will be topped off and you will be at perfect CO2. This is the "set and forget" method of carbonating. No need to shake or do anything.
@@MoreBeer_ Aye, compute the CO2 volume in your fermenter (based on PSI and temperature), subtract it from your target PSI, and that tells you how much volume you're short on. Myself, I just push my half-carbonated beer to a keg, then set the keg PSI to where I want it, and start it chilling. You can chill the fermenter if you want, but it basically puts the yeast to sleep, though you do get clearer beer. Mine's pretty clear anyway, so I only chill the target keg, allowing me to immediately pour another batch of cooled wort into the fermenter for the next batch.
Very interesting. Definitely something I may need to look into. As always, thanks for information.
Cheers, Bob! 🍻
To check the sg, I guess you'll need take a sample and leave it in the fridge until it's lost carbonation?
I pour my pre-carbonated beer through a coffee filter to (mostly) decarbonate. Those tiny bubbles clinging to the hydrometer account for a huge difference in FG readings in my experience.
@@mikegehring3710 That's exactly what I was thinking, the wort needs to be flat/uncarbonated or it will throw out your readings
I am yet to be sold on pressure fermentation. Since I received my fermzilla I have cleaned it and sanitized religiously before every brewday. I have completed 2 batches (3rd in progress) but the first two were terrible, they both had significant off flavors. The first batch took about 2 weeks in the keg to settle out to be finally drinkable, this may have not been related to the fermenter but related to lowering my ph in the mash and then tossing in strawberries after primary which added more acid to make the beer even more sour. The second batch I didn't add fruit to at all, however even after almost 2 weeks in the keg it is not even close to being drinkable. I think this was my mistake which you mentioned in your video but I had not heard of it prior because I just jumped right in. First when I pitched my yeast I pressurized my fermzilla to 15lbs and let it rock. BAD MOVE, from what I have read you need to let it pressurize naturally. Second when I was transferring I pressurized my keg to 15lbs and then let a bit out to make it have less pressure than the fermzilla but it was not transferring. My mistake was removing the pressure from the fermzilla which mixed everything up again and I transferred a bunch of nasty stuff with my beer. I also transferred room temperature carbonated beer into a cold keg which made it foam and overflow a lot, removing my natural carbonation. This batch I am also fermenting under 10lb of pressure as I thought maybe the 15lb had caused the off flavors but according to your video 15lbs should be fine.
You live and you learn but it's hard to justify remaining on pressure fermenting since after 8 brews these were my first 2 failures that didn't taste good at all, every other batch i thoroughly enjoyed.
I only brew under pressure now, and have never had off flavors, except perhaps a bit of sulfur depending on the yeast strain. I pitch and add pressure to 15psi immediately, then back off to about 12psi... I maintain it at 12 psi. But, with you adding fruit and things... I assume you are brewing ales? Ales def do not benefit from pressure nearly as well. I would stick to just temp control and a bubbler for any ales, and use pressure only for lagers.
@@Tense I follow pretty much the same process. I do cap my ales with 20% left while ramping up the temp and let the pressure build to 20+/- psi depending on the desired CO2 volumes. See Brewers Friend carb calculator. Cold crashing then naturally carbonates the beer. CO2 bottles go a long way now. I've been very happy with pressure fermentation. Haven't found a yeast yet that didn't perform.
@@Tense Yea I have been brewing a cream ale and the first pressurized experiment was to let if ferment out and then remove pressure which pulled everything back into suspension, added fruit and let it clear for transfer. It was sour as heck! I should have not adjusted the pH and just let the fruit do it honestly. The last time though no fruit and it was terrible and undrinkable, as actually a yellow cloudy color. This time I don't think it can be called a cream ale because I went with a Saf Lager 23 so hopefully while I used a lager yeast it will taste somewhat decent lol we shall see!
What kind of off flavors are you getting? You mention a sour taste, that could be from the fruit/citric acid or the mash adjustments as you mentioned etc. But also CO2 does have carbonic acid and can lower the pH of your finished beer slightly as well. Typically you want your mash in the 5.2-5.4 pH range then after fermentation most beers are around 4.5 pH. But let's get back to fermenting under pressure, as Vito mentioned most commercial ales are brewed under pressure due to the fact they are in massive tanks with typically another foot or so of water creating back pressure in the blow off bucket. When you run the numbers on that we're talking about 2-5 psi. So it might be worth trying a batch in that range and seeing if you like the flavors better. We agree, it's not that fermenting under pressure is a magic bullet, but it allows you to suppress or express esters etc. as you like amongst the other benefits. So think of it as another arrow in your quiver of ways to craft your finished beer. Hope this helps, cheers
@@MoreBeer_ Yeah the sourness in the first batch was no doubt due to adding the food and lowering my pH with acids. That one was finally drinkable after a few weeks but the second batch it still sitting there gross. I'm not sure even how to explain the flavors who knows LOL. I just know that it's too disgusting to drink after 2 weeks in the keg. My third batch was done with the logger yeast but still a cream ale grain bill so hopefully this one comes out better it's starting to clear up a few more days and I'll probably transfer it. When you mention two to five PSI are you talking about on my next batch I should limit it to no more than 5 lb pressure?
I just picked up a brewbuilt X1 from you guys added pressure pack and spuding valve tower. The directions are lacking but I assume the prv that comes in the pack is to replace the prv that built into the lid? It doesn't fit nor do ones I swap off a keg and the built in prv is rated to like 2lbs. What am I missing?
I normally have an open first fermentation, add some sugar and pressureferment in 1,5 bar for CO2. I would never use plastic vessels for pressure fermentation. Use a 30 l stainless steel keg.
And allways remember safety.
How does the red spunding valve keep out bacteria? Once active fermentation starts or before you'd think bacteria could get through the co2 input.
Thanks Great info as always. I have pressure fermented a few time. The issue I have ran into when doing my closed transfer to the Keg the Co2 seems to come out of suspension basically shacks up the beer inside the fermenter and turns into a cloudy mess.
Make sure you're putting head pressure on the fermenter as well and regulating it at the end of the transfer in the keg
If you are able too, cool the fermentor and beer first, then transfer to keg. This will do two major things: First is it will get more yeasts and proteins to drop out of suspension clearing the beer before you transfer. The second is the beer will hold the CO2 in liquid at colder temps better than room temp. The cold transfer is hundreds of times better than a warm temp transfer.
I've been pushing beer from my FermZilla to a keg by simply swapping the spunding valve for a gas line from my CO2 tank, then increasing the FermZilla by 3-5 PSI, and I've never had a problem...no foam, no cloudiness, perfect xfers every time. It goes w/o saying that I'm using a float tube so I'm only drawing off beer from the top. :)
This is great content. Thanks!
Good video.
Glad you enjoyed it
I have a question every time I transfer my beer to another vessel. Well it’s under pressure for mentation. It kicks up a whole bunch of yeast. What am I doing wrong? Thank you.
You need to keep constant pressure on the fermenter. As the pressure drops in the fermenter, the CO2 starts to leach out of the beer causing the turbulence you're seeing. 🍻
How do you do fellow kids
Great video, very informative. Thank you.
Cheers! 🍻
For someone like myself, who’s never done pressure fermentation. Do all yeast strains or beer styles work well with pressure fermentation?
Not all will work under pressure, a lager yeast does good but google what yeasts are great for pressure fermenting. Some yeasts will fail to do their job under pressure.
I can only speak for lager strains but I have not found a strain of lager yeast that wasn't quite happy at 10-12psi which is what I typically go for.
I have been pressure fermenting all types of beers for 8 years. There are NO yeasts that can't be pressure fermented. NONE!!!! I will give anyone 1 million dollars if they can give me a yeast that does not work at 15psi. There is a lot of false info out there about pressure fermenting. Most of the bad info is from equipment manufactures that don't make a pressure fermentor.
@@danieldickinson8109 ok
To me it doesn't make sense that pressure would keep in aroma. The pressure in the gas phase is equal to that in the liquid (henry's law), so what's your logic behind that claim?
I find it to be obvious when dry hopping. If timed right, add the hops and cap the fermenter to allow pressure to build. Hopefully fermentation is complete before pressure builds beyond the point where the CO2 (and aroma) are exiting the spunding value. I haven't perfected that process yet but I'm getting close. 🍻
@@TheMattMustain you wouldn't open it directly to add dry hops of course
@@mrknaldhat You could use the magnet trick or hop bong contraption.
Can't argue with law especially henry's. With that said I think what Vito was getting at is what most commercial brewers do, that is cap your tank and let pressure build up after you dry hop. Leaving a blow off or airlock on after dry hop makes your brewery smell great but I think we can all agree those aromas are better in your finished beer.
@@MoreBeer_ Thanks. If you were referring to dry hopping when co2 is still being produced and escapes through the airlock og spunding valve, then it makes sense. Aroma will escape to heaven with it