Woodfordes Wherry Kit straight to Corny Keg from FV ?

[beerlad]

I have been storing and serving beer at home for some time using Corny Keg in a modified domestic fridge and Co2 linked to a hand pull and it's been great to have hand pull beer always available. I now want to take the next step and start brewing kits rather than get it straight from the brewery.

I have bought a starter equipment kit of Fermenting vessel, thermometer, hydrometer, sanitiser, Immersion heater, air lock, stirring spoon, etc. and a Woodfordes Wherry beer kit as I like it on hand pull and I'm told it's a good one to start with.
Been searching forums and everyone seems to talk about either secondary fermentation, transferring to another bucket after fermentation and then bottling or going straight to bottle. I am limited for space and would prefer to avoid a second bucket as long as it won't be detrimental to the outcome of the beer.

Does anyone have any experience with the Wherry kit and taking it straight to the Corny from the FV ?

I am thinking when Fermentation is finished (around 6 days according to instructions) to turn off heat and leave for a couple of days to settle a bit then siphon out of FV,without touching bottom, into my Corny. Then to leave the Corny for a couple or 3 weeks to condition in the fridge and clear further before connecting to my hand pull and serving. Does this sound like it would work without bothering with sugar and secondary fermentation, etc. Should the beer be clear enough with this method (I accept when I pull my 1st pint or 2 I may have to pour all the crap away.

Has anyone else done this ?

 

[giraffe]

I have just done exactly this with a Wherry, should be fine. Although you might want to leave it in the FV for a bit longer than 6 days. I have done this with other kits and there hasn't been much sediment

How does a hand pull work with co2? Not seen that kind of setup before.

 

[beerlad]

thanks for this. Once fermentation finished did you just turn off the heat on the FV and leave it for a few days before siphoning to Keg or did you keep it warm ?

did you also have your keg straight in the fridge or leave it in warmth a while ?


Setup for handpull with co2 is straight forward, you put a non return or demand valve in the line from keg to handpull which stops co2 pushing beer through. I keep my co2 pressure below 5psi also as I only want it for preservation and not carbonation, works great. I also have a small flow meter in the line so I can keep track of consumption without disturbing the keg in my fridge.

 

[giraffe]

Yes, turned the temp up for a few days then put the FV into the shed for a few more days for it to settle. The yeast cake seems pretty solid with the Wherry. Then it went straight into the keg. Don't have a spare fridge at the moment so I have to make do with the shed which has been a bit warmer of late.

Might investigate the hand pump option, I guess you use less co2 this way. Although with the warmer weather coming I prefer fizzier styles of beer.

 

[beerlad]

I know what you mean with the fizz so I can only fit 33 pints in the corny so my plan is to bottle the other 7 with some sugar to give me a slight fizz for the summer. Thought I'd give it a go anyway, nothing to lose as I don't have another corny for storage.