There are only a few times in my life when I’ve thought, “I wish I’d known that when I was younger.” The value of a good bakery. The pointlessness of buying a convertible. And, just in the past year, the incredible, wonderful, practical utility of fermenting in kegs. My brewing life has never been easier. Easier brewing means more brewing. And more brewing (usually) means better brewing.
This all began when I started using the Picobrew Z, since it basically “brews” and ferments in the same single keg. Even before that first beer was ready, I knew that even if the Z crapped out after one batch, I would never go back to carboys or buckets: It was nothing but corny kegs for me from now on.
First, consider the fact that the stainless corny keg is a perfect vessel for no-chill. Transfer the near-boiling wort into a clean keg and let the liquid and steam do the sanitizing—that’s one nice benefit. Then there’s the ease of movement, in that corny kegs are already easy to toss around, and you can do the tossing without worrying about a cracked plastic vessel or (nightmare) a shattered or sheared glass carboy. But the best part? That comes when it’s time to transfer to a serving vessel: Simply move via pressure in a closed transfer to a CO2-flushed serving keg. The risk of oxidation is virtually zero.