Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:41 pm
I secondary exclusively in cornys and it workes fine. If you still have some residual fermentation after transfer from the fermenter, you can release the pressure easily with the relief valve. It's very unlikely, if at all possible, you will have any pressure build up to worry about.
One method you could use when using the corny to secondary is to use a shorter dip tube. You can then make a keg-to-keg transfer line with a couple of beer line quick connects and some tubing, and fill from the 'secondary' keg to the final dispensing keg under some CO2 pressure. You will have to either keep opening the relief valve on the final keg, or have it open in some way to ease the transfer. This way your beer have minimal to no contact with the air, and as the secondary keg has a short dip tube, and yeast or trub settling to the bottom will be left behind. This is a great way to help clear up your beer. If you also cold condition it will clear out any proteins that can cause chill haze.
If you don't care to transfer another time, you can still use a shorter dip tube in your 'secondary' keg to prevent sediment coming through when you're ready to dispense. Some say that any setiment will be cleared out in the first few pints, but I've had kegs that had so much fall sediment that it lasted the entire keg, and really spoiled the beer. So I prefer to trasfer once more despite the extra work and possibility of contamination. If you keep everything very clean it shouldn't be an issue though. So far it hasn't been for me.
Also for me, if you have a CO2 setup, I wouldn't bother with naturally carbinating. When the secondary has conditioned as much as you want, put it in the fridge to cool down, and based on the temp of your beer, and desired CO2 level, set your regulator to the correct PSI based on the carbonation charts. You can find these easily online. The temperature makes a difference to how much CO2 will be absorbed, not just the PSI.
Good luck!
On Tap: Porter, Scottish 90 Shilling
