Making Beer Using Pressure Fermentation (And Why You Should.. or Should NOT.. Try this Method.)

[@alexey.manoylo]

Hi from Ukraine, I always ferment under a pressure of 2.5 bar, I didn’t notice any differences in taste from fermentation in the classic way with a water seal. A very cool method, I recommend it to everyone!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jchensley1]

Hello Alexey, I am from the US , Indiana Just wondering how you are doing, do u live in Kyiv ? I home brew myself Hope I can go to Europe someday before I die What beers to you brew Can you sent me a recipe with a water profile so I can replicate cheers Hope all is well with you and your family

[@marcscott3690]

Excellent video man. I watched it 3 times already. Now I'm going to try this one. I'm really surprised you don't have more subscribers. Good luck bro. Thanks

[@BenhamBrewing]

I appreciate that!

[@smgri]

That was one of the most clear and concise explanations I’ve ever seen ! Thanks so much,,,great vid!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Awesome, thank you!

[@seamoremonster]

I may have been lucky...but I put down a West Coast IPA under pressure...filled up hop bags...released the pressure towards the end of the ferment and dropped the bags in...closed it up and brought it back up to 10 psi...it worked a treat...nice hoppy aromas...and beautiful crips finish.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it worked for you! I know it can be hit or miss with the eruption, but I have had some major foam overs when dry-hopping. Thanks for the comment!

[@mikesands4508]

Great video, very well explained. I have been trying to find a video that explained pressure fermentation and so far this was the best. Thanks!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Awesome, thank you!

[@brianj4543]

Thanks Brian ( good name) i just got my Fermzill and doing my first batch ( ginger beer since i just harvested heaps of ginger from my garden) good advice and well presented

[@BenhamBrewing]

Oh its a GREAT name! Appreciate the comment. Keep us posted on how the beer comes out with the Fermzilla. Also, to help minimize loss in your fermenter have you tried the FLOTit 2.0 yet? (floating dip tube upgrade). kzbin.info/www/bejne/npPZeYqlbKqdftE That thing is a GAMECHANGER for pressure fermentation.

[@jasperb6191]

A great video explaining the general properties of pressure fermentation! I have had great success with using Voss Kveik under pressure. I cannot recommend using Kveik enough especially for new brewers. If you already have a kegerator running commercial kegs I suggest you get 2 second hand corny kegs and the fermzila all rounder kit. This way you can BIAB a simple Pale Ale, pitch the yeast with out temp control, and in less than a week you can transfer to kegs and enjoy.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Kveik definitely takes the temperature component for new brewers, and widens the margin for error. Had not considered using Kveik for pressure ferm though. The yeast seem to do well under pressure in your experience?

[@jasperb6191]

@@BenhamBrewing Ive tried Voss Kveik both under pressure and not. When not under pressure, Voss seems to have this mandarin orange rind flavor to it at 30c. This works well if thats what youre going for especially in pale ales and IPAs. Under pressure though the yeast profile is almost non existent. Ive had a batch done in 30c and under 15psi of pressure that turned out super clean which allowed the malts and hops to really pop. The same experiment brought the grains to glass in 5 days

[@anthonypiper4263]

I realize this is an older video. I have been pressure fermenting for several years now. Not one problem. I pour my beer straight from the boil pot into the corny keg. Seal it, pump 15psi of Co2 and let it cool till the next day. Open the keg and add the yeast. Seal it back up and another charge of Co2. Attach my spunding valve (homemade) set at 15psi and let it do it's thing for 10 days. Into the keezer and hook up the Co2. Let it cool for two or three days and draw off the first 12oz to clear the trub on the bottom (I cut the liquid tube off about 3/4") and it's Party Time. Works great for me. Good video by the way. Thanks!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Appreciate the tips and the comment!

[@denniskatinas]

@@anthonypiper4263 So don’t you cool your wort down at all before pouring it in the corny keg?

[@anthonypiper4263]

@@denniskatinas Not at all. Shut the pot off and open the valve to let it run into the open keg. Seal it up and add Co2. Let it cool to room temp. and let the Co2 out, open the keg, pour the yeast in, and seal and pressurize again.

[@denniskatinas]

@@anthonypiper4263 Splendid! That’s some clean and fast workflow. Thank for responding!

[@reyn66]

Great tips. Pressure fermention saves me so much time and work, and cleaning up. I also place my wort hot into the keg and seal it. That does a few things for me: It saves me time on my brew day. And it disinfects my already keg even more. I just pitch my yeast the next day as soon as the keg temp reaches its ideal temp.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thanks! I've heard about letting the sterile wort sit overnight to cool. Any idea how much negative pressure that puts your keg under? I would imagine if you had minimal head space, it would not be too bad. I do wonder how the slow chilling impact chill haze in the finished beer (i.e. increases it/makes it more persistent). How is the clarity in your finished beers?

[@reyn66]

@@BenhamBrewing I put wort in up to the weld line (4.5gallons?) I release the press, negative before the pitch. I have a handy spritzer with isopropyl alcohol and spray before I release. My beers come our very clear (Nottingham yeast).

[@timothywilliams2021]

Problem i had when i started pressure fermenting was 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon keg. Lots of blown out yeast crud. Tried a 7.5 gallon sanke type D keg with ball lock line adapters . It was a pain to disassemble and clean. Bought a fermzilla and it has been mostly good. My biggest gripe is the lids hard to remove. I usually release pressure then half unscrew the lid the add just a enough pressureto push it up. Greasing the o-ring also makes it easier to remove.

[@BenhamBrewing]

YES! You have to be careful of a fermentations Krausen clogging your spunding valve, and having pressure build up beyond your kits tolerances. Thanks for the tips!

[@JohnDoe-es5xh]

I'm actually preparing a Belgian dark ale under pressure and I reduced the pressure to about 10 osi, regarding ur advice at 00:06:25.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it helped!

[@ricardogamboa4334]

Great video. I have been pressure fermenting for awhile now but I still learned some new things. For dry hopping under pressure without expensive equipment I have used two different methods. The magnet method, at racking I have a magnet in the hop bag inside the fermenter and one outside. I remove the magnet outside when it is time to dry hop. You can also release the pressure and wait a few min then release again wait a min, then open toss in and close right after.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Good tips! Any issue that you've noticed with dropping a magnet into your beer? Or do you use some sort of food safe magnet?

[@ricardogamboa4334]

@@BenhamBrewing at first I just wrapped a magnet in plastic wrap to try. Then I bought food safe magnets after.

[@sr13500]

Would it be an option 😊to have the magnet only on the outside and a stainless steel spoon in the hop bag on the inside rather than a magnet?

[@philcordeiro288]

I’m currently doing a NEIPA 15 gallon batch. I let natural fermentation for 72 hours to let the esters to be present.dry hopped and set to 12 psi… 50/50 Verdant and US-05

[@BenhamBrewing]

That is a great idea to allow the yeast to express their flavor profile before putting them under pressure, and suppressing them. Question for you, what temp do you start fermentation at, before capping it off? Do you keep the same temp for the entire fermentation, or do you allow it to free rise/ramp up once pressure has been applied?

[@Mgrant8163]

Thanks for the very informative video. I'm going to do my very first brew day this weekend, now that it's cooled down a bit in my area. I've been collecting used equipment for a few months now. As a newbie I'm going with a recipe for a California IPA and going to pressure ferment in my Fermzilla at about 10 psi then pressure transfer to a corney keg. I'm going for something that is drinkable, not necessarily a perfect IPA. Wish me luck.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Good luck! I hope the brew day and ferment went well! Keep me posted on how it turned out, and if you had any challenges!

[@Mgrant8163]

@@BenhamBrewing Horrible first brew day. I had lots of issues with temperature control using a propane burner then ended up breaking the nylon brew bag and all my grain spilled out into my wort. I figured that my batch was ruined but decided to continue through the entire process into the keg. After the broken bag, the rest of the process went well but the beer was ruined and I ended up pouring it out. Looking at electric kettles now, or at least a stainless steel grain basket and hoping for great black Friday deals.

[@doctordrummerdude]

Super explanation of pros and cons!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CyberneticCuldean]

Great info thanks. Might have to give this method a go.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Please do! Let me know how it turns out!

[@rivrivrivera2916]

Great job ! Thorough and easy to follow .

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brewski6806]

Great information! I just ordered the equipment to pressure ferment after watching your video!🍻

[@BenhamBrewing]

Sweet! Keep us posted on your your first batch goes! Also, stay tuned for an updated pressure video thats coming soon. We have some cool upgrades we are currently reviewing!

[@dudestewbrews]

Very well explained! Just getting into pressure fermenting myself and it's great to have a little more knowledge under my belt.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@craigwhite4218]

Very informative. Thank you for explaining it in language newbies can understand.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JagWoof]

I notice a cigar! Nice.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Gotta have a cigar when brewing!

[@W00PIE]

Currently waiting for my pre-ordered BrewTaurus PF75L and gathering every helpful piece of information out there. My main motivation is to move away from plastic containers and have a solid stationary fermenter that can be cleaned in place. And of course I really want to eradicate oxidation from my process, now that I have a completely oxygen-free transfer pipeline from the kettle to the fermenter and into the kegs. The carbonisation and time-saver aspect is not really that important for me, but I think I'll try it nevertheless (usually, I am team ALE). I heard that you can get nice results even with ales when you wait until the yeast is done 75 to 80 percent and then let the pressure rise to the final (keg) pressure. Does anybody have experience with that?

[@larmckenna]

I've kegged ales at 0.006 gravity points above target fg before and essentialy that pressure ferments to the finish and carbs up to approx 2.5volco2. There is additional trub to deal with but that could be an option for belgian and german styles. Ferment at ambient pressure fir a number of days and start spunding later. Or trap the final 0.006ish gravity points.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thats a great tip! Its amazing how little residual gravity can translate into so much carbonation. And using a floating dip tube helps keep the extra trub out of the way.

[@larmckenna]

@Benham Brewing thanks! it means 6g/L of fermentable sugar so that's about 114g per 5gal batch and I figured when I primed kegs that amount of dextrose usually did the trick for most styles. I was surprised nobody in my homebrew group thought of it before.

[@jupjuck]

Can I harvest c02 from my pressure fermentation and use it later to dispense my beer along with the c02 naturally present in the keg conditioned beer?

[@BenhamBrewing]

You can harvest it, and store it in an empty keg, or some other pressure capable vessel for use later. It won't dispense a full keg, but using it would cut down on purchased C02 usage.

[@timallmand1509]

Great content, thanks. But i cant help but wonder why all the best commercial lager and Czech style pilsner brewers in the world go out of their way the use horizontal fermentation tanks of no more that 2 or 3 meters diameter so the pressure on the yeast is reduced. To go to that expense for tanks and floor space. It must effect the end product in some way🤷‍♂️. Just a thought.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Agreed. They must only use temp control to control the yeast fermentation, instead of allowing pressure to help, and raising the temp up to compensate. Might be something that they can't dial in with the vertical tanks, so the flavor is slightly different. Not bad, necessarily, but not consistent with what their consumers are used to.

[@Identace445]

That was very good info!! Thank you!!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheBruSho]

Nice video! Just found you and sub'd! Looking forward to more vids

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thanks for the sub!

[@LaT1n4e]

Hi ! Thank for sharing that knowledge. Appreciated the video :) Question tho. If I want to do a IPA with lots of hops, can I either very little pressure (2-3 psi) then drop hops and keep 2-3 just to avoir ocygen contact. Or eiter, ferment regularly (no pressure) but at the end, pressure transfert to avoid oxygen contact again ? Thanks !

[@BenhamBrewing]

Yes, either way would work. I don't think 2-3 psi would have any effect on your fermenting beer, from a pressure standpoint (since its so low). Some larger fermenters, just with the amount of liquid, can put the yeast under that amount of pressure just from the volume.

[@LaT1n4e]

@@BenhamBrewing thanks ! I was scared of the nuclear point to avoid volcano beer 😅🍺

[@GodfreyTempleton]

Interesting video, there is a lot of information here.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad you think so!

[@GrubbyPaddler]

Just ordered a 60l fermzilla… I live in the tropics so was just hoping it will be more forgiving on temps

[@BenhamBrewing]

It def should be better! Keep me posted on how it does!

[@nicktulloh]

Does the burning cigar help the taste?

[@BenhamBrewing]

Technically.... no. Probably kills my taste buds, lol, BUT it sure makes the days fun and enjoyable!

[@yourmetalgod69]

What if you want the esters, say from Kveiks ? I am planning a pressure fermented mead this summer.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Dial back the pressure, or don't pressure ferment at all. Kveiks do very well up to 90 degrees F. If you want the esters, I would let the heat rise, and less/no pressure.

[@prodanman]

Very helpful video PS: What Stick you smoking at start of video?

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thank you! Sadly, I can't recall the specific cigar. I do remember it was a barber pole wrap from one of our local cigar stores. Perhaps I'll start giving a shoutout to what I'm enjoying during the brew days and video days.

[@prodanman]

@@BenhamBrewing Great Cigar Shout Out idea. I love a good stick while brewing too

[@Scott.A62]

I only use pressure for some of my lagers. It does a good job. Cheers 👍🍻🍺

[@BenhamBrewing]

If you can get over the initial equipment and understanding of pressure, its a lot of fun to play around with.

[@gene5780]

Great info.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Glad you think so!

[@bluu_ice6554]

U guys should do a collab with Jay McKay, he's a dam good home brewer. Great tutorial video!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Maybe one day we will! Great suggestion!

[@jaroslavsimecek8452]

I am about to start brewing beer. Is there any way I can ferment the beer in the keg and then put the same keg inside my kegerator and directly draft the beer? Does anybody could please suggest yeast for pressure fermentation of Bohemian Pilsner Lager? Thank you very much for you help!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Technically you can, but you would need to invest in a floating dip tube so you are not pouring all the junk in the bottom of the keg. Also, you generally don't want to keep the beer on the yeast cake, as the yeast will start to die (autolysis) and explode giving your beer a brothy/yeasty flavor. If you can transfer to a second keg to get it off the yeast cake you will be much better off. As to the yeast, since you are looking at a lager style beer, you are in luck. Lager yeast tend to do very well under pressure, so you can choose any lager yeast you choose (like the Wyeast 21254 for Bohemian Lagers)

[@jaroslavsimecek8452]

@@BenhamBrewing thank you very very much!!!

[@aorakiboydog]

No one seems to have a scale of temperature for a particular yeast, say I’m using US 05 they give a maximin range brewing normally but under pressure there is no figure ? People say about brewing under pressure that you can brew at higher temp but how high 🧐

[@BenhamBrewing]

If you re-watch the video, look at around the 5:16 mark. I talk about how you can generally take your yeast 10 degree's higher than you would normally ferment them at. So for your US-05, if you like how it expresses itself at 65, then take it to 85 to achieve a similar flavor profile, but faster. Hope that helps!

[@aorakiboydog]

@@BenhamBrewing Thank you so much for replying and the information, we are in Celsius here in New Zealand,we were imperial a while ago now metric a bit hard to get your head around it as aviation is still in imperial ! I shall subscribe 👍

[@richardcagle5475]

Can't I just use a pressure fermenter like a regular fermenter as needed? At the end of the day they all seem to just be different designs of a bucket to me

[@BenhamBrewing]

You certainly can! As long as its pressure capable, you can use it either way.

[@richardcagle5475]

@BenhamBrewing I figured, but needed to hear it from someone who knows. Fermzilla ftw it is then. Now I just gotta land on a brew and temp control system an im all in. Thanks for the reply

[@allanhaydock9327]

Has anyone looked or found a table that shows what yeasts are ok with pressure and those that aren't?

[@BenhamBrewing]

Generally all of them are ok to ferment under pressure. It all depends on what your goal is. Faster fermentation? Suppressing yeast esters? Higher temp tolerance? I don't think a table exists as there are many factors that play into what each brewer is trying to achieve. I recommend you take yeast you are already familiar with, pressure ferment with it, and note the results. As a generally rule, Lager yeast do very well under pressure.

[@JimDory]

Nobody seemed to ask the most important question: what cigar is that?

[@BenhamBrewing]

Sadly, I don't recall the brand. I picked it up from my local smoke shop, it was a barber pole, but one of their house brands (so no label).

[@briandempsey9367]

Can you suggest an Ale strain to use for experiment with pressure fermentation. I was thinking of trying out US-05 🤔

[@BenhamBrewing]

US-05 will work great under pressure, and is a great place to start. Its a general workhorse, very clean without being overly so, and flocculates nicely. Give it a go, and let me know how your experimentation goes!

[@my_krosh]

500 likes indeed

[@BenhamBrewing]

Woot Woot!

[@Slim216]

Sounds like you are guessing about most of this video….. any new information

[@BenhamBrewing]

There is a follow up video in the works! Stay tuned!