- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 3
Hey everyone I am just getting back into brewing beer so I purchased the Catalyst system. Last night I went to transfer a very hoppy IPA into my keg and hit a few issues and it was a train wreck!
First off the cone you screw onto the bottom to transfer the beer clogs if you have any remaining pellet hops in the beer. I guess I will use a hop spider or strainer on the next batch and use some kind of bag for dry hopping.
Second I have the fermentor inside a Vinotemp VT-188 fridge so its close to the ground so I needed a pump. I have never used a pump in the past and it sucked! First off its a hassle keeping the hoses clean especially the one going into the keg as the outside of the hose touch's the beer. Then the pump I had would not start without being primed again kinda of a hassle. I ended up inserting a smaller tube inside that I could use to start the suction then pull loose when the liquid starting flowing which also caught me off guard and made a mess.
I also brew nitro coffee so all my kegs were in use I ended up buying a used keg last minute from my LHBS. Well being excited I did not look it over before trying to use it. I cleaned and sanitized it but did not pressure test if first. So you probably guessed it but once I hit it with CO2 beer came flying out of every fitting. I had to cut off the gas tighten everything clean sticky beer off everything!
So the first 3/4 of brewing this batch was very smooth but I need some keg day advice. I was wondering if it would be better to move the Catalyst so I can just use gravity on keg day?
First off the cone you screw onto the bottom to transfer the beer clogs if you have any remaining pellet hops in the beer. I guess I will use a hop spider or strainer on the next batch and use some kind of bag for dry hopping.
Second I have the fermentor inside a Vinotemp VT-188 fridge so its close to the ground so I needed a pump. I have never used a pump in the past and it sucked! First off its a hassle keeping the hoses clean especially the one going into the keg as the outside of the hose touch's the beer. Then the pump I had would not start without being primed again kinda of a hassle. I ended up inserting a smaller tube inside that I could use to start the suction then pull loose when the liquid starting flowing which also caught me off guard and made a mess.
I also brew nitro coffee so all my kegs were in use I ended up buying a used keg last minute from my LHBS. Well being excited I did not look it over before trying to use it. I cleaned and sanitized it but did not pressure test if first. So you probably guessed it but once I hit it with CO2 beer came flying out of every fitting. I had to cut off the gas tighten everything clean sticky beer off everything!
So the first 3/4 of brewing this batch was very smooth but I need some keg day advice. I was wondering if it would be better to move the Catalyst so I can just use gravity on keg day?