I was wondering if anyone has tried using a Hoff Steven’s keg for making a solera? I just came up on a free one and was thinking it looks pretty perfect for being able to fill through the bung and maybe even draining with a sanke tap and C02?
Any thoughts? I’ve been wanting to get a barrel but all the local distilleries and wine makers I’ve spoken with use 50 gallon or larger barrels.
Can’t see why not. I use a sanke. You won’t be cleaning it much just push more beer in
I was just going to put fermented beer into and either some built up dregs, imperials sour batch kids, or roselare. Should I start with 15 gallons of the same beer?
That should work. Brewed a porter and after a standard fermenation I added some Brett to the sanke and racked in the porter. I let that sir for about 3 months. Then carbonated and tapped when it got down to about a gallon I pushed more carbonated beer onto it and let that sir for 3 months kept it going like that. The beers came out nice
What about an airlock? If I’m using a bung and the other side is sealed would it be able to work without one?
Not familiar with pressure in those kegs. I assumed the bung worked like a blowout plug and they weren’t removed. I. The sanke I pressurized it to get out the beer. With your keg can it be pressurized? You could put an air lock in the bung and use a solid one when pressurizing it. I just burped the sanke. I’m sure you can do it. Did you want to serve it from that keg or just remove a little beer to bottle and replace ?
It is a solid wooden plug just the same as a wooden barrel. I would probably not serve from it just use it as though it were a barrel. You can serve with them though. They are an old style of sanke
Then I guess I would use an airlock just like a barrel. Should work nice
Maybe just drill a hole in the bung then? I’m not too familiar with secondary fermentation activity and how aggressive it is with Brett, pedio, and lacto.
If your just going to use it as a barrel secondary and not pressurize it why not pull the spear and get a bung to fit that opening keeping everything intact incase you ever want to pressurize it. Or better yet replace the spear with a bung for filling and cleaning then drill a valve in down low for pulling off beer. Then you can use it standing on end.
You can let it build up a little pressure naturally and serve it cask style.
I’ve never done any off this just helping you brainstorm
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You can drill in another port and put in a spunding valve.
I’ve got a couple I’ve been hanging on to… Thought about silver soldiering a tri-clover port where the wooden bung would go… Then you can do many things… Create a way to put a hand pump on… maybe? The end of it just put a portliness 2" flat tri-clover cover on … Sneezles61
I would not use a hand pump maybe a little paint ball cartridge to just keep the headspace purged
I suppose… Letting O2 in is not a good choice… Just be a cool thing to have a beer engine and cask conditioned set up… Done with corny kegs many times… It just doesnt look authentic… Sneezles61
I was thinking about putting a a ball valve on there
I should also mention @brew_cat that the bung is located on the side of the keg. I was just going to leave the spear? (Tap part) be as is so it sealed on that end. I could put a bung in there but I will probably keep it lying on its side
I would leave it on its side… So after pondering more about this… You could still leave the tap where the tap should be… You’d have a short tube to get to the bottom… But not down to the band… Good place you yeast to hang out?
I’ll be looking at brew hardware tomorrow AM… trying to do some figuring…
Now see what you went and done Mr Grantmesteven? 
Sneezles61
Haha let me know what you come up with. I just came up on this keg yesterday and it looked absolutely perfect for this. I was just thinking of leaving as is and using the bung hole to siphon to and from the keg. I’ll need to make a stand for it now and order a new bung. I looked up a tap for this style of keg and they are around 70 bucks so I don’t really want to do that but it would be I’ve to be able to purge it
