Bulk Aging Larger Batches - 26 Gallons

[BarrelMonkey]

@ovjock, that looks like a regular beer keg with the spear still installed. Not that there's anything wrong with that! A triclover fitting looks like this, with a groove in the end:

As @CDrew says, all wineries (as far as I know) use these fittings for connecting tanks, valves, hoses etc.

Re: sanitizing - I use peroxycarb (Sodium percarbonate) - this is the active ingredient in PBW mentioned above, but you can get more concentrated forms. (here is a commercial source; morewinemaking sells smaller packets though only 85% rather than the >95% of the commercial grade stuff). Fill the keg with a scoop of peroxy + warm-hot water, leave to soak for an hour (or overnight is fine, then rinse. I always rinse with tartaric acid to neutralize any of the cleaner remaining.

 

[CDrew]

Pretty standard top. It will fit a 2 inch gasket and clamp.

 

[Garagista]

Since imitation is the sincerest form of falttery, I copied your idea @CDrew. Works perfectly. This shall be called the CDREW method from here on out.

I'm almost ready for the fall harvest now.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

This is the one I use. I originally got it for cleaning carboys but it actually came from the beer industry and was designed for kegs. Works great on both!!

https://a.co/d/f0vSUOw

Wonder if a power washer or a sump pump (clean water only) would work?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Wonder if a power washer or a sump pump (clean water only) would work?

It certainly would. I’ve posted here before about my 1/6 HP Harbor Freight utility pump. You can search for it I’m sure.

 

[winemaker81]

Wonder if a power washer or a sump pump (clean water only) would work?

A few years ago I purchased an extension wand for power washing the house, and it came with wand angle attachments. With these I can get all the interior surfaces of a barrel except around the inside of the bung.

 

[CDrew]

You got that keg looking pretty! I only bothered with making the inside look pretty but that looks great. Now you need to be on the hunt for the other sizes like 5 gallons (easy to find) and 7.5gal which is much harder to find. The 50L Euro kegs hold like 13 gallons so that will round out your storage issues.

One thing I learned is that homebrewers want the old Anheuser-Busch kegs. I think the steel is a bit thicker and they cut out the tops to make brew kettles. Also, the older Coors kegs have this nice barrel shape to them that I think is unique to Coors. I have a couple of those as well. I like them for the shape, but the straight sided ones fit more closely together in storage.