Good comparison. In 23 years of brewing and serving using both methods, I’ve settled on only using the floating dip tubes for racking from fermenters to keg and continue to use uncut dip tubes for serving from my kegs. This is because I want to leave most sediment behind in the fermenter AND also be able to pour off any remaining sediment settling in the keg so it doesn’t contribute to off flavors over the weeks and months sitting in the keg.
I highly recommend the FLOTit 2.0 for a floating dip tube. It removes the most annoying part of using them by allowing you to connect the dip tube to the silicone tubing before putting it through the post. It also has two screens built in to filter out whatever you may have in the keg (So you can drop hop directly or fruit additions or whatever) and doesn't get stuck above the beer line pulling only Co2 like my older floating dip tubes used to do. Not affiliated with the product at all, just have had a really positive experience with it.
@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY Yeah I would agree. Honestly, I don't even disassemble to clean it...just let it sit in the keg with PBW for a few hours then run the PBW through the line for a bit. Do the same with sanitizer before filling the keg. Been doing that for years and never had any issues.
100% agree. I use that dip tube in my 15 gallon corny. Can't remember the dude's name (from eBay that sells them), but he gave me extra silicon line so I could trim to fit. Great customer service.
Floating dip tube is great but it can be quite tricky to get it into place. What I did was to buy an extra keg lid with a ball lock post built in and attach the floating dip tube to that. That makes it easier for cleaning as well.
Did you ever find the floating dip tube got caught on the actual dip tube? I've had it happen twice now and prevented the floating dip tube from working.
@@clahey1 Not during use but when cleaning it did get stuck a couple of times. When I first used a floating tube I did have the problem that the actual tube was floating on the surface of the beer and that made the end of the tube stick up out of the surface with the result that it was only drawing CO2. I had to weigh it down with a couple of stainless washers.
I got my floating diptube from Kegland. Sometimes the tube got above the beer level and therefore stopped working. The solution was quite simple. Add a nut (M8) to the ring which connects the tube to the ball. Never had the problem since.
Great vid! I mainly use them these days when I dryhop the keg, otherwise I kind of like regular diptubes since you get all that sediment out in the first few pints so no worries about stirring it up later
Floating dip tubes for transfer from fermenter make a huge difference. For kegs I actually started with floating then moved to normal because I could never get the last drop out with floating, always left beer behind. Cloudy or clear, I still want my beer!
Ya, Martin, I have always cut my dip tubes an inch short, and continue to do so after doing the exact same ExBeeriment with the floating toys 5 years ago. Thanks for confirming my results with your test. Cheers!
I swore by floating diptubes but I usually don’t bother with them anymore. They are a pain to clean and my beers with the traditional diptubes are just as clear just as quickly. Never actually pull up sediment. Unless you are moving your kegs around and kicking up sediment constantly, I’d go with traditional.
Perhaps it helps more when you ferment and serve in the same vessel, dry hop etc. Also the glasses were covered in condensation and you jumped from 6 days to 5 weeks!
Big fan of corny keg fermentation and serving without transfers. Easier, less cleanup and no oxidation. Only downside is you can only ferment around 3-4 gallons in a 5 gallon keg. The yeast cake that settles at the bottom never gave me any off flavors, if anything it prob helped to have the yeast in the keg still.
Move your keg 30cm and the first pint you pull with a full length dip tube will be cloudy again. However a floating dip tube is far more likely to be resilient to these little disturbances
the biggest issue with floating dip tubes in kegs is cleaning of dip tubes. Have found that sometimes silicon dip tube needs boiling to sterilize if keg/dip tube been left clean & unused for a while -would be interesting to get your take on cleaning/sterilizing of silicon tubing, keg posts etc
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I removed ball from that one keg that had a floaty with a regular dip tube after the float got stuck and was not able to get the last third of the beer out. I used that keg mainly for fermenting. Later on, I bought a lid replacement with a liquid post, and I think that is a good solution for fermentation, you still have a backup original tube if that gets stuffed with hop debris.
Is there a hoppier beer update for this? I just attempted to use the FLOTit 2.0 with a extremely hoppy NEIPA. A lot of hops made it into the keg from the fermenter. Thanks!
In a brewery setting, I have been forced to sometimes pull beer from a valve on the side of the brite tank part way up, if the beer was transferred incorrectly, and we have to get that beer out the door in kegs.
I have two kegs with floating dip tubes and it seems to me that they are a bit more difficult to clean because the sediments get more stuck to the bottom. There's no circulation there. I use fermenters with floating dip tubes and since I clear with finings in the boil and gelatine after cold crash my beer is usually crystal clear before it is kegged.
The floating take off can get every last ounce of liquid out of your keg. But shortening it leaves some out of reach in exchange for your clear beer. You are effectively getting an extra "pint" out of a dip tube keg vs a cut tube keg.
Have you ever seen those TV commercials where people are having a ridiculously difficult time doing simple chores? That's what that picture at the beginning of this video reminds me of. The amount of sediment in the bottom of that keg (in the picture) is a ridiculous amount! It actually looks like cold break. In general: If you transfer carefully from fermenter to keg you should have none of that stuff. And if you do have stuff in the bottom of your corny keg it will clear after the first pour or two. The rest of your pours should be just fine. Conversely if you use a floating dip tube you will get clearer pours up front but the last couple will have sediment. So it all washes our in the end.
I find that the floating dip tubes make a difference where you've got a LOT of hops in the beer, or where you're transferring with yeast still in suspension. Doesn't really help with chill haze unless you also add finings (gelatin/isinglass/silicic acid).
The floating dip tubes hose can be a pain to install and remove. I usually smear a little keg lube on the metal tube before installing. Hose goes on and pulls off easier. Not the best beer for this comparison. I generally use them when I'm fermenting and serving from one vessel. Also when transferring out of a pressure fermenter.
I wonder if by using a regular dip tube because you are getting rid of all that junk that crashes out it may actually help to clear the beer up? As opposed to pulling beer from the top and never clearing out all the junk. That may affect beer stability and flavor over a long period of time too…just thinking out loud! Great video!!!
I agree that this outcome might be more because of your experience and handling in leaving a lot of the cake behind in the first place. I wonder if you made a 10 to 15 abv and possibly made some rookie mistakes if you wouldn't see a larger difference.
So I recommend getting a keg lid with a ball lock post in it where you attach the floating dip tube. Then you can use the normal dip tube for filling and the floating for tapping. It also makes it easier to clean the floater.
Flawed test imo Martin. I like the floating dip tubes better, especially if you're fermenting in a corny vs carboy or conical. After fermentation I cold crash for a day or two then start pulling pints vs from day 0 in your test. The other added bonus is the ability of pitching directly on the yeast cake that hasn't been exposed to O2 until you open the corny and add your wert.
Why post the video and do an experiment on a variable (light lager) which you know at the end of video you admit doesn’t have much of a difference if you use a floating dip tube or a regular dip tube? It’s like if NASA said he lets us try to send a man to the moon and someone said hey let’s let them drive to Kansas in a space suit. Come on Brulosophy???
Most Americans where I'm from would call that a float. Depending on what part of the country they're from accents the words they use and the way they pronounce things could vary widely.
I'm sorry but I gave this video a thumbs down as you tested on a beer that's not going to have much sediment; you admitted as much. Please run the test again on an ale that's had plenty of hops in the boil and has been dry hopped with plenty of hops - maybe even do the dry hopping in the kegs and prime in the kegs rather than force carbonating. That way you're trying on something that's going to have a reasonable amount of sediment. If there's no discernable difference in such a test then the floaty is pointless in the keg.
Good comparison. In 23 years of brewing and serving using both methods, I’ve settled on only using the floating dip tubes for racking from fermenters to keg and continue to use uncut dip tubes for serving from my kegs.
This is because I want to leave most sediment behind in the fermenter AND also be able to pour off any remaining sediment settling in the keg so it doesn’t contribute to off flavors over the weeks and months sitting in the keg.
You guys have beer sitting in kegs for months? :D
I highly recommend the FLOTit 2.0 for a floating dip tube. It removes the most annoying part of using them by allowing you to connect the dip tube to the silicone tubing before putting it through the post. It also has two screens built in to filter out whatever you may have in the keg (So you can drop hop directly or fruit additions or whatever) and doesn't get stuck above the beer line pulling only Co2 like my older floating dip tubes used to do. Not affiliated with the product at all, just have had a really positive experience with it.
I like mine. Works great for filtering. I just don’t like how hard it is to reassemble after cleaning.
@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY Yeah I would agree. Honestly, I don't even disassemble to clean it...just let it sit in the keg with PBW for a few hours then run the PBW through the line for a bit. Do the same with sanitizer before filling the keg. Been doing that for years and never had any issues.
100% agree. I use that dip tube in my 15 gallon corny. Can't remember the dude's name (from eBay that sells them), but he gave me extra silicon line so I could trim to fit. Great customer service.
I changed how the float is attached and put a racking cane tip by the float. Nothing gets sucked up even at the bottom.
@homebrewnerd, how do you fill the keg with the floating dip tube installed .
There are keg lids for floaties. You keep the long dip tube in and install the floater in the centre. Super easy.
Fermenting in kegs with a floating dip tube is a life changer
Floating dip tube is great but it can be quite tricky to get it into place. What I did was to buy an extra keg lid with a ball lock post built in and attach the floating dip tube to that. That makes it easier for cleaning as well.
Did you ever find the floating dip tube got caught on the actual dip tube? I've had it happen twice now and prevented the floating dip tube from working.
@@clahey1 Not during use but when cleaning it did get stuck a couple of times. When I first used a floating tube I did have the problem that the actual tube was floating on the surface of the beer and that made the end of the tube stick up out of the surface with the result that it was only drawing CO2. I had to weigh it down with a couple of stainless washers.
Ive found that floating dip tubes work best in pressure fermentation. Not so much in a serving keg thats been sitting.
The floating dip tube is king. When u ferment in a keg it is the easiest solution.
I use floating dip tubes when I pressure ferment in a 24L corny keg. Then transfer to the serving keg with a regular dip tube.
I got my floating diptube from Kegland. Sometimes the tube got above the beer level and therefore stopped working. The solution was quite simple. Add a nut (M8) to the ring which connects the tube to the ball. Never had the problem since.
Great vid! I mainly use them these days when I dryhop the keg, otherwise I kind of like regular diptubes since you get all that sediment out in the first few pints so no worries about stirring it up later
Floating dip tubes for transfer from fermenter make a huge difference. For kegs I actually started with floating then moved to normal because I could never get the last drop out with floating, always left beer behind. Cloudy or clear, I still want my beer!
Ya, Martin, I have always cut my dip tubes an inch short, and continue to do so after doing the exact same ExBeeriment with the floating toys 5 years ago. Thanks for confirming my results with your test. Cheers!
"floating toys"
I swore by floating diptubes but I usually don’t bother with them anymore. They are a pain to clean and my beers with the traditional diptubes are just as clear just as quickly. Never actually pull up sediment. Unless you are moving your kegs around and kicking up sediment constantly, I’d go with traditional.
Cut the liquid pipe on the bias, and it will slide into the tubing easily. You can also cut the tubing on the bias, if you're afraid to cut metal.
Perhaps it helps more when you ferment and serve in the same vessel, dry hop etc. Also the glasses were covered in condensation and you jumped from 6 days to 5 weeks!
Big fan of corny keg fermentation and serving without transfers. Easier, less cleanup and no oxidation. Only downside is you can only ferment around 3-4 gallons in a 5 gallon keg. The yeast cake that settles at the bottom never gave me any off flavors, if anything it prob helped to have the yeast in the keg still.
Move your keg 30cm and the first pint you pull with a full length dip tube will be cloudy again. However a floating dip tube is far more likely to be resilient to these little disturbances
the biggest issue with floating dip tubes in kegs is cleaning of dip tubes. Have found that sometimes silicon dip tube needs boiling to sterilize if keg/dip tube been left clean & unused for a while -would be interesting to get your take on cleaning/sterilizing of silicon tubing, keg posts etc
I removed ball from that one keg that had a floaty with a regular dip tube after the float got stuck and was not able to get the last third of the beer out. I used that keg mainly for fermenting. Later on, I bought a lid replacement with a liquid post, and I think that is a good solution for fermentation, you still have a backup original tube if that gets stuffed with hop debris.
Makes a differnce if you use them as a fermenter !
Is there a hoppier beer update for this? I just attempted to use the FLOTit 2.0 with a extremely hoppy NEIPA. A lot of hops made it into the keg from the fermenter. Thanks!
Expat Newfoundlander here.. I grew up calling it a "boy" too, not a "boo-ee". Great video as usual.
In a brewery setting, I have been forced to sometimes pull beer from a valve on the side of the brite tank part way up, if the beer was transferred incorrectly, and we have to get that beer out the door in kegs.
I have two kegs with floating dip tubes and it seems to me that they are a bit more difficult to clean because the sediments get more stuck to the bottom. There's no circulation there.
I use fermenters with floating dip tubes and since I clear with finings in the boil and gelatine after cold crash my beer is usually crystal clear before it is kegged.
Same here. Usually not a problem depending on beer style.
Good day Martin! I am curious, what are you using for your glycol chiller for your lagers and other fermentation control?
The floating take off can get every last ounce of liquid out of your keg. But shortening it leaves some out of reach in exchange for your clear beer. You are effectively getting an extra "pint" out of a dip tube keg vs a cut tube keg.
Nice experiment! Would be nice to compare them on a West coast IPA. Cheers Martin!
Is there any truth to serving out of the fermented keg is bad because of off flavors over time? Is it bad for your health to swallow some more yeast?
Gelatine and a floating dip tube and I have crystal clear beer within a week.
Have you ever seen those TV commercials where people are having a ridiculously difficult time doing simple chores? That's what that picture at the beginning of this video reminds me of. The amount of sediment in the bottom of that keg (in the picture) is a ridiculous amount! It actually looks like cold break.
In general:
If you transfer carefully from fermenter to keg you should have none of that stuff. And if you do have stuff in the bottom of your corny keg it will clear after the first pour or two. The rest of your pours should be just fine. Conversely if you use a floating dip tube you will get clearer pours up front but the last couple will have sediment. So it all washes our in the end.
Tried them and found similar results. Not worth the hassle of trying to attach the tube inside the keg!!
chill haze wouldn't be improved with a floating dip tube versus standard would it? Looks like chill haze throughout to me.
Floating dip tube made me crazy the other night. I couldn't get the thing to connect to the tubing.
I find that the floating dip tubes make a difference where you've got a LOT of hops in the beer, or where you're transferring with yeast still in suspension. Doesn't really help with chill haze unless you also add finings (gelatin/isinglass/silicic acid).
Will this work with nitro beer like stout ?
Might also be worth trying with a beer that keeps fermenting slowly even after packaging. Something like a belgian quad.
Why didn't you use the Flotit 2.0 by far the best floating diptube available plus it goes through the post so simple to hook up.
Pressure ferment and serve in the same keg, a floating dip tube will change your life. Also there are better dip tubes out there.
How was this recipe? How did the beer taste?
The floating dip tubes hose can be a pain to install and remove. I usually smear a little keg lube on the metal tube before installing. Hose goes on and pulls off easier.
Not the best beer for this comparison. I generally use them when I'm fermenting and serving from one vessel. Also when transferring out of a pressure fermenter.
What kind of picnic taps are you using? Like the look of them, and they seem to work better then the standard models
Looks like the Kegland Pluto Gun.
I wonder if by using a regular dip tube because you are getting rid of all that junk that crashes out it may actually help to clear the beer up? As opposed to pulling beer from the top and never clearing out all the junk. That may affect beer stability and flavor over a long period of time too…just thinking out loud! Great video!!!
M8 why didn't you just pull the silicone thru the hole first and attach the silicone to the dip tube?? You don't need to reach inside like that
LOL didn’t think of that!
I can only imagine the frustration! Haha!!
I agree that this outcome might be more because of your experience and handling in leaving a lot of the cake behind in the first place. I wonder if you made a 10 to 15 abv and possibly made some rookie mistakes if you wouldn't see a larger difference.
but can't closed pressure transfer from conical to keg with floating dip tube...or at least I didn't like the idea of it
Right. Whenever I’ve tried, I’ve blown out the screen.
So I recommend getting a keg lid with a ball lock post in it where you attach the floating dip tube. Then you can use the normal dip tube for filling and the floating for tapping. It also makes it easier to clean the floater.
Flawed test imo Martin. I like the floating dip tubes better, especially if you're fermenting in a corny vs carboy or conical. After fermentation I cold crash for a day or two then start pulling pints vs from day 0 in your test.
The other added bonus is the ability of pitching directly on the yeast cake that hasn't been exposed to O2 until you open the corny and add your wert.
Why post the video and do an experiment on a variable (light lager) which you know at the end of video you admit doesn’t have much of a difference if you use a floating dip tube or a regular dip tube? It’s like if NASA said he lets us try to send a man to the moon and someone said hey let’s let them drive to Kansas in a space suit. Come on Brulosophy???
Are we still doing, "first"? I've never gotten one before! Thanks for the great content as always martin!
you are moving the kegs and then you serve. Not good for the experiment
...do americans really pronounce it boo-ey??! That's wild
Most Americans where I'm from would call that a float. Depending on what part of the country they're from accents the words they use and the way they pronounce things could vary widely.
I'm sorry but I gave this video a thumbs down as you tested on a beer that's not going to have much sediment; you admitted as much. Please run the test again on an ale that's had plenty of hops in the boil and has been dry hopped with plenty of hops - maybe even do the dry hopping in the kegs and prime in the kegs rather than force carbonating. That way you're trying on something that's going to have a reasonable amount of sediment. If there's no discernable difference in such a test then the floaty is pointless in the keg.
Please don't call it a "boo-ey". It's funny coming from an American accent, but with your accent it's just wrong.