Bottling From The Keg

[bconnery]

I have a keg that is nearing the end of it's life (as in I've nearly drunk it all) and I'd like to grab a bottle or two off it for comps in a couple of months...

Now, given that I need this to be stored for a minimum of 7 weeks, and preferably till September as well, is it realistic to expect that I can use one of the 'slow flow' methods to bottle from the keg and have it keep that long, and be carbed at the end?

Or is a CPBF my only real option?

If I do something like:
chill bottles
purge bottles with C02
fill from keg using restricted flow Celli / picnic tap / picnic tap with little bottler wand attached to get beer direct to bottom of bottle (all are options I have available)
cap on foam
keep chilled

Does that sound like it would work?
I've never had much luck with bottling from the keg before...

I do plan on getting a CPBF one day, but I need to bottle this beer before any of the major present opportunities come around
I've had a search around and found various methods described by people. This one from fourstar caught my eye as a possible way to combine the important aspects of O2 minimising and ease...
Any other easy suggestions?

Pretty simple actually. Taking the notion that CO2 is heavier than oxygen, I disconnect my gas post (damn i love JG quick release fittings). Stick the gas tube from the regulator deep into the bottle, crank the reg to around 100kpa and turn the bottle on. You will actually hear the air being pushed out from a sharp whistle to a deep drone as it becomes CO2 against CO2. Then i simply leave the bottles next to me in the coopers box etc whilst i begin my bottling. i do everything in a draft-free area so majority fo the co2 should stay in the bottles without any issues.

Now i know this isnt as good as CPBF and im not considering it as a replacment. But the difference between O2 in the headspace with my method is it really that much of an issue? Im sure there would be a crapload more from beer that is bottle conditioned direct from the fermenter compared to mine.

My main concern is the beer coming in contact with O2 while she fills. IMO, once you pop the lid on, any O2 in the headspace will be pushed up against the bottle top as some CO2 comes out of solution from the beer.

All of my processes post fermentation get this CO2 hit. Empty transfer keg gets purged when kegging from the fermenter. Bottles when bottling from the keg/fermenter, same deal. Keg to Keg transfer, Recieving keg gets the same.

 

[ekul]

what about a carbonator cap? Fill the bottle with beer, put on carbonator cap and then hit it with gas. If you wanted to prevent oxygenation you could fill the bottle with gas before filling. If you chill the bottle right down you can replace the cap. Give the bottle a hit with gas just before you send it to make sure its properly carbonated.

You can get cheap carbonator caps from crankandstein, they're not as good as the ones that craftbrewer has but they are cheaper $20 for 4, including gas chuck (screws into ball lock disconnect) and postage. You can use the gas chuck with any schrader valve so you could just make up some cheapies and leave the cap on there.

 

[bconnery]

what about a carbonator cap? Fill the bottle with beer, put on carbonator cap and then hit it with gas. If you wanted to prevent oxygenation you could fill the bottle with gas before filling. If you chill the bottle right down you can replace the cap. Give the bottle a hit with gas just before you send it to make sure its properly carbonated.

You can get cheap carbonator caps from crankandstein, they're not as good as the ones that craftbrewer has but they are cheaper $20 for 4, including gas chuck (screws into ball lock disconnect) and postage. You can use the gas chuck with any schrader valve so you could just make up some cheapies and leave the cap on there.

I guess in my head I've always seen them as a short term carbonating option.
I have one, I use it to carb up for club meetings and parties, I hadn't really considered it as a longer term option...

But add it to the list of available equipment and ideas I can use...

 

[argon]

I'm in the same boat... never had much luck bottling from the keg.

Only time i've done it with any success is by de-pressurising a keg, disconnecting the beer line from the tap and gravity filling to the bottom of the bottle, then capping. I'm sure by doing this i've introduced plenty of oxygen... but it never worried me as it was usually for parties or for the brew club. Anytime i've filled with any pressure more than a trickle, i just ended up with foam.

Ekul's idea with the carbonator cap seems a good one though... use same method as i've done before, but pre-gas bottle then gravity fill from keg, then re purge and cap. That should be pretty good at minimising o2.

 

[Jazzafish]

Carbonator cap idea is cool, but if you don't have one and want to spend any cash you can achieve purge by removing a gas DC from your line and purging direct from the line. But put one on the list if you don't have one. Very handy.

Filling from tap works. All you need to do after the normal sanitisation is fill slow and cap on foam. Works but issues I found were carbonation loss, slow to fill and long term random oxidisation but I likely got lazy there. It helps to freeze your bottles and get your tap cold before filling, along with flow rate correction while filling a sample glass!

After Purging you cold do this one too:

I used a Blichmann Beer gun for a bit. Only difference I found from the filling from tap method was marginally less foaming with a benefit of having a gas trigger... so kinda regret that purchase.

I now have a couter-pressure beer bottle filler. Best thing I have gotten since buying kegs. Fast to fill, no changing serving pressures, consistent fills and next to no waste... unless you stuff it up and forget to close a valve before breaking the seal!

 

[Florian]

Another thing you could consider is is carbing your remaining beer a little higher than you normally would. This will make up for any carbonation you might loose during bottling. Set your reg a little higher and give your keg a good shake to dissolve the extra Co2 and let sit. Then when bottling, take all the pressure off the keg, purge your (frozen) bottle with Co2 (or freeze an already purged bottle), fill from the bottom of the bottle using your picnic tap with little bottler wand attached (or alternatively with a bit of beer line attached to a gravity connector). To fill, turn the reg up just a tiny bit to get the slowest flow possible.

I reckon that should give you decent results.

And at your next present opportunity consider getting this:

 

[Ross]

Ben,

Bring the keg down to the shop & we'll do it for you mate.

Cheers Ross

 

[Amber Fluid]

Ben,

Bring the keg down to the shop & we'll do it for you mate.

Cheers Ross

One thing for sure, you can never complain about the service Craftbrewer offers. What a great customer service they provide!!