Can I Keg Half A Batch

[scooza]

hi all,
i have a double batch 42L ready. problem being i only have one keg ready to fill. the other will be ready in 2/3 days. question being can i keg half and then the other in a few days or will it do more harm then good?
thanks in advance.

 

[Nick JD]

hi all,
i have a double batch 42L ready. problem being i only have one keg ready to fill. the other will be ready in 2/3 days. question being can i keg half and then the other in a few days or will it do more harm then good?
thanks in advance.

Better to wait. Filling the first keg will suck oxygen into your fermenter, so there's a chance you will sour your second keg though introducing conditions favourable to lacto and aceto (sour milk and vinegar).

 

[Ross]

Replace the airlock with a gas line from your CO2 bottle & gently push the beer out with CO2 prssure, then all will be fine....


Cheers Ross

 

[scooza]

Replace the airlock with a gas line from your CO2 bottle & gently push the beer out with CO2 prssure, then all will be fine....


Cheers Ross

i see what your saying ross but all i have on the fermenter is glad wrap

 

[MarkBastard]

Better to wait. Filling the first keg will suck oxygen into your fermenter, so there's a chance you will sour your second keg though introducing conditions favourable to lacto and aceto (sour milk and vinegar).

That was my first thought, but then people do rack their beer and condition in a secondary.

 

[stux]

Heheh, a good reason NOT to use glad wrap

You could always add a few hundred grams of sugar to teh fermenter after racking to your keg which should gobble up any oxygen... or at least make a C02 blanket i guess.

Just wait the extra 2-3 days. Your beer will end up better.

 

[alcoadam]

I've done this before without ill effects, though not something I'd do if avoidable.

For memory I added 2-3 tablespoons of dex disolved in a little boiling water to the remaining beer...

 

[Nick JD]

That was my first thought, but then people do rack their beer and condition in a secondary.

Don't they usually rack to secondary before it's reached FG? I know I do.

 

[Uzetaab]

no, usually racking is done after fg. Normally, racking is done in a sealed container, so if it's not at fg, I guess it could explode. Other than that, I don't know of any particular reason why racking early could be bad. I guess it might change the flavour, but that would more likely be a good thing I think. although it probably slows down the fermentation process since you removed most of the yeast.

 

[michael_aussie]

i'd wait the few extra days and keg everything together ......

do you really need the first keg right now????


EDIT .. the other thing you could do is add the reminder to your "nearly empty" keg .. that's assuming they are beers that blend nicely....

 

[Cocko]

Buy another keg.