Carton Of Beer Into A Keg?

[toothy]

Hi guys - a question...I read somewhere that it is possible - can you transfer a carton of beer into a 19l keg? I know it is strange to do so, but thought I would ask - if so, are there any particular steps to do so during the transfer and afterwards?

Could be handy if someone owes me a few cartons for a bet/work done and I want to put into a keg to use...

any help is appreciated....

cheers
toothy

 

[kabooby]

Shouldnt be a problem.

I would use two cartons so there is less head space. Make sure you purge the keg afterwards.

Take care when pouring not to aerate the beer to much

Seems like a bit of a painfull job though, opening 48 bottles of beer and pouring them into a keg.

Kabooby

 

[frogman]

I would reccommend tou chill the keg first and fill wth Co2 before pouring beer into it.

FROGMAN

 

[kook]

Just out of curiosity, why would you want to do this?

I can't see how you could do it effectively without any oxidisation. Whilst the suggestions above would help to minimise the exposure to oxygen, it's still going to happen.

 

[Brewer_010]

Shouldnt be a problem.

I would use two cartons so there is less head space. Make sure you purge the keg afterwards.

Take care when pouring not to aerate the beer to much

Seems like a bit of a painfull job though, opening 48 bottles of beer and pouring them into a keg.

Kabooby

By the time a job like this was done, there'd only be 42 :chug:

As for filling up with CO2 it would be to reduce risk of O2ing.

 

[toothy]

ok - well i only thought of it as i read it somewhere recently (cant remember where) and I just wondered how it would work - could be handy if ive got a spare keg and carton of beer to see how it went.

and - look - i dont get frogmans comment - fill with co2 before puring the beer in?? i might sound stupid...but how do you have a keg filled with co2 and pour beer into the keg at the same time?? i have only ever used the 50l keg and dont have any experience with the small kegs - so wouldnt the co2 come out when you opened the lid of the keg to pour the beer in??? wouldnt you have to expel the co2 out before you could even open the lid?? any help here is great...cheers
toothy

 

[devo]

not worth doing in my opinion.

 

[bakkerman]

CO2 is heavier than air, open keg, shot of CO2, gently pour in VERY cold beer. If you're carefull you should have a blanket of CO2 over it.

I gree with Devo though, why....

 

[kook]

CO2 is heavier than air, open keg, shot of CO2, gently pour in VERY cold beer. If you're carefull you should have a blanket of CO2 over it.

I gree with Devo though, why....

Whilst CO2 is heavier than air, with the action of pouring and air movement you're still going to get O2 in there. The only way to get around this is closed transfer.

 

[Fents]

maybe he has got a spanking new keg system, has no beer brewed to put in it and is like a kid on xmas morning and cant wait to test it.

 

[toothy]

closed transfer - which in this case would be impossible right?

for those asking why - its ok blokes...dont stress - just a query - read it somewhere and was interested to see if it would work, how and would be an interesting experiment....

i have already been told something else i was trying to do cant be done - and it got done no dramas....

 

[drsmurto]

maybe he has got a spanking new keg system, has no beer brewed to put in it and is like a kid on xmas morning and cant wait to test it.

Thats what i was thinking and would have been what i did except i was way too organised and had brews dry hopping in secondary waiting to be racked straight into kegs when they arrived......

 

[user 1153]

I can't see how you could do it effectively without any oxidisation. Whilst the suggestions above would help to minimise the exposure to oxygen, it's still going to happen.

Given that the "average" drinker will get through the keg pretty quick anyway(within 2 weeks) , I hardly see how oxidization is going to be a problem.

I say go for it. I know I have thought about doing it on several ocassions

 

[KoNG]

Thats what i was thinking and would have been what i did except i was way too organised and had brews dry hopping in secondary waiting to be racked straight into kegs when they arrived......

another way would be too plead to a local brewer to "borrow" some carbed ready to go beer.. then supply some back once you get up and running.

 

[Darren]

Given that the "average" drinker will get through the keg pretty quick anyway(within 2 weeks) , I hardly see how oxidization is going to be a problem.

I say go for it. I know I have thought about doing it on several ocassions

I still dont understand why you would not pour it into a glass or drink from the bottle. h34r:

If it is because you want to use the kegs, fill them with water and make soda water.


cheers

Darren

 

[PostModern]

I personally wouldn't do this, but if I was to do it, I'd try and minimise oxidisation.

Seal the cold, sterile, empty keg and let in a metric crapload of CO2. While the keg is vertical and still connected to the CO2 at serving pressure, open the pressure relief valve and make sure all the air that was in the cylinder comes out. Then turn off your gas and release the pressure. This should give you a keg full of CO2 at atmospheric pressure. As soon as it stops hissing, close the valve and open the lid. As you pour each beer in, tilt the keg so the gas-in post is directly above the aperture. Open the CO2 valve at very low pressure and let some gas run into the keg as you pour each beer in. Make sure the neck of the bottle is inside the cloud of escaping gas as you slowly, slowly pour the beer down the side of the keg. If it froths up to the opening, seal the keg, stand it vertical in the fridge and leave the gas at pouring pressure for a while. Then slowly release pressure back to atmospheric again, open, tilt, let gas slowly flow into keg and repeat process.

This won't totally eliminate oxygenation but will certainly minimise it at a great cost in CO2.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Seems like a lot of hassle IMHO

I'd be drinking the beer out of the bottles

Or if I had the urge to pour the beer into some other vessel - then maybe a glass would be in order

Cheers

 

[toothy]

ha ha ha nah Fents - i have been brewing for 12 years mate - and only been brewing with the big kegs - do have a couple of cornys that I havent bothered to set up yet (dont even have a tap to work that system) and heard about doing this and thought I would ask...
I just love the discussion this creates though - interesting that a lot of poeple dont like the idea of doing something different...anyway...im not going to bother about it - all too hard and cumbersome. thanks for the input for those who contributed - and for those with the insightful comments of "why" - cheers guys.