How Do You Use Kegs As Secondaries?

[David Sinclair]

Just wondering if you rack into the secondary (keg) close it up and leave it a week or do you have to put an airlock on it? or just leave the release valve open?

I don't want to naturally carb the beer or anything - just use a keg as a secondary, put it through a filter and force carb it.

Are there any tips, tricks?

Cheers Dave.

 

[stowaway]

Just wondering if you rack into the secondary (keg) close it up and leave it a week or do you have to put an airlock on it? or just leave the release valve open?

I don't want to naturally carb the beer or anything - just use a keg as a secondary, put it through a filter and force carb it.

Are there any tips, tricks?

Cheers Dave.

No tricks. I was doing this a bit. I just put it in the keg sealed it up. then i topped it off with a little bit of CO2 and expelled the oxygen in it just to be safe.. I then left it for another week. And after that i chucked int the fridge and cold conditioned for a day or too..
then i forced it thru a filter with the CO2, forced carbed, and drunk

 

[matti]

Don't put the lid on.
Glad-wrap it and pin prick it

 

[David Sinclair]

Don't put the lid on.
Glad-wrap it and pin prick it

Instead of doing that couldn't you just leave the release valve open?

 

[matti]

sure can as long as nothing can get in

 

[David Sinclair]

Cheers guys, to the kegs they go :icon_chickcheers:

 

[kirem]

I do my all my fermentation and conditioning in kegs.

when it comes time to rack off primary yeast lees, I connect two kegs via the out posts and push with co2 on the source keg.

I then put an adjustable blow off valve (available from craftbrewer or you can build one) on the secondary keg and set for the carbonation level I want.

If I then choose to filter I can use the blow off valve to to do it under pressure and keep the carbonation or I can just rack into another keg.
If I rack, I push with co2 until the beer is clear then connect to a receival keg and rack as per normal.

It works great and I think the beer/bubbles are better for it.

It probably saves a bit of CO2 as well.