Kegs - Check My Theory Please!

[Dylfish]

Ok guys Im wondering if you can check out my theory when it comes to force carbonating in a keg then transfering to bottles.

I am carbonating at room temp since my fridge out the back is so chock a block it wont allow me to cool the keg, my plan is to transfer to longnecks where they will be chilled to serving temp.

ok so my steps are

1) Force Carbonate @ 32psi for 10 days (co2 volume of 2.7) @ ~ 21 degrees Celcuis.
2) Purge all the oxygen out my bottles using Co2 and cap (since they are flip tops(room temp)
3) fill the bottles from the keg (serving pressure) so that they overflow and cap asap stopping oxygen getting in (room temp)
4) have a beer
5) Store in fridge for a few days until they are cold and ready for serving.

Does anyone see a major issue with this? or should i bite the bullet and invest is a small frige dedicated for brewing (im poor )

Cheers Guys

P.s. Mods, if this in the wrong section please move!

 

[NickB]

Only issue I can see is trying to transfer carbonated, room temperature beer to a bottle. It will most likely just come out as foam.....

Fridges can be had for cheap or free, check out Freecycle, local classifieds, or as at one of your nearby electrical retailers - I know some of them keep the old models they have picked up from customers out the back. may be hit or miss, or you might luck out and find a working one!

Cheers

 

[devo]

I agree with NickB. Doing what you are suggesting is best done when both keg and bottles are at a similar or equally cold temp.

 

[the_yobbo]

Ok, not really answering your question, but why are you kegging only to bottle the brew? Why not simply prime and bottle the old fashion way?

Additionally, I'm told (if someone could confirm or deny) that you lose some carbonation while filling bottles from a keg. The suggested solution to this is to force carbonate them a little after the are poured (using the carbing cap on PET bottles only). Alternatively, slightly over carbing the beer before bottling would compensate for lost carbonation while bottling.

 

[Dylfish]

Ok, not really answering your question, but why are you kegging only to bottle the brew? Why not simply prime and bottle the old fashion way?

Additionally, I'm told (if someone could confirm or deny) that you lose some carbonation while filling bottles from a keg. The suggested solution to this is to force carbonate them a little after the are poured (using the carbing cap on PET bottles only). Alternatively, slightly over carbing the beer before bottling would compensate for lost carbonation while bottling.

Im doing it to avoid bottle bombs and since i have co2 handy so why not?

Ok, well if need be I can clear some room in my fridge. I do have other beverages in there so it wont be crazy cold but much better than room temp.



Should I Move it mid carbonation to the fridge and drop the PSI



Or



Wait until carbonation finishes at room temperature then move to the fridge before bottling?



Im inclined to go for option 2 for the sake of consistency. If I move it after carbonation what temp should the fridge be at and how long would it take to cool down about 15 liters?



Sorry for all the questions!

 

[the_yobbo]

All that effort to ensure you don't get bottle bombs, seems a bit of a waste to me. Have you had bottle bomb problems in the past?

Homebrewing is a hobby and there are no right or wrong ways of doing things as long as they work and give you a product you like. However, IMO you'd be better off priming/bottle carbonating than transfering to a keg, carbonating then bottling. I recommend looking into bulk priming your brew, so much easier than adding sugar to each individual bottle and trying to get it disolved in each.

 

[goomboogo]

Dylfish, you may be poor but a second hand fridge used as a dedicated keg fridge is an expense that will give a better return than most things of the same dollar value. If the budget truly can't stretch this far then I would suggest the bottle bombs aren't so much about the priming but rather the bottling before the end of fermentation.

 

[benno1973]

Try out a carbonator cap. Fill a PET bottle (assuming you're using PET) with beer from the fermenter, and then attach the gas and carb up. Even if you chill and fill from the keg it allows you to replace some of the CO2 that you lost during the fill (and subsequent foam-up!)

 

[Dylfish]

thanks Muzz,

this is my first brew so im kind of learning on the go
Using a keg to carbonate also seems much less fidgety that each bottle. Although I'm probably mistaken

I'm using glass Flip top lid style bottles.

 

[Verbyla]

You always have the option of buying a proper counter pressure bottle filling kit. They are foam free so you wont loose any beer and are designed so that you don't loose any carbonation. It'll cost you $140

You can find them by going to www.kegking.com.au and looking for it in the pricelist

 

[sumo]

I prefer to drink out of the bottle, so my only thought would be having the keg in the fridge while carbonating, then transfer to bottle and cap. This is what I do, as I am usually not at home when drinking my finest (BBQ's, nites out etc). I'm a little luckier, in that I have a dedicated chest freezer for kegs, so there is usually one or two conditioning, while the third/fourth are serving.

I've not conditioned at room temp, but I have tried to fill bottle from a keg at 18C, and all I got was froth... and a big mess.

Chill it, and the bottles, then purge the bottles, and fill/cap them. At that stage they can be stored at room temp, however the quality of them tend to degrade faster, and loose carbonation quicker in my opinion.

I do not use a counter pressure bottle filler, just a racking cane, with a rubber stopper, and then jam the cane into a picnic tap. Works a treat, and although I have not purged the bottles with CO2, I have kept my bottles in the fridge for up to three months without too much degradation.

Which ever way you go, good luck!

 

[Dylfish]

I prefer to drink out of the bottle, so my only thought would be having the keg in the fridge while carbonating, then transfer to bottle and cap. This is what I do, as I am usually not at home when drinking my finest (BBQ's, nites out etc). I'm a little luckier, in that I have a dedicated chest freezer for kegs, so there is usually one or two conditioning, while the third/fourth are serving.

I've not conditioned at room temp, but I have tried to fill bottle from a keg at 18C, and all I got was froth... and a big mess.

Chill it, and the bottles, then purge the bottles, and fill/cap them. At that stage they can be stored at room temp, however the quality of them tend to degrade faster, and loose carbonation quicker in my opinion.

I do not use a counter pressure bottle filler, just a racking cane, with a rubber stopper, and then jam the cane into a picnic tap. Works a treat, and although I have not purged the bottles with CO2, I have kept my bottles in the fridge for up to three months without too much degradation.

Which ever way you go, good luck!

Cheers!
Am I going to lose that much carbonation when transferring if its capped pretty much instantly? Since they are the flip tops they can be capped off in an instant? I remember going to u-brew it and we bottled it ourselves, and all we did was purge with co2 the filled the bottles and they were fine.


I wish you could use those carbonation caps for bottles

 

[jbumpstead]

You could use a counter pressure bottle filler.

Although the only reason I can see for transferring from keg to bottle is if you are filtering or want to take your kegged brew with you to a mates place.

IMHO just keg your beer and don't worry about bottling, or bottle, prime in the bottle and don't worry about kegging it first...

Cheers,

Bumma.

 

[jbumpstead]

Cheers!
Am I going to lose that much carbonation when transferring if its capped pretty much instantly?

You will lose a lot of carbonation, especially if it foams. (cold bottles may help but it will still foam up)

 

[sumo]

I forgot to mention that before I start filling I drop the pressure down to minimum (40kpa), and purge the keg of extra pressure, that also seems to help reduce the froth.

The CPBF is "bling" to me, as the racking cane and bung were $20 in total. If you plan to keep your beer long term, I would recommend bottle conditioned!

 

[SirDrinkalot]

People give away free fridges everyday (working) on gumtree.com.au
They buy a new fridge and just want someone to come and pick up the old one..

I got mine with no shelves... But I didn't need them anyway as I was just wanting it to chill kegs in.