Opening The Keg

[Dangs260]

Hi, I have a problem in that I have kegged and carbonated a beer but after drinking decided I don't like it and would like to add some hops directly into the keg. If I open the keg and drop a hop bag in and close it again, will this damage the beer beyond drinking?​

 

[DanRayner]

You'll almost certainly oxidise the beer to some extent - how much and whether you'll notice are going to be the unknowns...

Try and fill/flush/fill/flush/fill/flush with CO2 after you've sealed it up again to minimise how much air gets into the headspace of the keg.

Otherwise you could sterilise another keg then fill it with sterile water (mild oxonia solution or fill it with water and boil it with an immersion element completely fill it with water) add the hops, then seal it up and force the water out with CO2 - that way you know there is only CO2 and hops in the keg - then transfer the beer from the other keg into the empty one via a transfer line (beer disconnect - beer line - beer disconnect) under CO2 pressure - et voila! No oxidation!

Other than that there's the possibility of infection but that's limited now that the beer has alc in it

 

[Andyd]

Depends on how long you take to drink it

Basically, if you're careful and clean it shouldn't be any more of a problem as transfering your beer into the keg in the first place.

However everytime you expose your beer you increase the risks of infection.

The alcohol should protect you from most things that may be in the hops, just as it does for dry hopping.

In short you should be fine, but don't be suprised if it does turn funky faster that you'd otherwise expect.

Cheers!

Andy

 

[Dangs260]

Cheers. Done. Burped it again, so we'll see how it goes. fingers crossed.​

 

[Cocko]

Dunk your 'hop bag' into boiling water before you drop it in the keg...

Bleed keg again as soon as sealing = no wukkas IMO.

 

[pcmfisher]

Otherwise you could sterilise another keg then fill it with sterile water (mild oxonia solution or fill it with water and boil it with an immersion element completely fill it with water) add the hops, then seal it up and force the water out with CO2 - that way you know there is only CO2 and hops in the keg - then transfer the beer from the other keg into the empty one via a transfer line (beer disconnect - beer line - beer disconnect) under CO2 pressure - et voila! No oxidation!

You're joking right??

 

[DanRayner]

You're joking right??

Ah... nope.

That's exactly how I prepare my kegs for filling.

It may seem like a lot of work but I usually wait until there a few of them (like 6?) so I can do them all in series.

Step 1. I clean them all out and make sure they are ready for sterilising.

Step 2. Then I get a big batch of diluted oxonia (maybe 30L at 3-4mL oxonia per litre of water) in an empty plastic fermenter
(I also get about 10L of boiling water and put that in one keg for rinsing later - optional though)

Step 3. Fill a keg to the brim with the diluted oxonia solution place the keg lid in and try and flush all of the air out while sealing it up so that the entire keg is filled with oxonia. Let it sit for a moment while you get the next keg.

Step 4. Put maybe 1-2L of oxonia solution into the 2nd keg keg, seal it but twist the pressure release valve so that it is fixed open.

Step 5. Connect your transfer hose to both kegs, beer-in to beer-in (ie: black beer QD - beer line - black beer QD)

Step 6. Connect your gas to the full keg and start pushing the contents of the full keg into the empty keg.

Step 7. Prepare the next keg

Step 8. When the 2nd keg is full it will start flushing oxonia through the pressure release valve - this keg is now completely full of oxonia solution there is absolutely no air or oxygen in it

Step 9. Disconnect the beer transfer line from the 2nd keg and push the remaining 1L (in the 1st keg) into the (open) 3rd keg just to get some extra liquid in there and seal this keg but again twist the pressure release valve so that it is fixed open.

Step 10. Repeat steps 5 to 9 for all of the other kegs.

Optional Step 11. While repeating the next kegs get that keg with the 10L of boiling water and transfer 1L over into each of the sterile and empty kegs to rinse out the mild oxonia - I am not entirely convince that a little mild oxonia solution is, in fact, undetectable in my beer so I rinse it out with some boiling water.

Finally, I always put a little extra gas pressure in them and move them to the sterile/clean side of the brewery and label them "Sterile, CO2 flushed"

Then when it comes to kegging time I get one of these beer quick disconnects with a john guest fitting

push some silicone hosing over it (this takes a little effort), sterilise it and fill it and the hose with diluted oxonia solution and connect it to the keg (using the CO2 in the keg to fire the oxonia contents of the tube across the garage - fun!) and then with the remaining gas coming out of the tube (that is sterile and I know has absolutely zero regular air in it) I flush out the tap on the fermenter with CO2 and just as it runs out I connect the silicone hose and I'm ready to keg. The last thing you need to do here is make sure you fix the pressure release valve into the open position while draining the fermenter (and loosen the lid on the fermenter).

This is my method for making sure that oxidation to my beer is minimal. It may seem like it's OTT but I can't think of any other way (with my set-up) for my beer to be transferred to the keg without it being exposed to oxygen.

And over the last few years whenever I offer my beer to Richard at the Wig and Pen and ask for his opinion he has commonly said "great beer Dan, but it's a little oxidised" (GAH!!)

I use to fill by flushing the keg with a little CO2 and then opening it up and putting the hose from the fermenter into the keg and draining that way (followed by sealing it up and flushing/bleeding/flushing/bleeding/flushing/bleeding the empty headspace with CO2).

But since doing it the new way I don't think it has been oxidised anywhere near as much

 

[DanRayner]

All of this is still so much quicker than bottling

(with the same sorts of volumes ie: I do 4-6 kegs at a time and it takes me less than an hour and these are then good for 4-6 batches of beer)

 

[alowen474]

Dunk your 'hop bag' into boiling water before you drop it in the keg...

Bleed keg again as soon as sealing = no wukkas IMO.

+1, or if you have pellets make a hop tea and tip it in.
It will settle out on the bottom soon enough.

Your beer will be fine.

 

[MarkBastard]

ROFL this thread is classic.

Just pull the relief valve until the gas escapes, open the lid, put your hops in, then close it and burp it.

Zero problems doing this.

What I do is soak my dry hop bag in starsan, including the fishing line and rubber band I use to connect the bag to the inside of the lid (pressure relief valve knob). Then I pull it out of the starsan, flick it a bit to get excess starsan off, and fill up with hops. Tie a knot, tie fishing line to bag, then add it to the keg as above.

There should be co2 in your keg headspace protecting the beer, and then you burp it afterwards to get all excess air out.

How else would you dry hop in the keg?

 

[DanRayner]

You're probably 100% right Mark and I'm not saying anyone should follow my method - I was just having problems with a little oxidation and I got a bit obsessed with eliminating it - once I am happy that my beer is consistantly not oxidised I might consider dialing back my method a touch

 

[pcmfisher]

No wonder we've got global warming with all that co2 you are releasing into the atmosphere

 

[adryargument]

No wonder we've got global warming with all that co2 you are releasing into the atmosphere

However CO2 used to carbonate beer is about 1/10 the amount which is converted into oxygen by the hops plantations.
Therefore we are doing a great service!