Travelling Secondarys

[scotsdalebrewery]

I have still got a pilsner in secondary and dont want to bottle it!

I will be moving soon about 4 hrs away and was hoping to let it ride with us and keg it at the new destination.

What do you reckon? :blink:

 

[PostModern]

I reckon you'll need to be sure of your CO2 blanket in the fermenter to avoid oxidation. Chuck in some dextrose or DME to give the yeast something to chew on, then transport carefully. Otherwise, rack to a cube, minimise headspace and take that on the road. It'll need settling time once you get to the other end, either way. I don't like the idea of finished beer sloshing around if it is exposed to air.

 

[Ross]

As he's kegging & it's already in a secondary container, I don't see any point in starting up the ferment again, just purge the headspace with CO2 & you should be fine.

cheers Ross

 

[Hutch]

I'd be inclined to rack into a cube, and purge with CO2. Cubes are a better transport option than a fermenter, IMO. I'd be VERY cautious of the liquid out tap getting nocked about, and losing 20+ Ltrs of your finest in the boot!

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

thanks guys - i might give it a go - will report back!

 

[DarkFaerytale]

old thread, thought i'd re-hash it rather than make another, i'll have 2 brews in secondary when i move at the start of next month, fortunatly i'm not moving 4 hours away like scotsdalebrewery but only 5-10 minutes away, unfortuantly one of the said brews is an octoberfest which i'm hopeing to lager for another few months and i'm sure a bit of sloshing around would greatly improve my risk of oxidation in a brew thats going to be sitting in the fermenter for a few months.

i don't have a tank of C02 sitting around so can't purge the head space, would adding some DME to secondary be a good idea or just bugger it and drive really bloody slow and try to avoid speed humps (a hard thing to do in my area)

-Phill

 

[therook]

old thread, thought i'd re-hash it rather than make another, i'll have 2 brews in secondary when i move at the start of next month, fortunatly i'm not moving 4 hours away like scotsdalebrewery but only 5-10 minutes away, unfortuantly one of the said brews is an octoberfest which i'm hopeing to lager for another few months and i'm sure a bit of sloshing around would greatly improve my risk of oxidation in a brew thats going to be sitting in the fermenter for a few months.

i don't have a tank of C02 sitting around so can't purge the head space, would adding some DME to secondary be a good idea or just bugger it and drive really bloody slow and try to avoid speed humps (a hard thing to do in my area)

-Phill

DF,

How would squezing the cube to eliminate all the free space go?

Rook

 

[Stuster]

If it's already in secondary, I suspect that most of the oxygen would have been used up/blown out by now. If oxygen is going to oxidise your beer, it will have plenty of time to interact with it whether it is shaken up or not. So IMO you can just leave it and carry it as is. Does it have an airlock in though?

 

[DarkFaerytale]

not cubed, in the fermenter i could consider buying a cube but that means racking again

yep there is an airlock in the secondary and most of the water is on the out side so it must have at least a small blanket of C02 on top

-Phill

 

[BenH]

not cubed, in the fermenter i could consider buying a cube but that means racking again

yep there is an airlock in the secondary and most of the water is on the out side so it must have at least a small blanket of C02 on top

-Phill

Don't be scared of racking again, as long as your sanitation is good, you'll have no problems. And I've found lagering in a cube/jerry is much more convenient (frees up the fermenter for the next brew, takes up less room).

Remember that a 'blanket' of CO2 is going to be easily disturbed by any movement, so any oxygen in the headspace will present a danger to a long lagering period. (If CO2 wasn't easily disturbed and mixed with oxygen in the atmosphere, living at sea level would be a health hazard!)

 

[PostModern]

In an enclosed still environment (inside of a chest freezer, fermenter, etc) CO2 will sink to the bottom as evidenced by a lighter going out. I checked this in my fermentation freezer. The top 1/3 will happily support a flame. As I lower it into the freezer when fermentation has been taking place, the flame goes out and can't be re-lit. Inside a secondary would be much the same. Agitation would mix the air and any CO2 and the splashing (as we all know from keg gassing) will increase the rate of O2 absorption and potential beer spoilage.

Either rack to a zero headspace cube, purge the headspace with CO2 or drink quickly!

 

[DarkFaerytale]

frees up the fermenter for the next brew

that line got me, i'll be in bunnings tonight having a look at some jerry cans/cubes, thanks for the help guys, fingers crossed a squeezed jerry can and very slow driving in back streets will mean that i will have no problems