Skunkyhops

Recipes 

I have a Chocolate Espresso Stout thats been sitting in secondary a little over 2 weeks. I recently aquired 4 corny's, and i was wondering, Since im not ready to bottle the stout but would like to free up the carboy for my first batch of apfelwein, should i add the priming sugar and let it naturally carbonate in the corny? or should i just rack it to the corny and let it sit until im ready to bottle it or carb it up in the corny? Im really new to kegging and not sure if there are any pros or cons to either method mentioned above. Or maybe im completely off and none of the above will work, anyway i greatly appreciate you alls help.

the_bird

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So, do you have a CO2 tank, a reg, and all the fittings? If so, I'd purge the keg with CO2 and rack into it; whether you prime or not is up to you, I'd just make sure to hit the keg with enough pressure to get a good seal on the lid. You could prime the keg (use a bit less sugar than you would for bottling), or if you're ultimately going to force-carb it, just set it aside.

Or you could just buy another carboy...

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reshp1

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If you are planning on ultimately bottling this batch, I would not carbonate it. It will make filling bottles very hard and messy since the beer will foam up on you. You'd need a counterpressure filler or a beer gun to do it properly. I wouldn't just rack it into the keg and leave it either without putting some CO2 in, purging the air, and keeping enough pressure on the keg to keep the lid sealed. Chances are you'll only need a couple PSI to seal the keg and the beer will still be sufficiently flat to bottle with, but why not just keep this one on draft?

Skunkyhops

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All i have equipment wise are the cornys right now. Ill be getting evrything else over the next couple of weeks. Getting another carboy is another option but if its possible i would like to use the corny as a storage tank until I bottle it or decide to force carb it.

TexLaw

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If you do not have the equipment to purge the keg with CO2, you very likely will oxidize your beer more than you care to. I would not do it until I was able to purge.


TL

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Skunkyhops

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Cool thanks for being honest with me tex law. i would hate to ruin a batch due to my impatients.

the_bird

Recipes 

Other than the issue of maybe not getting a great seal without being able to hit the keg with a shot of CO2, how would racking into a corny as a secondary be any different from racking into a carboy? Rack clean and rack quiet.

Thing is - you're gonna want another carboy.....

__________________
Come join Yankee Ingenuity!

"I'm kind of toasted. But I looked at my watch and it's only 6:30 so I can't stop drinking yet." - Yooper's Bob
"Brown eye finally recovered after the abuse it endured in Ptown last weekend, but it took almost a full week." - Paulie
"no, he just doesn't speak 'stupid'. i, however, am fluent...." - motobrewer

Skunkyhops

Recipes 

yea or two or three more carboys!