Traveling with beer in better bottles

kansastransplantvictim · 11-04-2009, 02:34 PM

I was wondering what would be the best way to make a 9 hour drive with two better bottles with beer that is partially fermented. In one I have a old ale that is going to come in about 7%abv and has only been in the bb for 4 weeks. In the other I have a barley wine that is going to come in about 8-9%abv that has only been in the bb for 2 weeks. The barley wine still has a small layer of krausen but I would expect it to quickly dissipate once it is moved, and the old ale has no krausen and should be pretty close to being done. The SG of the old ale was 1.022(a week ago) which is very close to what I expected it to finish at, but it still needs to age a little bit. My main concern is oxidation, and of course losing the beer to a accident. If anyone has any advice on how to make the move without ruining the beer, or suggesting that I bottle it, I would appreciate it.

This move is happening because SWMBO decided that she doesn't want that position in my life anymore,

. But at least I get to move back to Colorado.

**DRoyLenz** · 11-04-2009, 02:44 PM

If you're driving, I would recommend making sure they stay out of direct sunlight (cover them up) and to make sure they never sit in the car for a long period of time without the climate control (A/C or heater) keeping a pretty constant temperature. At this time of year, it probably isn't that big of deal if they got a little chilly overnight, but if you were driving in warmer climates, I would be concerned about them getting too warm (although, I'm not sure I have any justifiable reason to be concerned).

I'm betting they will be just fine. IIRC, krausen residue has chemicals that are attributed to hangovers and morning-after headaches, so you may consider trying to get the residue out before sloshing them around too much.

I just had another thought. If you have a kegging setup (CO2 tank), maybe you'll want to purge the oxygen out of the BB and replace it with CO2 before transporting them to prevent oxidation (I'm not talking about pressurizing the BB, just replacing the gas in the headspace).

**Bobby_M** · 11-04-2009, 03:05 PM

I'd put two layers of plastic wrap over the neck and rubberband it on tight. It should vent co2 if it builds up any pressure but won't suck air or water back in.

hayabusa · 11-04-2009, 03:08 PM

I'd transfer them to cornies for the trip..... sealed units. CO2 purged, etc..... once you get to the final resting place let them finish up in the cornies then gas transfer to a new set for drinking.

**TexLaw** · 11-04-2009, 03:16 PM

If you have the cornies, I also highly recommend transferring to them.

The problem with moving Better Bottles is that they change shape when you lift them, so you'll find yourself respirating the dadgum thing and introducing oxygen. The volume change can be enough so that Bobby's solution with the platic wrap and rubber bands will not suffice (although that works great for rigid fermenters).

TL

kansastransplantvictim · 11-04-2009, 04:33 PM

Thanks for the advice, I think the plastic wrap sounds like the only solution so far (hadn't thought about the suck back issue). I wish I had kegs, but for now bottling gives me an excuse to drink more 90 shilling. And hopefully the temp change won't effect it too much. My beer has had the good life up until now and had a basement with a temp that is at 62 degrees at most 64 all of the time and no sunlight. The forecast for KS and CO is 50-60 degrees with plenty of beer ruining sun, so blankets will be used to protect beer and furniture.

I'm worried about the old ale being oxidized the most, since I have taken the cap off to take SG, and just to look at it since the top of the bottle was covered in scum, so there might not be any C02 left to protect it? I might just squeeze in a bottling session so I can RDWHAHB when I get home. But the last I saw of my barley wine it was still chuggin along.

If only SWDHTBO would have considered the beer before going off the deep end... But now I've got a fun way to pass the 18 hours of driving to get my stuff back, thinking of names for the beer to commemorate how pissed I am.

jrfuda · 11-04-2009, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexLaw

...The problem with moving Better Bottles is that they change shape when you lift them, so you'll find yourself respirating the dadgum thing and introducing oxygen...

This is on a smaller scale, but whenever I move my full better bottles around, I put a piece of clamped tubing on the dry tap, which effectively seals the bb and makes it airtight. This keeps air from being drawn in as the bb deforms during movement.

You could do this to move them, then once they're inplace in your vehicle, you can place balloons secured with ruber bands over the airlock, so CO2 can go somewhere, but nothing else can go in. If the balloons start getting too full, you can release some presssure... You can use those big honkin punching bag balloons to give yourself lots of room for expansion.

This is, assuming you're using the bb dry tap, bnt sure how well any of this will work with other types of airlocks. Oh, and despite what the bb website claims, their dry taps are not 100% 1-way. If there's enough negative pressure in the bb, air will start slipping by the little glass ball inside the dry tap - hence the necessity for the clamped piece of tubing I mentioned earlier (and the balloon for longer-term use).