Keg Pasturization

Anyone ever try this? Is it too dangerous? I'm planning on doing this instead of adding potassium sorbate after backsweetening my cider. My idea is to purge all O2 from the keg with cider in it already sweetened, fill with bout 2psi of CO2, then heat to 140 and keep there for a few minutes.

My question is, would I be risking an explosion if I make sure to pull the release valve regularly? I mean bottle bombs are one thing, but a stainless steel keg bomb would be catastrophic! Any problems here?

I guess my question would be why? If you cold crash, rack to keg & keep cold why would you need to pasteurize?

If you use P1*V1/T1 = P2*V2/T2 you'll end up with about 2 psi. Actually less because there will be air in the keg. You could use a pressure gauge to keep an eye on it and even use a relief valve for extra safety. Don't burn yourself pulling a relief valve by hand.

16.7psi,g*5gal/527R = xpsi,g*5gal/600R -> x = 19psi,g = 2.3psi

Should be able to just leave a rag over the poppet and it should self regulate.
Are you talking about soda kegs? How would you plan to heat them? Would the plastic ends tolerate it?

I had thought of keg pasturizing myself. I was thinking of using a wort chiller (cider through the copper coil) as a way to run cider through a boiling pot of water. Just have to make the tubing long enough to allow enough contact time with the water. That way you run it through the coil, right into the keg.

Know anyone with standard beer making equipment?

Pommeau said:

Should be able to just leave a rag over the poppet and it should self regulate.
Are you talking about soda kegs? How would you plan to heat them? Would the plastic ends tolerate it?

I had thought of keg pasturizing myself. I was thinking of using a wort chiller (cider through the copper coil) as a way to run cider through a boiling pot of water. Just have to make the tubing long enough to allow enough contact time with the water. That way you run it through the coil, right into the keg.

Know anyone with standard beer making equipment?

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If you have the ability, it'd probably be MUCH easier to just filter the cider. You can buy a filtering set up for about $65 if you already have the kegs. A "sterile" filter will remove the yeast.

roadymi said:

I guess my question would be why? If you cold crash, rack to keg & keep cold why would you need to pasteurize?

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Because I don't want to keep it cold. It's going to be bottled after being force carbed so that I can store wherever and ship across the country without worrying about homeland security knocking on my door (being dramatic, of course).

Burning myself pulling the release valve.... Haha, never even crossed my mind. Thanks, you probably saved my fingers and the embarrassment of feeling that stupid! Sounds like the pressures shouldn't be too much of a concern though from what you're saying.

Oxidation of the cider is my biggest concern. I was thinking of just putting a rag over the opening, but as I was researching, head room is a big concern when heating the cider. But then again, I was talking about siphoning into a large pot, cooking, then siphoning back into the keg. Yes, it is a soda keg. I was planning on putting a layer of gravel down at the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching of the plastic ends. Oh, and I do know someone with a wort chiller, but it's the other kind where you run cold water through the tubing which is placed in the wort. Plus, all the splashing would concern me, seeing as a wort chiller is meant for pre-fermented wort where oxidation isn't a concern.

As for a filter... Hmm. It never really crossed my mind because from what I had kept hearing, they were expensive as hell. At 65 bucks though, that's doable. But I'd have to save up and maybe think about that for the next batch, as I'm running on a tight budget (already spend 70 bucks I didn't have on building the press).

So why don't you want to use potassium?

Have you seen the Bowie Bottler? It enables you to bottle straight from the tap carbed up and ready to go. You should be able to put it together for under $30.

Bowie Bottler

Potassium sorbate leaves kind of a chemical taste in my opinion. Used it on a strawberry wine and I thought it tasted funny, then when I posted about it and asked about it here, it seems that others can taste it as well. So I tried it in just tap water last night, and sure enough, the taste I detected in the water was the same weird taste that I detected in my wine. :/

Are you talking about the one used in the "we no need no stinkin beer gun" thread with the picnic tap and racking cane? Because that's what I've been using to bottle beer from the keg and was planning on using it to bottle cider from the keg.

Thanks Yooper,
I'll look for info one these awesomely magical filters you speak of. (lack of knowledge showing here)
Are they real slow like R/A membranes?

just noticed the quote...Temple...nice!

Pommeau said:

Thanks Yooper,
I'll look for info one these awesomely magical filters you speak of. (lack of knowledge showing here)
Are they real slow like R/A membranes?

just noticed the quote...Temple...nice!

Click to expand...

It's not slow, but I'd probably push no faster than, say, 2 psi.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/wine-beer-plate-filter.html

You'd filter first, then carb up in the keg. If you filter after, it foams too much. You'd just filter between kegs, pushing the cider/beer/wine/mead with co2.

In order to remove the yeast, you'd need to filter once with a medium, and then filter again with a "sterile" sized pad. The reason is you don't want to clog up the filter pads and the first time would catch all the "stuff" in the cider, and the last would catch the yeast.

Yes the bowie bottler is the evolution of the beer gun. I must have gotten this confused with another thread. I forgot you were doing this to back sweeten. Bottling from the tap isn't going to help much with that.

Alright, I pasteurized in the keg yesterday! Broke my thermometer, so had to judge by feel. Got the keg to the point where I couldn't hold my palm on the steel for more than 5 seconds... So I'm guessing about 120 degrees, under 20psi. Held it there for 15 minutes. Think that's hot enough to kill all the yeast? Got worried about going to a higher temp because I could hear my cider bubbling in the keg and though that maybe my alcohol was boiling off because of the 20psi (though now that I think about it, 20 psi in the keg would have RAISED the boiling point of ethanol). Should I just hit it again with a higher temp? Or fill a soda bottle, degass it, and see if it re-carbs because of restarted fermentation?