Ever keg your bottled beer?

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sivdrinks

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Going on six weeks in the bottle with no carbonation. It's a honey wheat, not sure why but I think it just dropped a ton if yeast in secondary resulting in super low carb. So I was thinking about opening what's left and kegging. Thoughts!
 
It would be nearly impossible not to introduce a ton of oxygen, and ruin the beer, but if you aren't gonna drink it anyway, give it a try.
 
I once spilled 3/4 of a smack pack while pitching it into a Witbier. I just left it alone for 3 months and it recovered. I agree with the post above that says you'll likely oxidize the hell out of that beer. I had once considered popping bottles and hitting each one with a carbonation tablet but left it alone and it recovered. Move onto the next batch and forget about this one for a few months.
 
sivdrinks said:
Going on six weeks in the bottle with no carbonation. It's a honey wheat, not sure why but I think it just dropped a ton if yeast in secondary resulting in super low carb. So I was thinking about opening what's left and kegging. Thoughts!

If you are confident that you put in the right amount of priming sugar, give it time. The amount of active yeast you need to effectively carbonate a beer is extremely low.
 
One per bottle. They usually dissolve in a day or two. Very little sediment at the bottom, a dusting maybe. Feels slightly carbed in the mouthfeel. I turned them upside down and gave em a flick the other day to see if that helps, I'll try another tonight.
 
sivdrinks said:
One per bottle. They usually dissolve in a day or two. Very little sediment at the bottom, a dusting maybe. Feels slightly carbed in the mouthfeel. I turned them upside down and gave em a flick the other day to see if that helps, I'll try another tonight.

If you are getting some carbonation, you've got active yeast. How are your storage temps? What gravity beer?
 
How long are you letting them chill before pouring into a glass?

I have a brew-buddy that had a batch take about five months to carbonate. He just tried one a month until it was finally there. So, as already stated, just give it time and you should be fine. The only way you could have zero chance of carbonation is if the yeast was at it's alcohol tolerance level when you bottled, or didn't use any priming sugars/solution/tabs at all. Since it sounds like neither was the case, just give it time in bottle, and time in the fridge when sampling.

I would check every few weeks, or month, moving forward. Chill the bottle for a full week before you open and pour...
 
In fridge about three weeks now. Lots of wasted beer due to sampling. Another advantage of kegging I guess.
 
You didn't put the entire batch into the fridge after just three weeks in bottle, right?

I always test one bottle at a time before confirming that a batch has carbonated. If it's not where I want it, I put another in the fridge about a week after the previous one went in and give it 5+ days to chill. Most of my batches are carbonated after 3 weeks at 70+F... I might have had one that was better a bit later...

Of course, kegging DOES make it simpler to carbonate. Put it at your serving pressure for the CO2 volumes and temperature for two weeks and you're good to go...

I'm kegging the first 2.5 or 3 gallons of my batches, bottling the balance. Last night's keg/bottle session yielded me almost 5.5 gallons into keg/bottle (started with ~6 into primary). I'm pretty sure the kegged part will be carbonated a bit higher than the bottles. This is only due to getting more brew to bottles than I had counted on. Since I ferment inside kegs, I couldn't SEE the level of brew coming out. Still, only a small CO2 volume difference between the two. Next batch to be kegged/bottled is an English IPA... I might keg the entire batch there. Just means if anyone else wants some, they'll need to come over to my place. :D
 
sivdrinks said:
In fridge about three weeks now. Lots of wasted beer due to sampling. Another advantage of kegging I guess.

If they're in the fridge, they're not carbonating up any more, so there's your problem. You need to be in the 70s to keep the yeast active.
 
I thought chilling helped force carbonation into the beer? I have a 12 pack left over outta the fridge, try one of those tonight. It's frustrating because this is the only batch I've had an issue with. Kegs in the near future.
 
I thought chilling helped force carbonation into the beer? I have a 12 pack left over outta the fridge, try one of those tonight. It's frustrating because this is the only batch I've had an issue with. Kegs in the near future.

It does, but only if the CO2 has already been produced. If you cut off the yeast from doing their job, there's no CO2 for you to force.

3 weeks at 70ºF is usually enough for normal beers to carb up, but there are plenty of things that can make that take longer.

I think I'm the only guy on these forums who has both kegging and bottling equipment but finds bottling easier. :drunk:
 
MalFet, I'm still doing both, and see merits in both. Getting brew into kegs is easier, but bottling is more 'set and forget'. With kegs, you have options, and decisions to make. How much pressure do I charge the kegs to? What temperature do I carbonate and serve at? Will I slow or rapid force carbonate? Do I want to carbonate with sugars? What CO2 volumes do I want to KNOW I have in the brew? How long, and what ID, do I make my lines? Is my system balanced? My head is starting to spin just thinking about it (time for a home brew :mug:)...

Not really sure if I'll ever 100% stop bottling, but I can see bottling less of batches moving forward. Of course, this is while I still only have a kegorator/brew fridge that holds three kegs (2.5 or 3 gallon)... Once I get a keezer built, all bets are off. I do see the day (pretty soon too) where I'll bottle a 6-pack of long necks from each batch for competition, and the rest is in keg... Although I could just get one of the beer guns and keg all of it... hmmmmmmmm :drunk::tank:
 
So I stuck a non refrigerated beer on the freezer for a couple hours, it's carbed but no head. Would a couple days in the fridge produce head? Guessing I should take all the fridge beers out and let em sit for a couple weeks.
 
So I stuck a non refrigerated beer on the freezer for a couple hours, it's carbed but no head. Would a couple days in the fridge produce head? Guessing I should take all the fridge beers out and let em sit for a couple weeks.

If you've got carb but no head, your problem is related to something other than yeast. They've done their job. Most likely, protein levels are low or you're getting some kind of emulsifying effect going on thanks to an addition. Post your recipe?
 
I agree with MalFet there... Post your recipe so people can see what went into the brew...

I've had brews that have low carbonation, good head to start, but it goes real thin (or almost away) after a few minutes. I've also had some that had head that you could rest a quarter on, that stayed for the entire glass... If carbonated, the head character will depend on the recipe...
 
sivdrinks said:

My brother in law made this kit and had totally normal (for a wheat beer) head retention. There are too many things that can kill your head to list them here, so it's worth reading up on that. Soaps, oils, etc...

Edit: also, I just remembered that this more carbonated beer had only been in the fridge a short time. Often that will play a role. See if you've got better foam after keeping them in the fridge a few days.
 
Edit: also, I just remembered that this more carbonated beer had only been in the fridge a short time. Often that will play a role. See if you've got better foam after keeping them in the fridge a few days.

+5 there... I find that chilling for 4-5 days, or longer, does my brews better. The head calms down, and stays longer.

Also, if you used regular dish soap to clean your pot/kettle, that could be it right there. Use something like BarKeepers Friend to clean SS... Also seriously rinse out your beer glasses. Even a minute amount of soap residue there can kill the brew's head...

Bet you didn't know there were so many moving elements when you started home brewing... :D Don't worry, once you get things figured out, it's easy to adjust your routine to make them second nature. Especially after enough batches...
 
You know what, I put my bottles in the dishwasher with about half the normal detergent. I'm guessing this is so wrong but I've done this for the other beers I've done also with no issues. How do you guys prep your bottles? I pulled all beers outta fridge, gonna give a light shake and let sit another week. Based on taste, I'll be surpassed if this beer comes around.
 
You know what, I put my bottles in the dishwasher with about half the normal detergent. I'm guessing this is so wrong but I've done this for the other beers I've done also with no issues. How do you guys prep your bottles? I pulled all beers outta fridge, gonna give a light shake and let sit another week. Based on taste, I'll be surpassed if this beer comes around.

Yeah, soap is bad.

For me, bottle prep is:
1) soak in hot pbw
2) hot rinse with jet bottle washer
3) starsan rinse with vinator
 
I triple rinse the bottles to get the sediment out. IF I have to, I soak in PBW solution for the stubborn bottles (only had one so far) and then triple rinse it. I fill them with StarSan, drain, and let them drip on the bottle tree before being filled. I bottle in Grolsch (swing/flip top bottles) and as long as I make sure the seal looks good, I get a solid seal and great carbonation (and head) from them.

IMO, I wouldn't use any soak in a dishwasher for bottles. Hell, I wouldn't bother to put any bottles through it even without soap. I find it so easy to simply rinse the bottles when you pour the glass(es) from them, that it seems silly to do otherwise.

Of course, if you start kegging, your bottle worries will go away. BUT, you'll need to clean the kegs, sanitize the poppets and dip tubes, before filling them up. Then make sure the O-ring in the lid seats fully, and don't forget to purge the O2 out from the top of the keg once you have it filled and sealed... :eek: :D

Remember:
RDWHAHB
 
No head may have more to do with residual soap left in the glass. Give your glass a good rinse in hot water and let it air dry. Sure if that helps.
 
I seem to be learning more from mistakes made in later batches than my firsts. Check out my thread about high FG in the yeast topics. Thanks for all the replies.
 
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