Kicking the Keg

So a few minutes ago I was sitting around typing when I heard a loud bang from downstairs. Thinking the worst (a newly installed hanging liquor cabinet) I ran down to see what happened. After a few minutes I found a keg had tipped over.

It looked odd so I gave it a once over before I righted it. The bottom of it was so mis-shapen that it had fallen over. Since it had been standing upright since Monday when I used it to hold a batch of Chimay Blue clone I knew something was wrong.

I took it outside and vented it.

You know those movies where they strike oil and the pressure sends it up into the sky about 100 feet?

Yeah, that's what happened.

So, I vented it and the bottom came back into shape. It has an old style handle so I was able to leave it vented and hose it down as the eruption subsided.

It's in the driveway now and I need to make a decision.

This beer was kegged a few days ago. I used the Beer Captured instruction and went with 1/3 cup of corn sugar and 1/2 cup of Clear Candi Sugar to carb as I would do in bottles.

Do I let it ride out the wave in the driveway and let fermentation of the sugars complete? Should I toss it into the lagering fridge and crank the temps down to 33 degrees in hopes that it will stop fermentation?

I also have another keg of the stuff that I did the same thing. I vented it to make sure it wouldn't detonate and it seems fine.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

not sure how I would proced at this point, but you used way too much sugar. For kegging, you want half of what you use for bottles ~2.5 oz total for 5 gallons. But to build up that much pressure, it soulds like your fermentation might not have been complete before you kegged.

JeepDiver said:

not sure how I would proced at this point, but you used way too much sugar. For kegging, you want half of what you use for bottles ~2.5 oz total for 5 gallons. But to build up that much pressure, it soulds like your fermentation might not have been complete before you kegged.

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Weird. It actually came in below the target FG; started at 1.080 and finished at 1.006. It also had sat for two months before being kegged.

Yeah that's crazy. Those cornies can take 120 psi. You're lucky it didn't explode while you were carrying it outside. I would have vented that sucker in place no matter how much mess it made.

You dented the bottom of a keg with yeast pressure? Ummmm. That keg is junk. Chinese?

I'm shocked the valve didn't blow open on it's own??? I'd fit an airlock on it somehow (take off a post and fit a blowoff?) and let it ferment out a bit, maybe a week, then try again. Any way you can fit a pressure gauge to the cornie? That would help you know when to vent or if it was going crazy.

onthekeg said:

You dented the bottom of a keg with yeast pressure? Ummmm. That keg is junk. Chinese?

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Actually it's a very old keg. It was given to me by someone that last used it in the mid-80's according to him. I vented it and the bottom returned, mostly, back to shape.

I just went and re-vented it. There was a little pressure but not that much.

If it is that thin on the bottom, I would be thinking about loosing that one.

tre9er said:

I'm shocked the valve didn't blow open on it's own??? I'd fit an airlock on it somehow (take off a post and fit a blowoff?) and let it ferment out a bit, maybe a week, then try again. Any way you can fit a pressure gauge to the cornie? That would help you know when to vent or if it was going crazy.

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I was thinking the same thing

Most of the kegs we use are from the 80's or older, I've never heard of this. The release valve should have gave long before the keg distorted........Sum ting wong.

onthekeg said:

If it is that thin on the bottom, I would be thinking about loosing that one.

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Actually what's weird is that it seems to have returned to it's original form. It almost seems like there was some sort of rubber bladder around it that took a great amount of the pressure.

I don't know what to make of it. The keg was given to me last year by a buddy from Canada. The handle and blow-ff valve are unlike any other I have seen before.

I've used it at least a dozen times with no issue. When I empty the thing I'm interested in seeing what the inside looks like.

zeus53219 said:

Most of these kegs are from the 80's or older, I've never heard of this. The release valve should have gave long before the keg distorted........Sum ting wong.

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I'm voting for "Canadian."

Apparently the metal on the bottom of his keg is weaker than the blow off is set. Hence my advice. Yeast won't make 120psi and if the kegs are rated for that, it has to handle 2x that pressure to disfigure itself, let alone blow.
That keg has issues.

Please don't use that keg again, turn it in for scrap and maybe drill some holes so nobody else can try to reclaim it. If you must re-use the lid put a new relief valve on it. This is scary.

Curious to see this keg. Let's see some pics of it der hey.......good heads up of what to avoid.