Group brew day, yeast pitching

My buddies and I are having a group brew day. All of us getting together and each brewing a batch. Since I have to bring it home before pitching yeast, how should I go about it?

I ferment in kegs, so should I just chill the beer and throw it in the keg till I get home? Could be next day, 12+ hours later. Or should I just do the no chill method? What is best as far as sanitization? I'm thinking no chill, but I would prefer not to do that.

Thanks!

TheMan said:

My buddies and I are having a group brew day. All of us getting together and each brewing a batch. Since I have to bring it home before pitching yeast, how should I go about it?

I ferment in kegs, so should I just chill the beer and throw it in the keg till I get home? Could be next day, 12+ hours later. Or should I just do the no chill method? What is best as far as sanitization? I'm thinking no chill, but I would prefer not to do that.

Thanks!

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Mine's well chill it, it will get cold anyhow and anything less than boiling could theoretically get an infection, heck even boiling could get one if a sulfur bacteria got near it... Why do you have to bring it home before pitching the yeast? Just chill it, pitch and bring it home the next day, why not? Pitching and fermentation will protect the brew more than leaving a very fermentable wort around for hours unpitched. As soon as the yeast start to produce CO2 and it layers on top of the wort you are in pretty good shape.. I'd pitch at the group brew unless you want to reboil when you get home... just my opinion.

Most of my beers usually start to krausen in that time. I will have to have it sealed to drive home. What would the effect of pitching and sealing the keg have?

TheMan said:

Most of my beers usually start to krausen in that time. I will have to have it sealed to drive home. What would the effect of pitching and sealing the keg have?

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I hear ya, would it be terrible to have a krausening fermentation going mobile? Probably not at all... Others should chime in though cause I really don't know

I'd chill it and pitch right away. Pull the pressure relief on the kegs now and then after about the first six hours or so. A little pressure build up for a short time shouldn't do any harm. Once you get home, do whatever it is that you usually do.

I vote for chill then pitch. I drove home with 10 gallons in a sanke fermenter in november after the teach your friend to brew day with a 10 psi poppet valve on it and it came out fine.

Chill - Pitch - Cover fermentor with saran wrap and a rubber band - drive home

i would chill it then take it home to pitch. if it sloshes around on the way home it will only being introducing air so it will be good to pitch

My homebrew club is having another group brew this Saturday and what I do is just chill going into the 2-6 gallon carboys(10 gallon batch) and put an airlock on and throw in the back seat(carboys are in milk crates) and drive the 30 minutes home and pitch the yeast but I could just pitch before I left the group brew but I just do it when I get home.

Does anyone else have any input on pitching some yeast and sealing the keg for a half a day? And is it bad to be sloshing the beer around after the krausen forms?

I pitch into a sealed keg and drive home every time we have a group brew. Don't overthink it. It will be fine. If you are anal, you can purge the headspace with argon or nitrogen.

It usually take a couple of hours for the fermentation to really get going anyways. I vote chill it- pitch- drive.

It usually take a couple of hours for the fermentation to really get going anyways. I vote chill it- pitch- drive.

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I don't think you guys read the first part of my thread...I may not be driving home for about 12 to 15 hours after finished brewing. At that point my fermentation will be well underway. We are playing poker and having some beer afterwards, I may not be in shape to drive and might stay the night. Otherwise I would simply pitch and drive home right away.