Filling up 2-Liter bottles w/ force-carbed beer

I am heading off to the beach this weekend and want to take some homebrew with me. I was thinking about buying a bunch of cheap 2-liters of club soda at Wal-Mart, dumping out the club soda, and filling each bottle from my kegerator near the top and capping it. I know that once I reopen it, it's going to lose carbonation and go flat pretty fast....otherwise, am I missing anything?

Any other recommendations?

When people bottle from a keg, they usually chill the bottle down to try to reduce foaming. Wonder if you can get the same effect by having the 2-liter in a bucket of ice?

Since you're going to lose CO2 in the filling process, I wonder if you could overcarb the beer slightly in the keg to compensate, then lower the carb level again after you're done.

ChshreCat said:

When people bottle from a keg, they usually chill the bottle down to try to reduce foaming. Wonder if you can get the same effect by having the 2-liter in a bucket of ice?

Since you're going to lose CO2 in the filling process, I wonder if you could overcarb the beer slightly in the keg to compensate, then lower the carb level again after you're done.

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I've considered the overcarbing part - I'll pump the PSI up a touch tonight. I'll try chilling the bottles down too by putting them all in the kegerator with the beer an hour or so beforehand - shouldn't take that long to chill plastic

If you find yourself doing this a lot a Carbonater cap is a great investment.

Shooter said:

If you find yourself doing this a lot a Carbonater cap is a great investment.

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+1 I didn't even think to mention that. Those things rock. Fill it up, charge it and take it to the party.

Yeah I like my Carbonater cap too, just don't be stupid like me and read the instructions closely, I was trying to carbonate some water while testing it and I didn't take it off the air line while shaking and some water went into the air line. No harm done after I blew it out and read the instructions better since that didn't seem right. (You are supposed to attach air line, pressurize it, detach the air line, then shake, then repeat to desired carbonation level)

What I DO like is pouring part of my beer while racking it into a PET bottle, stowing it in the freezer while I keg or bottle the rest, carbonate it after I'm done and I have a cold, carbonated sample of what my kegged or bottled beer will be like in a few weeks. Sneak preview. Or stick a few in the fridge for short term carb for the impatient

From what I have read, you want to bring your beer to almost freezing (not sure what temp beer freezes) use a long line with a bottle filler or a valve attached, put line right to bottom of chilled bottle (rinsing helps too) and pour with the lowest pressure possible. You can also add a stopper to your line to keep the oxygen from entering your bottle or even squirt a little co2 in your bottles.

I was actually thinking about putting a few bottles in a tub or sink or barrel and then drop a small block of dry ice in there, when the dry ice fills the tub it should displace the O2 and fill the bottles, just like water only as a gas, as CO2 is heavier than air.

What I remember reading (and like everyone else it seems, I'm too lazy to dig one of the threads on this subject) is that you want to do a few things to retain a proper amount of carbonation.

• Over carb the keg
• Have the bottles at the same temperature as the beer
• Turn down the PSI to 2-4 and purge the CO2 from the keg to get a slow pour
• Use some sort of tubing to extend to the bottom of the bottle

Those things should help reduce foaming and compensate for any carbonation loss in transfer.

WAIVER: I've never bottled from the keg successfully, but I've read these tips on the internet... so there's that.

I do have one carbonator cap - but I need to fill up around 6-7 bottles and really don't want to drop $50 bucks for what I imagine will be a one time deal...well, who knows, I'll call the LHBS and see if they'll give me a deal

All you should need is one cap because you can crank the psi up to 30 and after a few cycles of adding gas, disconnecting and shaking it should only take a few minutes for each bottle. I've done 32oz bottles in a reasonable amount of time, 2L shouldn't take very long. It will be pretty foamy when you want to take the carb cap off though, release the pressure by pushing the button (in the sink so the foam goes somewhere safe) and replace the carb cap with a normal one.

If you just let out most of the head pressure from the keg, and attach a tube to your faucet that reaches the bottom of the bottle you're filling, you won't have any problems. If the beer stops flowing, let in a little gas to the keg. If you really want, set the regulator at a very low pressure instead of messing with "letting in a little gas to the keg."

There's no need to overcarbonate or chill the bottle or make the keg really cold. You don't need to worry about O2 - it only has to keep for one day! Also, it won't go flat very quickly. It will easily last your beach day, especially if you put the cap back on after pouring.

You're just going to have some beers at the beach. It's not like you're going to say, "you know this seems to have lost about 0.2 volumes of CO2 - this beer is ruined!".

Good advice above... BUT what if someone wants to keep it longer? let's say a a month? I am thinking I may want to share some of my kegged brew.

billc68 said:

Good advice above... BUT what if someone wants to keep it longer? let's say a a month? I am thinking I may want to share some of my kegged brew.

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If you are planning on giving it to people, rather than enjoying at at the beach the day of, then put it in regular beer bottles. Even growlers aren't meant for long term storage once open.

MBasile said:

If you are planning on giving it to people, rather than enjoying at at the beach the day of, then put it in regular beer bottles. Even growlers aren't meant for long term storage once open.

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I get that, I just meant the process, not necessarily the bottle itself.