Imperial Stout - Aged and ready to Tap. Can I check it first?

I have a keg of Imperial Stout which has been aging for more than a year now and it is currently on Beer/Gas at 29psi in my basement. Is it possible to release the pressure and open the keg to check the condition of the Stout prior to tapping it?

My concern here is that I had it tapped originally, but it was too young (tasted great, but had a slight chemical type flavor to it).

I would of course purge the keg after opening and inspecting it.

I guess I could just throw a picnic tap on it and try it huh! Did I just answer my own question here?

Salute!

While I was reading the first half of the question, I was already thinking that I'd throw a picnic tap on it. That way you could also pull out the sludge before moving it. If it's been sitting a while, you probably have a bit of yeast cake and you could get rid of some of it just by tapping it. Then, dump that and have a sample!

I don't see any problem with taking out a sample with a wine thief, though. You could open it, take the sample, close it and purge it a few times. I think the picnic tap is easir, though.

YooperBrew said:

While I was reading the first half of the question, I was already thinking that I'd throw a picnic tap on it. That way you could also pull out the sludge before moving it. If it's been sitting a while, you probably have a bit of yeast cake and you could get rid of some of it just by tapping it. Then, dump that and have a sample!

I don't see any problem with taking out a sample with a wine thief, though. You could open it, take the sample, close it and purge it a few times. I think the picnic tap is easir, though.

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Thanks Yooper........ Just a note to you....... I love the DFH60 clone you posted. Made it several times and will make it many more with minor tweaks here and there.

Salute!