First Batch n00b! Time to bottle/keg? Questions!

[KPBrews]

Ok, my first batch has been fermenting in primary for 2 weeks as of tomorrow. Blonde Ale extract kit, with US-05 yeast. Temps maintained around 60-65f, for the most part, and I've let it climb the past few days closer to 70f.

The Kraeusen rose, the Kraeusen fell (actually, the bubbles went flat on like Tuesday, so several days now that its Friday). No activity in the airlock for days. (not that I've had my eye glued for days, but every visual check has shown no changes)

I'm thinking it'll be safe to pull it out tomorrow evening (2 weeks on the money). I have NOT checked FG yet... it's been airlocked since I first plugged it.

Question 1) Do I REALLY need to use the wine thief to pull it out and check the hydrometer readings, or should it be safe enough to go?

Question 2) Should I attempt a cold crash (of sorts) for a day or two in my Cool-Brewing fermentation bag, by loading it up with as many frozen ice jugs as I can, or just consider it done?

Assuming it's ready to go (whether tomorrow or another day), we get to the next round of issues:

1) I have exactly NINE 22oz bottles cleaned and ready to go, that have been soaking in StarSan for a couple of days now. (Mostly Stone bottles that needed the painted labels stripped; 2oz of StarSan in a 5 gal bucket for a few days worked like a champ except on the AleSmith bottle that it didn't even dent a little... but I can live with that for this round). That's only enough to bottle ~198 oz of 640 oz from the 5 gal batch (I think it's a little less, by volume, but that should be ok, right?) That's about 1/3. I'd really rather not have to buy empty bottles... such a waste! So:

2) I also have a corny kegging kit, all ready to go, co2 bottle filled, everything in readiness.

BUT, I don't have a fridge big enough to hold the keg, nor (likely) any reasonable way of getting one soon enough to help. (working on convincing the SO, but not happening in the next month or two, that's for sure)

Question 3) Is the keg still useful to me, without any refrigeration? (room temp approx 72F) Obviously serving is a separate issue but I can probably get a jockey box for that.

Question 4) Can I split the batch and fill up all my current bottles, and just keg the rest?

Question 5) How do I deal with the priming sugar in a partially-bottled batch, assuming I force-carbonate the kegged portion? (And is there a trick to force-carbonating a less-than-full keg?) I assume, actually, I'd need to keg the plain stuff first and THEN add the priming sugar for the bottled portion, but that seems like a tricky calculation.

So close, but so far... :cross:

 

[jwalk4]

Question 1) Do I REALLY need to use the wine thief to pull it out and check the hydrometer readings, or should it be safe enough to go?

It's best practice to check FG, but its an acceptable risk if your fermentation was predicable. I did many batches without checking to see if the batch was done. However, good note keeping is a key aspect in making better beer...

Question 2) Should I attempt a cold crash (of sorts) for a day or two in my Cool-Brewing fermentation bag, by loading it up with as many frozen ice jugs as I can, or just consider it done?

This one is totally up to you. I don't cold crash if I'm bottling. I want those yeasties to help with carbonating. But many report good carb levels even with cold crashing. So, again up to you.

Question 3) Is the keg still useful to me, without any refrigeration? (room temp approx 72F) Obviously serving is a separate issue but I can probably get a jockey box for that.

Question 4) Can I split the batch and fill up all my current bottles, and just keg the rest?

Question 5) How do I deal with the priming sugar in a partially-bottled batch, assuming I force-carbonate the kegged portion? (And is there a trick to force-carbonating a less-than-full keg?) I assume, actually, I'd need to keg the plain stuff first and THEN add the priming sugar for the bottled portion, but that seems like a tricky calculation.
:

I'd probably keg the whole batch. The priming sugar calculation is the easy part (if I understand what you mean). The risk when carbing in a partially filled keg is oxidizing your beer which will harm the shelf life. purging o2 from the headspace is a bit of a myth, according to some.

An alternative would be to naturally carb in the keg. Just add 3/4 cup of priming sugar (boiled in 1 cup of water) and let it carb like one big bottle. This is difficult though, and might get a lot of foam or flat beer.

Really though, I think you need a fridge to keg. It doesn't need to be fancy with taps, etc. Otherwise stick with bottling. Ask around for bottles, or bite the bullet and buy some.

 

[Bensiff]

1 - use whatever you want, as long as you can sterilize it...a stainless cup measure from the kitchen would work just fine.

2 - cold crash if you want...if I had to cold crash how you are describing that'd be way too much work for me to bother with though.

If you soaked your bottles in starsan to remove the label, pull them all, clean them again, and then sanitize as the label glue is not all over everything.

3 - Without refrigeration I wouldn't keg, too much a hassle getting it right with temps and co2 volumes especially if you don't have the experience.

4 - Yes you can split the batch...just make sure to purge the keg solidly.

5 - Use an online priming sugar calculator to determine priming sugar amount needed for a partial batch and make sure to have volume measures on your bottling bucket to be sure of the volume.

 

[GaBrewZoo]

Why not keg the entire batch and use your ferm bag or a cooler to keep the keg in. Or make something like this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=250991&highlight=Portable+Cooler+party+keg. I would keg and force carb the whole batch and fill bottles if you want. Turn pressure down to 0 and slowly raise pressure until you get a slow trickle into bottle, then cap. This is how I do all my bottling now. No more priming sugar, that's one reason we go to kegging.

 

[KPBrews]

Why not keg the entire batch and use your ferm bag or a cooler to keep the keg in. Or make something like this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=250991&highlight=Portable+Cooler+party+keg. I would keg and force carb the whole batch and fill bottles if you want. Turn pressure down to 0 and slowly raise pressure until you get a slow trickle into bottle, then cap. This is how I do all my bottling now. No more priming sugar, that's one reason we go to kegging.

That. Is. Awesome!

I might have to see if I can do something like that! I may still have a spare cooler that would work, too...

So as to your bottling method, you keg the whole lot, THEN force carb, and only bottle once it's fully carbed (a couple of days later, I think)? Is that right? And the bottles retain adequate carbonation, even after the pour, even if you age them months or a year?

 

[RM-MN]

Ok, my first batch has been fermenting in primary for 2 weeks as of tomorrow. Blonde Ale extract kit, with US-05 yeast. Temps maintained around 60-65f, for the most part, and I've let it climb the past few days closer to 70f.

The Kraeusen rose, the Kraeusen fell (actually, the bubbles went flat on like Tuesday, so several days now that its Friday). No activity in the airlock for days. (not that I've had my eye glued for days, but every visual check has shown no changes)

I'm thinking it'll be safe to pull it out tomorrow evening (2 weeks on the money). I have NOT checked FG yet... it's been airlocked since I first plugged it.

Question 1) Do I REALLY need to use the wine thief to pull it out and check the hydrometer readings, or should it be safe enough to go?

Question 2) Should I attempt a cold crash (of sorts) for a day or two in my Cool-Brewing fermentation bag, by loading it up with as many frozen ice jugs as I can, or just consider it done?

Assuming it's ready to go (whether tomorrow or another day), we get to the next round of issues:

1) I have exactly NINE 22oz bottles cleaned and ready to go, that have been soaking in StarSan for a couple of days now. (Mostly Stone bottles that needed the painted labels stripped; 2oz of StarSan in a 5 gal bucket for a few days worked like a champ except on the AleSmith bottle that it didn't even dent a little... but I can live with that for this round). That's only enough to bottle ~198 oz of 640 oz from the 5 gal batch (I think it's a little less, by volume, but that should be ok, right?) That's about 1/3. I'd really rather not have to buy empty bottles... such a waste! So:

2) I also have a corny kegging kit, all ready to go, co2 bottle filled, everything in readiness.

BUT, I don't have a fridge big enough to hold the keg, nor (likely) any reasonable way of getting one soon enough to help. (working on convincing the SO, but not happening in the next month or two, that's for sure)

Question 3) Is the keg still useful to me, without any refrigeration? (room temp approx 72F) Obviously serving is a separate issue but I can probably get a jockey box for that.

Question 4) Can I split the batch and fill up all my current bottles, and just keg the rest?

Question 5) How do I deal with the priming sugar in a partially-bottled batch, assuming I force-carbonate the kegged portion? (And is there a trick to force-carbonating a less-than-full keg?) I assume, actually, I'd need to keg the plain stuff first and THEN add the priming sugar for the bottled portion, but that seems like a tricky calculation.

So close, but so far... :cross:

Buying bottles is not a waste as they are reusable indefinitely. Fill them up, empty them, wash, fill them again. One of the best investments you can make, just under the boil kettle but only because you might break a bottle now and then or give some away.

 

[KPBrews]

Buying bottles is not a waste as they are reusable indefinitely. Fill them up, empty them, wash, fill them again. One of the best investments you can make, just under the boil kettle but only because you might break a bottle now and then or give some away.

The issue isn't buying bottles so much as buying empty bottles.

Also, after last night, now I have 12 empties. LOL

That said, I'm leaning towards just kegging it all, and just pouring off a few bottles once it's force carbonated correctly. I think if I reorganize and clear out my garage fridge, I can make room in there for the keg. Long term I may want something dedicated, but for the first few runs, it should be able to squeeze in there.

 

[GaBrewZoo]

So as to your bottling method, you keg the whole lot, THEN force carb, and only bottle once it's fully carbed (a couple of days later, I think)? Is that right? And the bottles retain adequate carbonation, even after the pour, even if you age them months or a year?

I keg, then carbonate, then drink. If I need to take some beer somewhere with me, I'll bottle what I need to take. If I've got another beer ready, and need a keg, I'll bottle the rest of a keg. I have a coffee stout I bottled about five months ago that still has good carbonation.