How can I minimize oxidation transferring from bucket to keg?

[vance]

I'd love to get a carboy to do pressurized transfers, but until then what can I do?

 

[itsme6582]

Just rack it over and don't sweat it. Fill the keg from the bottom so you don't splash.

 

[govner1]

Purge the keg with CO2 before you transfer then do as itsme6582 recommended. The CO2 is heavier than air & will create a "blanket" over your beer even though you relieved the pressure before opening.

 

[mongoose33]

What I do is fill my destination keg w/ Star-San. I then connect the CO2 and purge the headspace a few times. Then I purge the keg by pushing the Star-San out to either another keg or a 5-gallon bucket. That leaves the keg full of CO2.

Then I run a line from the fermenter to the OUT post of the keg. I hook up a QD to the IN side, and run that line to the top of the fermenter. That means as beer goes into the keg, the displaced CO2 goes back into the fermenter. I'm not drawing air into the fermenter, so it's as closed-loop as i can manage. Here are a few pics that show what I mean:



The pic below shows me using a jumper to transfer beer from keg to keg, but it's the same when I push star-san from one to another.

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

Ingenious, Mongoose! Heck, why not hook up your keg at the start of fermentation so the keg gets purged by CO2 for free?

 

[spittybug]

Pssst... why not just ferment in a corny?

I use a floating dip tube attached to a QC in the lid. I've removed the normal dip tube so both "normal" QCs are attached to blow off lines into starsan. When done I connect CO2 to the 'in' and push the beer out of the floating dip tube into a nice fresh corny for secondary/cold crash/carbonation. If desired, push through a filter on the way.

 

[IslandLizard]

What I do is fill my destination keg w/ Star-San. I then connect the CO2 and purge the headspace a few times. Then I purge the keg by pushing the Star-San out to either another keg or a 5-gallon bucket. That leaves the keg full of CO2.

Then I run a line from the fermenter to the OUT post of the keg. I hook up a QD to the IN side, and run that line to the top of the fermenter. That means as beer goes into the keg, the displaced CO2 goes back into the fermenter. I'm not drawing air into the fermenter, so it's as closed-loop as i can manage.

This works great with a transparent fermentor having a bottom spigot. We need to adapt a few things when we're using a bucket fermentor without a spigot:

Drill a second hole in the lid to apply positive CO2 pressure from the tank to get the transfer started. Once the beer flows, switch it to the CO2 return from the keg. Both holes should be rather gas tight, so use rubber stoppers around the racking cane and the CO2 line. Make the holes large enough to accommodate the stoppers.

One issue that remains, most bucket lids don't seal very well. If the seal is tight enough, one good puff of CO2 should get the transfer started. The siphoning action will take care of the remainder.

There are a few more complications as it maybe difficult to see the liquid level in the bucket (use a flashlight). If you want a clear transfer, be ready when the racking cane dips low enough and starts sucking yeast and trub. As soon as you see this entering the racking tube, pull the liquid QD off the keg, close the valve in the racking line, or pull the gas QD.

 

[billl]

Are you actually having problems with oxidation or have you just been reading too many threads here?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Are you actually having problems with oxidation or have you just been reading too many threads here?

I wonder the same thing. If you are noticing oxidation what are you noticing and how far after carbing does it show up?

 

[vance]

It's not because of any actual problem I've noticed (although I have god awful taste buds so I likely couldn't tell if there was). More that my beer hasn't been stellar lately, so I want to eliminate as many possibilities for making bad beer as I can.

 

[billl]

Generally, if the beer isn't great immediately after kegging, it probably isn't an O2 issue. Obviously you do want to limit O2, but if that isn't your problem, you are spending time fixing something that isn't broken. If you post more about your process and recipes, you might get some better advice about how to get to "stellar."

 

[mongoose33]

Generally, if the beer isn't great immediately after kegging, it probably isn't an O2 issue. Obviously you do want to limit O2, but if that isn't your problem, you are spending time fixing something that isn't broken. If you post more about your process and recipes, you might get some better advice about how to get to "stellar."

I haven't brewed that many styles nor done so numerous times so YMMV, but what I've discovered is that, mostly, my beers kegged by 2 weeks are still green.

The beer is still conditioning, and typically a week or two longer is needed to go from "meh" to "Wow!"

I was noting this fact online and someone suggested to me to just leave those beers in the fermenter for the time needed to condition. I do, and IMO, they turn out tastier.

That would be an interesting exbeeriment to do, i.e., two identical batches, keg one after 2 weeks, the other after 4 weeks, then compare.

*************

I haven't had any issues with what I might consider oxidation, but I try to follow a philosophy of continuous quality improvement. Each time I brew I try to do something better. Thus the focus on eliminating oxygen from the post-fermentation process as much as I can.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

That would be an interesting exbeeriment to do, i.e., two identical batches, keg one after 2 weeks, the other after 4 weeks, then compare.

*************

I haven't had any issues with what I might consider oxidation, but I try to follow a philosophy of continuous quality improvement. Each time I brew I try to do something better. Thus the focus on eliminating oxygen from the post-fermentation process as much as I can.

I do double batches every brew.At 10 day transfer to keg my IPAS are better/fresher than at 3/4 weeks... My smithwicks clone is smoother at 3/4 weeks than at 10 day transfer...IMO it's the style that dictates the timeframe

 

[vance]

The biggest issue I have across all the 4 batches I've kegged so far is that for 2-3 weeks after it's in the keg, there's a consistently grassy hop flavor. I don't know how else to describe it, it tastes like a hop bitterness but instead of being any of the flavors associated with the hops I used, it's always the same sort of grassy flavor.

I also have a beer that doesn't seem to be fully carbonated although it's been kegged for 3 weeks, but that's probably my fault somehow.

 

[billl]

In one of your other threads, you mentioned that you are getting a lot of hop debris into your kegs. Prolonged contact with hops either from the boil or dry hopping can lead to grassy flavors.

 

[vance]

I've minimized that for the most part - last time I kegged I put a hop bag over the end of my siphon and pulled through that, seemed to get most of it out. I also started pouring my wort from the kettle into my bucket through a bag, to strain some of it out. Only done those on my most recently kegged batch, but that was the one that's had the worst grass flavor.