Is there a way to fill growlers without degassing keg?

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davidst

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I'm wondering if anyone has found a good way to fill growlers without degassing?

A month ago, I brewed a wonderful smoky Rauchbier, but after I degassed a few time to fill up some growlers (3 different occasions), I've noticed that most of the wonderful aroma is gone. I've also noticed the same thing with hop aroma on IPAs / Pale Ales. So now I'm hesitant to degas before filling the growler but that's impossible because of the foaming. Is there a way to get around this?

Can you use a beer gun under full pressure?
 
I don't think aromatics that escape solution are ever really re-absorbed. Imho, popping the poppet isn't the problem.

Anyway, you can rig up a cobra tap with a long hose and a racking cane jammed in the end to add resistance (friction) and cut the pressure at the outlet end.
 
I'm wondering if anyone has found a good way to fill growlers without degassing?

A month ago, I brewed a wonderful smoky Rauchbier, but after I degassed a few time to fill up some growlers (3 different occasions), I've noticed that most of the wonderful aroma is gone. I've also noticed the same thing with hop aroma on IPAs / Pale Ales. So now I'm hesitant to degas before filling the growler but that's impossible because of the foaming. Is there a way to get around this?

Can you use a beer gun under full pressure?

Yes, you can beer gun fill at serving pressure. The trick to the beer gun in general is to use a really long line (20-25 ft), leave it at serving pressure, and DO NOT degas the keg or drop the regulator pressure.

I have also filled growlers with the perlick 630 growler filler. It does work, but for me I get less foam using my beer gun with a long. I use long lines in my keg setup and don't have foam issues.
 
Yeah I have 7 foot lines and I can pour just fine in a glass but do get foam issues when pouring in to a growler at full pressure, I have Perlick 630ss, and the growler filler helps but there's still plenty of foam. When my current lines need to be replaced, I might go ahead and double the length.

As for the aromatics, I doubt that releasing the pressure once makes a difference but it's when I get to doing it multiple times that I see the serious drop in aromatics.
 
I just filled two growlers last weekend off my setup for the first time.

I have intertap faucets and 12 foot lines.
I put on the intertap growler filler + 1 foot of 1/2 inch tubing, and had 0 foam issues.
 
Aromatics that escape the beer will never get back into the beer. You are correct that by degassing a keg to fill bottles, you are also allowing co2 to escape solution inside the keg, and with that co2 escape comes lots of the aromatics. You are wise to find a solution that doesn't involve degassing a keg.

I fill 32oz (and larger bottles) from the tap using a stopper as counter pressure without adjusting co2 pressure or degassing the keg. I fill 12oz bottles by simply removing the gas line (no degas or poppit pressing), pouring a tall glass of beer, and then following with the same method. You can see my method below; notice that as the pressure inside the bottle builds, the flow of the beer slows; you can then push on the edge of the stopper to crack the pressure and keep the flow going. Cold bottles are always a must. Small opening bottles (e.g. 12oz bottles) push up against the bottom of the stopper instead of seating onto the stopper end, but the process is the same. All bottles that will be stored longer than about 4 hours should be well purged with co2 prior to filling to minimize oxidative reactions that muffle the malt/hop notes.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1db5LMT_D0Y[/ame]

This is the method I've settled on since I don't like monkeying around with bottle filler devices, or degassing kegs, or inserting growler filler attachments. The sacrifice is the distance the beer drops into the bottle, but my take on that is that if the air inside the bottle is co2 then it should not lead to very much staling issues. It works for me as a homebrewer :D
 
I fill bottles at serving pressure and have dealt with my share of foam problems. Growlers would be similar.

I would suggest using a long hose with a small internal diameter.

Height differential also slows down the flow. So you can try keg on the floor and hands raised up high when you start the fill to minimize splashing and foam.
 

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