Kegging and Travelling

[seeley2]

I've only kegged beers I brewed at home so far, and soon will be kegging a beer brewed at a friends. I'd like to take it home the same day (~30 minute drive) and I'm a bit worried about the travel.

If I fill, purge, and put some CO2 in...can I disconnect for the ride home without putting the beer in too much trouble?

Thanks for any assistance!

- Mike

 

[Shooter]

Yeah, just purge a few times with CO2, make sure it's not leaking and you'll be fine.

 

[Golddiggie]

Simple answer: yes...

I actually do this every time I keg a batch right now (I'm only kegging, not bottle carbonating). I simply transfer to my kegs (3 gallon size typically), purge of air, hit with CO2 (10-30psi depending on my mood) and then bring home. By the time I get to my place, there's still a little pressure in the keg (the rest has gone into the brew). I hit it again with some CO2, and then carbonate one (if I have room in the brew fridge, which I usually do) and just make sure I have pressure in the other one for it's storage.

I store with 10-15psi in the keg (got the Williams Brewing keg pressure QD setup for this) until it's ready to go into the brew fridge. With this method, I'm partially carbonating the keg that's not in the fridge. It makes it easier to finish the carbonating process when I'm ready to put that one on tap.

Also, my brew-buddy's place is about a 20-30 minute drive for me. There are some pretty rough spots in the route I take, so take that into consideration. I would just make sure the keg will stay vertical during the trip and you should be just fine.

 

[biddyk]

As long as you purge O2 and pressurize above atmospheric pressure you should be good.

 

[seeley2]

That sounds ideal. I'm thinking QDs might be a Christmas present to myself. Unfortunately, not in the cards right now, so I plan on purging/filling tomorrow, understanding that the beer will become partially carbonated during the ride, and then letting it sit off the gas at home until I've kicked the keg in there now (probably sometime after Thanksgiving.)

Once I can put it back on the gas, I'll let it slow-carbonate...I think everything will still be ok?

 

[Golddiggie]

I would just hit it with pressure when you get it home, to top off. IMO, there's no harm in partially carbonating the brew while at room temp. Just let it chill down for 12-24 hours before connecting it up to fully carbonate.

Due to limitations of my brew fridge, I'm carbonating my hard cider at room temp. I'm going to try and get it chilled down sometime in the next couple of days (have one of the keg insulators and ice gel packs coming) so that it uses less gas to get the job done. I plan on bottling up some for Thanksgiving enjoyment too. Hopefully, I'll be able to get enough out, so that the balance fits into a 3 gallon keg which I can then chill properly and either serve from the brew fridge, or bottle up and enjoy that way.

I need another brew fridge...

 

[seeley2]

Hahaha -- that seems like a heck of a workaround!!!