Kegging / Cold Conditioning

[Smokedaddy]

I've got a pale ale that's ready for kegging, It's the first time i've kegged anything and have a question. Could I rack to the keg (sterile) and cold condition with gelatin for a week before carbonation? I was thinking I could bleed off the sediment prior to force carbonating.

 

[phidelt1499]

Sure. This is what I do, only I don't use gelatin. I just cold crash and let it sit for a while, i actually put the serving pressure on it so it carbs up for 1-2 weeks. The first pull (or 2) has crap in it, but the rest is crystal clear.

FWIW, I primary for 3 weeks, then into the keg... so the long primary does help.

 

[Kaz]

+1 I primary for 3-4 weeks, keg and then if I have room, straight into the fridge and onto gas. No gelatin, after about 2-3 weeks on gas, I pull a couple pints that are yeasty, dump and then its clear sailing after that.

 

[Toecutter]

another trick I use is to sterilize a small piece of nylon stocking like panty hose. i'll buy a 10 pair pack cheap at walmart. zip tie this over the end of the hose from your racking cane. as the beer drains from the rack into the keg, you will catch most of the sediment. I think the nylon is about 600 micron.

 

[mcgearybrewing]

This is where the whole question of a secondary comes into question.....I have Been Kegging my whole career, only bottled once and realized without hesitation that it wasn't for me....The secondary will help to drop more yeast and particulates out of solution..(and that's the only reason besides aging and mellowing the flavors...A beer that doesn't go through this isn't any less of a quality product)..Once the primary is finished I will let it sit about three to four days on the yeast cake before transferring it to secondary, in a cool/chilly environment,...I will let this settle for about 5-6 days before going to the bright tank, once in the bright tank the beer will sit on carbonation for 1-2 weeks before serving..(depending upon how quick I need new beer)...Using a fining product is only going to be good in the boil because of the chemistry between positive and negative protein ions, I have never seen any documentation on finings being used after the boil???? I've been wrong many times this week though?????? Hope this helps, use this chart to figure out what psi you will at what temp.....http://http://www.homebrew.com/pdfs/CO2chart.pdf

 

[Smokedaddy]

Thanks for your help, Is the bright tank the keg and I couldn't get the link you posted to work.

 

[brewit2it]

My first couple of kegs I was going 3 weeks in primary (carboy) then racking to my bottling bucket and letting it settle for an hour or so then racking to my keg. It did cut down on the amount of sediment in my keg. But then I found out most folks rack straight from primary to keg. The only difference is you get maybe 2 glasses of yeast/trub instead of 1, but you have one less vessel to clean and sanitize on racking day which is worth an extra wasted pint to me.

I wouldn't put gelatin in my keg because it could clog it or at least make cleaning more difficult.