Minimizing Oxygen During Flavor Additions in a Keg

[philm63]

Having gotten used to brewing my beers with as little O2 pickup as possible during fermentation and transfer (closed system, mostly IPAs), I'm now thinking of brewing a chocolate stout and part of the process I'm considering involves pouring some chocolate extract into the keg prior to transferring the beer from the unitank.

Thinking of pulling a post after my usual keg purge and adding the chocolate extract to the keg through that small opening while maintaining a constant flow of CO2 through the other post, then quickly replacing the post. I think I'll still have a reasonably well-purged keg but with my extract now inside the keg.

I can't imagine I'll pick up too much oxygen, if any, as there will be positive pressure maintained in the keg during this procedure, and only a small opening will be exposed for a short time.

Anyone see an issue with this?

 

[BongoYodeler]

I would think a flavored stout would be less susceptible to off flavors caused by oxygen than an IPA. But that aside, when I add extract, hops, etc. to a beer I start with a cleaned and sanitized keg. Then I hook up the keg to my fermenter and purge it with C02 created during fermentation. I can then do an O2-free transfer from fermenter to keg without ever having to open the keg.

 

[wsmith1625]

Check out this thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/syringe-for-injecting-gelatin-into-keg.675402/

 

[day_trippr]

^That thread^ shows how I do it

Cheers!

 

[marc1]

There's some good options here. If your keg will not have much head space, you could also closed transfer to the keg normally, then open the top, pour in the flavoring, close it up, and purge with CO2 13-15 times at 30PSI.

 

[philm63]

Love the syringe solution - elegant.

 

[Beermeister32]

Here you go - BBQ section at Lowes…

 

[Bobby_M]

Another thing that works very well is a Luerlok syringe because you can thread it on to a short piece of 4mm ID EVA barrier tubing which inserts into the Duotight gas QD.

 

[hawkwing]

I’ve been considering modifying my keg lid with a valve that has threads for a pop bottle. Keg land has these for dry hopping. If you use a T connector you can purge with co2. Granted the syringe looks like an easier solution with less to purge.

 

[balrog]

Question for those in the know. If I have a Cold Crash Guardian filled w CO2 hooked to the fermenter and I let it sit out of the ferm chamber because Someone "needs" me to do "stuff" instead of important tasks like kegging, for a week or two, what kind of O2 ingress via the PVC tubing worries should keep me awake at night, if any?

[yes, I could have run that sentence on much further, but I chose not to]