Question for first time kegging and fermentation!!

[BrewingBoar]

Hey, guys I'm about to get my c02 filled for the first time and hook it up to my keg. If i drop my keezer down to around 40 F is it going to hurt my beer that is done with fermentation, or should i take that beer that i transfered to a secondary and place it in the house at about 65F?

Thanks

 

[Tim_Kreitz]

Go ahead and cold-crash the beer. It's all good. My beers are sometimes already at 35 degrees in the fermenter, and usually have been for days or weeks, before I even start transferring them to the keg.

 

[BrewingBoar]

Sweet, Thanks Tim

 

[BigJay13]

FYI it will suck any liquid into the carbon through the airlock or blow off. Not a big deal but I sucked in about a pint of starsan once. Good thing it didn't affect the beer!

 

[ETCS]

Beer will carb better (i.e. lower pressure) at a lower temp, I always keg at about 35º - 40º.

 

[badbrew]

FYI it will suck any liquid into the carbon through the airlock or blow off. Not a big deal but I sucked in about a pint of starsan once. Good thing it didn't affect the beer!

I don't think I'd want to drink that.:cross:

So if the air sucks into the carboy when you crash cool it, then is it better to throw some foil on the top while it chills?

 

[BigJay13]

I don't think I'd want to drink that.:cross:

So if the air sucks into the carboy when you crash cool it, then is it better to throw some foil on the top while it chills?

That is what I do now. You can also crash in the keg but you will end up with some extra sediment that way.

 

[scoundrel]

That is what I do now. You can also crash in the keg but you will end up with some extra sediment that way.

Unless you cold crash in the carboy for awhile you will still get some sediment in the keg once you rack it. If you don't move it, it's no biggie. Maybe a couple ounces in the first pour, but not much.

Frankly I (and many others) don't bother with secondary at all, since anytime you move the finished beer you run the risk of contamination, oxidation, etc.

Another approach is to brew 5.5 - 6 gallons then ferment for 3-4 weeks in primary then leave 1/2 gallon of trub behind when you rack. You'll have 5 gallons of clean, clear beer.

When racking, first purge the keg with CO2 to get the O2 out. Then with an attached stainless steel barb and ball lock on the end of your racking cane, rack it directly to the keg Out. You just have to keep the keg pressure relief valve open so the CO2 in the headspace can escape. This approach reduces the chance of oxidation significantly and you only transfer the beer once.

 

[scoundrel]

^yeah dont do this, waste of time.

^ You can do it the way I said and saying its a waste of time is his opinion. There are many ways to do the same thing. Everyone on this site will tell you to minimize oxidation and ALL commercial brewers do it. It takes all of about 5 seconds to add the ball lock to the end. If you want to make average beer, you can just throw the racking cane in the keg but it you want to enter competition down the road, where you need to stand out among a bunch of other beers in a flight, going the extra mile will pay off.

 

[TBar]

CO2 is heavier than air. I crash in a carboy, using vodka in the seal. Then when I keg I purge the empty keg with a little CO2 with the top off. The keg becomes a bucket of CO2 and will stay that way for a decent amount of time in a room w low air flow (verified w sniffer). This minimizes the chances of oxidation, especially since the siphon hose is in the bottom of the vessel.

You can do the same when you rack to secondary.