Re-Use Keg

[sbsmann]

I just kicked a keg of a NEIPA I created and conveniently I have another 5 gallons of the identical beer that just finished fermentation and is ready to keg. I usually do closed transfers from my glass fermenter to my kegs but I am contemplating just opening the kicked keg and refilling it with standard auto siphon for ease. I realize the disadvantages of using auto siphon vs closed transfer and am not concerned about that. My question is whether anybody else ever simply refills a keg with same beer in a "used" keg without cleaning and sanitizing it? I imagine that works just fine??

 

[Transamguy77]

I have done it in the past with fine results. I don’t know that it has been the exact beer but a similar beer and all was well.

 

[dmtaylor]

I've done it. Works fine. You can get away with it once in a while. However I might not be willing to try 3, 4, 5 batches in a row.

 

[Konadog]

Why can't you still do a closed transfer? The keg has been purged with CO2 already. Just bleed the pressure off and transfer as you normally would. The only thing you may deal with is it might be cloudy for a few days when you kick up the sediment from the first beer.

 

[day_trippr]

Honestly? Sounds lazy AF to me and disrespectful of the effort to brew the beer in the first place...

Cheers! (Also, "Get off my lawn" )

 

[GrowleyMonster]

It's probably okay once. I don't do it, though. I get enough sediment from just one batch.

 

[madscientist451]

Honestly? Sounds lazy AF to me and disrespectful of the effort to brew the beer in the first place...

Cheers! (Also, "Get off my lawn" )

I've turned into a lazy, disrespectful brewer and sometimes re-use carboys and fermenters without cleaning them. I don't have problems, but I don't push it too far either. I often disrespect homebrewing by "mixing in the glass" imperial IPA or something similar that I've made, with cheap industrial lager like Hamm's, when I want a lighter drink.
I also disrespect cider and wine by using free apples picked up off the ground and adding water to the grape skins to make a second run batch. I suppose I'm disrespecting my body by consuming alcohol, which is a known poison and causes all kinds of health problems. So what I'm saying is that you don't have to do everything in brewing "by the book", you can get away with a lot of transgressions. So now I'll ask for forgiveness for my evil ways.....

 

[Spivey24]

I just did that yesterday. As long as the empty keg stayed refrigerated an was recently emptied, I will do it once in a while. The beauty is it’s already purged so why not do a closed transfer. What I did was hook my closed transfer hose to the out post purging any gunk left at the bottom and bled the rest of the pressure, ran some starsan into it through the closed transfer hose from a 5 gallon ported plastic carboy that I keep filled, shook it well, hit it with some co2, then purged the starsan, and filled as normal. Saved cleaning the keg and some co2 as well. Can’t imagine going through all the effort of making a NEIPA and not doing a closed transfer, but that’s just me respecting the hobby.

 

[Cameronl]

Why can't you still do a closed transfer? The keg has been purged with CO2 already. Just bleed the pressure off and transfer as you normally would. The only thing you may deal with is it might be cloudy for a few days when you kick up the sediment from the first beer.

This. If you're going to be lazy, this would be the way to go. If you're going to open it up, might as well at least rinse and sanitize.

 

[balrog]

My OCD dislikes keeping old gacky detritus from prior sediment to be mixed in with clearly obviously pristine new beer, in the keg, in the dip tube, in the fittings, etc.

And Old Gacky Detritus might be a decent name for a geezer-rock band.

 

[sbsmann]

Honestly? Sounds lazy AF to me and disrespectful of the effort to brew the beer in the first place...

Cheers! (Also, "Get off my lawn" )

But, what if it ends up tasting just fine? That would be an example of Lazy AF saving time and effort resulting in an outcome that may not be discernible by the human taste buds. The beer shouldn't be mad at me for streamlining a process!

 

[soccerdad]

Am I in the right place? Is this the lazy AF thread?

 

[day_trippr]

lol!

 

[balrog]

Pretty much the forum
Except for the parts each is interested AF in, in which case it becomes the overdoers AF place

 

[Wables]

I’ve been kegging for nearly 20 years and have done this at least a dozen times with no issues, but never tried it with late hop ipas. Both times I’ve cleaned my taps and keg lines they were way grosser than once used kegs.

 

[bwible]

I've turned into a lazy, disrespectful brewer and sometimes re-use carboys and fermenters without cleaning them. I don't have problems, but I don't push it too far either. I often disrespect homebrewing by "mixing in the glass" imperial IPA or something similar that I've made, with cheap industrial lager like Hamm's, when I want a lighter drink.
I also disrespect cider and wine by using free apples picked up off the ground and adding water to the grape skins to make a second run batch. I suppose I'm disrespecting my body by consuming alcohol, which is a known poison and causes all kinds of health problems. So what I'm saying is that you don't have to do everything in brewing "by the book", you can get away with a lot of transgressions. So now I'll ask for forgiveness for my evil ways.....

I re-use a fermenter when it has yeast in it I want to re-use. I just put the second beer on top of the remains after racking off the first beer. I plan these brews in order and brew light to dark, weak to strong so the second beer is not affected too much by the remains of the first beer. For example I might do a best bitter and then follow that up with an English Pale Ale or an English IPA.

 

[sbsmann]

For those of you keeping track, yesterday I ended up re-using the detritus-laden previously-used keg and filled it with my new fresh delicious NEIPA. I listened to several of you and decided to do the closed transfer to keep things fresh. Not sure why I was going to open the keg and use an auto-siphon. That would have been a bit stupid. Anyway, should be ready to drink in about 3-4 days and I'll report back how it looks/tastes.

 

[balrog]

I highly recommend not reusing the keg after the NEIPA as the amount of sediment will be typically more than any other type of beer. And especially since you closed transfer, which normally means you are pushing clean beer in through the out post, you will be stirring up all of whatever sediment exists, mixing in thoroughly and completely with the incoming beer. Even if you pushed in through the gas in post, it will fall and splash and mix pretty will with all the sediment in the bottom.

 

[sbsmann]

I highly recommend not reusing the keg after the NEIPA as the amount of sediment will be typically more than any other type of beer. And especially since you closed transfer, which normally means you are pushing clean beer in through the out post, you will be stirring up all of whatever sediment exists, mixing in thoroughly and completely with the incoming beer. Even if you pushed in through the gas in post, it will fall and splash and mix pretty will with all the sediment in the bottom.

I transfer through a filter and typically don't see much junk going into my keg. I pushed the new beer through the out tube so that probably dislodged most of the sediment there. What little sediment is left may take a day or two for it to settle at the bottom just like any kegged beer, but I suspect things will be fine and this will end up working. We will start to see the results in about 3-4 days when I tap it and give it a try.

 

[balrog]

Filtering will certainly help. But proteins and yeast will settle. My clearest beer into keg, still left some sediment after keg kicked. I never had a pristine, no-sediment, emptied keg.

 

[sbsmann]

Filtering will certainly help. But proteins and yeast will settle. My clearest beer into keg, still left some sediment after keg kicked. I never had a pristine, no-sediment, emptied keg.

True, there will be some sediment left over but lucky for me this a hazy NEIPA and it is the identical beer that was in the keg previously. Who knows, maybe it'll make it even better!

 

[JAReeves]

I re-use a fermenter when it has yeast in it I want to re-use. I just put the second beer on top of the remains after racking off the first beer. I plan these brews in order and brew light to dark, weak to strong so the second beer is not affected too much by the remains of the first beer. For example I might do a best bitter and then follow that up with an English Pale Ale or an English IPA.

I do this as well!

Don't think of this thread as lazy AF, it's conservation of resources!