Trub plugged pickup ???

[SpentBrains]

This is my fault... Tried to secondary with a huge dry hop addition in the keg. I'd have normally waited another few days, but my neighbor was enthusiastic about a follow on brew day that would reuse the yeast cakes from this fouled Pliney the elder clone. His schedule was limited. Always looking for company on brew day, I tried to accommodate! It wasn't until we'd doughed-in with the new batch, when it was realized there was still a lot of primary activity in the fermenters we were planning on racking down and reusing.

When I racked one bucket into the keg, it was still at too high a gravity, with a commensurate amount of yeast activity and suspended particles. The second bucket went into a glass carboy... I'll bottle that portion, but it continued to ferment at a good clip for at least 3 more days! On the keg version, I figured I could vent to a reasonable pressure level and complete the fermentation, secondary hopping and carbonate all in one felled swoop.

A nightmare awoke me up in the middle of the night that evening, worried I'd blow the seam out of my corny and make the terror watch list when it exploded. In the morning, I vented some krausen from the purge valve after the first 15 hours or so. THAT was disaster #2, as one of the sewn tails of the muslin hop bag found it's way into the vent just enough that the vent now started to weep

Fixed that problem and now about a week later, the secondary is complete. The keg was about 20 PSI at room temp. Thought I'd draw off a trub pint or two before cold crashing, only to find the pick up line is now jammed full of crud. I tried to connect a CO2 in-line and bring the pressure up to 30 or more to blow through. I even tried sucking on my picnic tapper and she's bound up tighter than spending a weekend at the Amsterdam Cheese Museum.

This is a beer I am so looking forward to!! it's still viable, but what can I do to clean that line without racking again to a new clean keg, risking contamination and knocking the carbonation out of the beer for a second time??? I don't want to blow compressed air into the discharge and can't risk feeding co2 in backwards either, at least not without fabricating a few parts... If it comes down to it I'll drive a cask tap right through the side of my corny to get that beer out...

any sane advice?

 

[bleme]

I might be visualizing it wrong but the only sane solution I can see is to rack it to a fresh keg.

 

[UglySister]

This is my fault... Tried to secondary with a huge dry hop addition in the keg. I'd have normally waited another few days, but my neighbor was enthusiastic about a follow on brew day that would reuse the yeast cakes from this fouled Pliney the elder clone. His schedule was limited. Always looking for company on brew day, I tried to accommodate! It wasn't until we'd doughed-in with the new batch, when it was realized there was still a lot of primary activity in the fermenters we were planning on racking down and reusing.

When I racked one bucket into the keg, it was still at too high a gravity, with a commensurate amount of yeast activity and suspended particles. The second bucket went into a glass carboy... I'll bottle that portion, but it continued to ferment at a good clip for at least 3 more days! On the keg version, I figured I could vent to a reasonable pressure level and complete the fermentation, secondary hopping and carbonate all in one felled swoop.

A nightmare awoke me up in the middle of the night that evening, worried I'd blow the seam out of my corny and make the terror watch list when it exploded. In the morning, I vented some krausen from the purge valve after the first 15 hours or so. THAT was disaster #2, as one of the sewn tails of the muslin hop bag found it's way into the vent just enough that the vent now started to weep

Fixed that problem and now about a week later, the secondary is complete. The keg was about 20 PSI at room temp. Thought I'd draw off a trub pint or two before cold crashing, only to find the pick up line is now jammed full of crud. I tried to connect a CO2 in-line and bring the pressure up to 30 or more to blow through. I even tried sucking on my picnic tapper and she's bound up tighter than spending a weekend at the Amsterdam Cheese Museum.

This is a beer I am so looking forward to!! it's still viable, but what can I do to clean that line without racking again to a new clean keg, risking contamination and knocking the carbonation out of the beer for a second time??? I don't want to blow compressed air into the discharge and can't risk feeding co2 in backwards either, at least not without fabricating a few parts... If it comes down to it I'll drive a cask tap right through the side of my corny to get that beer out...

any sane advice?

I'm no expert, but I would hook the co2 to the liquid side, relieve pressure a few times then hook it up correctly and try again. Are you sure the plug isn't in the tap line rather than the keg pick up?

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

I think you have done pretty much everything I would try. Do you have a bleeder valve? I think the best bet would be to gradually release pressure, over a period of days or hours from bleeder or the gas in. If you have a small air valve you can put it on a line attached to the QC and let it out a little at a time. This would serve as or bypass the bleeder (if you don't have one or it is clogged). Once pressure is down then leave the bleeder open and push some CO2 through the liquid out to try and unclog it. Go slow because you are just going to stir everything up again.

I might also maybe open it up and pull the hop bag. If it has been more than 5 days or a week it probably is done anyway and will just get grassy going forward. Given that you are probably going to have a bunch of crud on the bottom, I would do what I could to get it out now, while it may still be loose. You may have to do the reverse C02 more than once.

If you open it up and plan on leaving it in the keg, make sure you lay a good CO2 blanket on the top and purge it at least 9 or more times at 25-30lbs to remove any O2 that might have gotten in. Good luck, you will probably be OK.

You could use an auto-siphon and directly transfer it to another keg, just like you would have done if it was in a secondary fermenter. If you don't have another keg, I would go to your closest home improvement store and pick up a 5 gallon bucket or two and make a couple more fermenters. Then carefully transfer it to one of them them with an auto-siphon then clean the keg and carefully transfer it back Lowes has food rated 5 gallon buckets, Home Depot has the best lids. If you are really carful, you will be OK.

Unless you are going to secondary for months you don't need more glass carboys. I don't like fermenting in the keg. I think it is too messy for the rewards and ends up being more work in the long run for the same reasons you are running into.

 

[SpentBrains]

I'm no expert, but I would hook the co2 to the liquid side, relieve pressure a few times then hook it up correctly and try again. Are you sure the plug isn't in the tap line rather than the keg pick up?

Just tried that. it clears for about half an ounce, then plugs up again... I found a thread about siphoning carbonated beer. Wish I'd have read it before I tried it "my way"...

 

[SpentBrains]

Oh, I would also go to your closest home improvement store and pick up a couple 5 gallon buckets and make a couple more fermenters (Lowes has food rated ones, Home Depot has the best lids). Unless you are going to secondary for months you don't need more glass carboys. I don't like fermenting in the keg. I think it is too messy for the rewards and ends up being more work in the long run for the same reasons you are running into.

Thanks, lots of good advice.

I am resigned to a complete siphon to a new clean keg. Just too much trub to get a firm compaction below the pick up. I have plenty of fermentation vessels, I was just trying to cut a corner and learned the hard way even though I knew the potential consequence ahead of time.

One of these days I am going to buy a 15 gallon glycol jacketed conical or 5 and all of these fermentation setbacks will be about as relevant as boiling over a 5 gallon turkey fryer once you've transitioned to 15 gallon keggles.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

Thanks, lots of good advice.

One of these days I am going to buy a 15 gallon glycol jacketed conical or 5 and all of these fermentation setbacks will be about as relevant as boiling over a 5 gallon turkey fryer once you've transitioned to 15 gallon keggles.

That's on the top of my list when I win the lottery.

 

[Rockit]

Been there....
I transferred to a corny before it was fully done fermenting and dry hopped with almost 4 oz....I was going on vacation for a week and was reallllly impatient/wanted it done when I came back.

I had successfully used a corny for secondary before, but with far less dry hops and more time in the primary. I would put a ball lock connector on the gas inlet and a length of hose to a small bottle of vodka.

This time I came home to a problem. Hops had stopped up my vent. I tried to back force Co2 into it, no luck. I tried to purge gas through the relief valve, no luck... instant clog w/hops. I inverted and tried to purge gas through the liquid port... as I expected...instant clog. Rubber mallet to the lid wouldn't even burp the thing.

I figured my next best course of action would be to induce a leak around gas post. I began to unscrew it, at first nothing, then there was the sweet hiss of success. It sat there for about 5 minutes hissing and gurgling out a bit of liquid...then it clogged. I decided to open it up just a fraction more....oh what a piss poor decision that was.
About 1/4 turn with nothing, then the post shot off like it came out of a cannon. Beer turned into a high pressure geyser.

I was in my kitchen. About 3 gallons of beer shot to the ceiling and sprayed ALL over before I was able to hold the pressure in and get the thing outside.

Hops on the ceiling. Beer under the fridge. Total mess...and my awesome wife just sat in the living room laughing hysterically.

The take away from my little dilemma....
1. There can be A LOT of pressure built up from fermentation.
2. Some things should probably be done outside.

If I had to do it again I would probably punch a small hole through the lid and hope for the best.

 

[SpentBrains]

Dude; that's hilarious! Especially if you're still married.