OK to keg beer when I have a cold?

I have a head cold and was wondering if it would be fine to keg the beer. I know beer should kill most things. The thought just crossed my mind. I don't want my guests to get a cold from my beer!

 

I dont see a problem, just use the same high level of sanitation and cleanliness you would anyway..I would honestly be more concerned with tap handles or doorknobs tranferring the germs than the actual beer...

 

Just make sure to wash your hands well, and keep them clean from then on: do not touch your face. If you sneeze or cough, step away and make sure to keep your hands clean.
Otherwise normal sanitation.

 

A cheap dust mask might not be a bad idea to wear when your beer is vulnerable.
I boiling water a while ago for a brew day the next day. I had a sneeze overtake me so quickly I didn't even have time to turn my head. I ditched that pot of water and started over. Good thing it didn't happen over an open fermentation bucket.

 

You have to be super careful not to infect your beer. The video link attached should show you what steps you will need to take to ensure pristine sanitation.



I kid of course

 

Do you use buckets or carboys? If you use a carboy, you can wrap the top of the auto-siphon with a paper towel soaked in sanitizer to seal the top of the carboy. Then at the other end of the tubing, attach a liquid ball lock and the beer will be transferred directly to the bottom of the keg. You can also pre-purge the keg with CO2 to prevent oxidation. It's essentially a closed system and should further reduce the risk of contamination.

 

I didn't watch the whole video, but he does have a point about the dust particles. When I was much younger I worked as a vacuum salesman. Part of my presentation was using a strong light that showed dust particles in the air quite plainly. I have never been in an internal room that did not have them,
If you could see how much really is floating around it would make you shudder thinking that you are actually breathing this.

 

the boiling water would have killed anything that you sneezed in there... you wasted water and time for nothing.

 

I used a carboy. Good point about all of the particles maybe i'll just take a shower before hand. Wouldn't there be much less chance of anything happening since it's already beer at this point and not wort? I dumped my washed thawed cherries in w/ no problem in a previous beer.

 

There is residual sugar, so it is possible to infect it, but you're right, the critical period is prior to pitching. I wouldn't worry. You're concern tells me you'll be fine.

If it makes you feel better, a friend of mine broke his thermometer and used his finger to determine if the wort was cool enough to pitch. I almost died, but even in that example the yeast took over any bacteria that was on his finger and he's a pretty dirty guy

 

I could always hold out a couple days since I don't need the beer until next weekend. It's currently cold crashing anyway.

 

kill...it...now....