So i brewed a blonde ale and finished with only 4.5 gallons of wort. I had it fermenting in the primary for 2 weeks and hit finished FG, but the beer is SUPER cloudy with the Wyeast Kolsch yeast. I would like to transfer to a secondary to aid in the clearing, but at 4.5 gallons I am worried about the headspace and potential oxygen damage. Is there any canned CO2 or something i can shoot into the carboy to compensate for the headroom? FWIW I am a bottler and dont have a kegging system. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.
Add CO2 to Secondary?
- Thread starter Frogger42
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A couple of years ago I picked up a computer/keyboard cleaner at MicroCenter - think the name was DustDoctor or something like that. Anyway, it was a handheld sprayer that uses CO2 to clear dust from computer PC boards and keyboards. The unit came equipped with 2 16g CO2 cartridges for about $13 or $14 as I recall. The downside is that it's not a whole lot of CO2 and it's expensive, but might work if you're looking for a quick solution. In the long run, even if you plan to stay with bottling, having a CO2 tank, even a 5 lb one, and regulator is handy - you can use the CO2 to purge headspaces, to transfer beer from primary to secondary, to purge airtight grain containers to help keep the grain fresh, etc.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Bad thing about those cleaners, besides the tiny amount of CO2 you get from the cartridges, is that they don't seal worth a damn. Leave a cartridge in it, that's got any CO2 left in it, come back a day or two later and it will be empty. Same thing with the item along the same lines that you can connect up to a corny keg.
If you plan to ever get into kegging, at any point while brewing, I would get a CO2 tank and regulator. If you don't want to invest in a 5# tank, then get one of the paintball gun bottles and a regulator to go with it. You can go several directions there, from a standard regulator with adapter, to a regulator made to go onto the paintball (pin) bottle. I recently picked up one of the Leland regulators and really like it. Of course, I changed out the barb fitting (gas out) to a MFL fitting on it already, which means I can use any of my standard lines with swivel nuts on them. I like it a lot for when I transfer from a fermenter keg, since I can hang it on the keg now. No more worrying about the thing tipping over on me and such. That additional regulator means I now have a total of four regulators.
One Taprite dual body, one rebuilt Taprite single body (from a local person), one paintball regulator from Keg Connection, and now the Leland regulator. All have their uses.
If you plan to ever get into kegging, at any point while brewing, I would get a CO2 tank and regulator. If you don't want to invest in a 5# tank, then get one of the paintball gun bottles and a regulator to go with it. You can go several directions there, from a standard regulator with adapter, to a regulator made to go onto the paintball (pin) bottle. I recently picked up one of the Leland regulators and really like it. Of course, I changed out the barb fitting (gas out) to a MFL fitting on it already, which means I can use any of my standard lines with swivel nuts on them. I like it a lot for when I transfer from a fermenter keg, since I can hang it on the keg now. No more worrying about the thing tipping over on me and such. That additional regulator means I now have a total of four regulators.
One Taprite dual body, one rebuilt Taprite single body (from a local person), one paintball regulator from Keg Connection, and now the Leland regulator. All have their uses.
You'll be OK. there is probably enough dissolved CO2 already in the beer such that when you transfer it, enough will bubble out to give you the needed CO2 blanket.
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