Add sugar solution for natural carb after sanitizer keg purge

[blizz81]

Things I have rigged up / have the capability to do:

1) purge keg via pushing sanitize solution out using CO2
2) rack from fermenter to keg using CO2

If I want to naturally carb, is adding my sugar solution as simple as gravity feeding to a tube connected to the beer out QD in between #1 and #2? It will actually be my first time doing #1. I imagine the keg will be slightly pressurized after racking the sanitizer out, so I dunno if I would need to open the PRV and / or push the source at all with CO2 to allow the sugar solution to flow down? Science, man...how does it work?

 

[Vale71]

If you're gravity feeding you'll not only need to bleed pressure from the keg but you'll also have to allow the gas displaced by the sugar solution to escape the keg, so keeping the keg pressurised is definitely not possible. If you want to keep everything pressurised you'll need to devise some sort of pressure injection system.

 

[Schlenkerla]

If you "Sanitizer Purge", try this, after purging;

You can fill a 2L bottle with priming solution.

1) Fill it with your priming solution. Using a carbonator cap (pictures below), pressurize the two liter with your CO2 system.

2) Then attach two quick disconnects together via a flare coupled hose.

3) Attach one quick disconnect to the bottle.

4) Invert the bottle.

5) Attach the other quick disconnect to the keg.

6) Allow the pressure to push in only the priming solution. Disconnect the the QD before it completely empties.

Depending when you add this priming you might choose one post over the other. If empty I'd use a black disconnect on the liquid side. If filled I'd use a grey disconnect on the gas side.

This works. I pushed hop tea into a keg that I made in a coffee press. Then spunded.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This is one that has hose connection so you don't have to invert the bottle.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Using a carbonator cap,ressurize the two liter with your CO2 system.

Just pressurizing it doesn't remove the oxygen. You need to purge it to use this method.
(If I'm understanding correctly.)

 

[Schlenkerla]

Just pressurizing it doesn't remove the oxygen. You need to purge it to use this method.
(If I'm understanding correctly.)

Good point.... [ Based on your comment, I edited the post above]

You only push in the priming solution and stop.

I pop off the quick disconnect before it empties the solution. So you get maybe 90-95% of the priming solution

 

[Schlenkerla]

Just pressurizing it doesn't remove the oxygen. You need to purge it to use this method.
(If I'm understanding correctly.)

I've also tried this with 10ppms of trifecta for 1-liter. With the Hop Tea idea. I liked this with a Cryo Citra Tea.

I only fermentor-purge my kegs. I typically add the dry sugar after sanitizing and then close up the keg. The gas pushes through for three days before I drop the beer to the keg. I still Spund though.

Your point very important. This is only for after the keg purge.

It should only be a liquid addition. Don't let the air/gas mixture to get into the keg.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I typically add the dry sugar after sanitizing and then close up the keg. The gas pushes through for three days before I drop the beer to the keg.

That's brilliant!

 

[Schlenkerla]

That's brilliant!

Thanks.

Here's a photo of pale ale I made using Hornindal Kveik. I attached the my brew belt to get a higher fermention temp. (92F)

This set up shows the keg purge set up.

The fermentor pushes to the liquid out, the gas out pushes to the growler.

To drop to the keg I swap the 1/4" JIC Swivel connectors. Attach the growler drop to the spigot on the fermentor. Pull the keg to the floor and open the fermentor ball valve. The keg fills closed, and vents back to the fermentor. Filling via liquid out, venting gas in.

I also rotate the ball valve to change the pick up inside to regulate the sediment pick up. Starting with horizontal and dip it lower to I hit a sediment burst and lift it up. I can see the little burst of cloudy in the process of racking.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This is one batch of beer that fermented in 36 hours, then I spunded. I pitched with a starter.

 

[blizz81]

Recently brewed a DIPA that I cold-crashed and racked virtually entirely closed with CO2 (a quick moment between removing a mylar balloon from the carboy cap to putting a racking tube in) into a sanitizer-purged keg. Tasted great after kegging. By the time it had carbed, the hops tasted a bit more muddied. I had enough at the time of racking that I bottled one 12oz and put some sugar in the bottle to naturally carb. Cracked that bottle around a month in, and hop flavors were much cleaner than the keg.

That led me to trying this yesterday on a pale ale with one of the stainless carboy caps and a 2-liter. Worked great, thanks Schlenkerla. Shooting for under the carb point re: sugar, and obviously still left some sugar solution in the 2-liter, with the idea of just getting some fermentation going and finishing up carb on CO2. Will probably do that at least on hoppy beers going forward as I'm too lazy to time things out re: spunding.

 

[TheMadKing]

Or you could just buy a 10-pack of 100mL syringes on amazon and inject your priming solution into the gas port with a piece of 1/4 or 3/8 ID silicone tubing - easy to purge the air from the system, no pressure to deal with, quick and painless

I use this for priming solution and gelatin

I would need a lot of convincing to believe that a keg losing pressure but never opened, for less than 30 seconds picks up oxygen at an appreciable level

 

[day_trippr]

Yup, $10 for ten 100ml Luer Lock syringes with caps and wide bore needles.

Assuming one has just filled a sealed a purged keg there will be some head space pressure remaining which one can use in their favor. Simply pre-load enough syringes for the required primer (likely a bit more than one), pop a gas QD on the keg and let the head space pressure purge it, stick in a syringe, pump away.

When done pop off the QD, pressurize the keg to make sure the lid is seated, maybe give the PRV a pop or two along the way for good luck, and you're good to go.

I modded a couple of the syringes to clip back the locking collar to better expose the tip - which conveniently will fit right in the bore of a standard flare gas QD.

Skinny dikes are handy here...

Plugs right in, no needle required. The cap will still seal tight - as will a needle (though I wouldn't trust one to stay put in use)...

Cheers!

 

[TheMadKing]

Yup, $10 for ten 100ml Luer Lock syringes with caps and wide bore needles.

View attachment 673448

Assuming one has just filled a sealed a purged keg there will be some head space pressure remaining which one can use in their favor. Simply pre-load enough syringes for the required primer (likely a bit more than one), pop a gas QD on the keg and let the head space pressure purge it, stick in a syringe, pump away.

View attachment 673449

When done pop off the QD, pressurize the keg to make sure the lid is seated, maybe give the PRV a pop or two along the way for good luck, and you're good to go.

I modded a couple of the syringes to clip back the locking collar to better expose the tip - which conveniently will fit right in the bore of a standard flare gas QD.

View attachment 673450


Skinny dikes are handy here...

View attachment 673451

Plugs right in, no needle required. The cap will still seal tight - as will a needle (though I wouldn't trust one to stay put in use)...

View attachment 673452


Cheers!

I do it a bit different

My syringes have plastic tips like a caulk tube so I slide a piece of tubing over that, and have a QD on the other end. Then I hold the whole thing upside down, press the QD pin with my finger, and press the syringe, so I use the solution to liquid purge the line and QD (over the sink). Then I press my pinlock keg poppet down until it stops hissing, pop the QD on squirt the solution in, and pressurize the keg again. this way there's never an open channel to the atmosphere for more than a fraction of a second assuming the lid seal holds relatively well.

 

[TheMadKing]

And evidently my syringes are 150mL. They are intended for administering medicine to horses I think.