Beer Transportation

[ElGeneral]

I am making a couple of corny kegs of beer for a get together and I am trying to trouble shoot the transportation process.

I am going to be moving the beer from Houston to north of Waco (approximately 200 miles) the first week of September and it will probably be 100 degrees. The end of the drive will be 3-4 miles over ranch roads that are pretty good, but certainly bumpy.

I am going to bring trash cans and picnic taps to serve the beer.

I think temperature and vibration will be an issue.

My current plan is to put them in an 160 quart cooler and cover them with ice. Is there anything else I can do to mitigate the effects of travel? Will I need to let it rest for a period of time so it won't be foamy? Issues with sediment?

I don't want my beer to suck, so I am trying to think this out beforehand.

Thanks,

EG

 

[Flipadelphia]

If you have spare kegs, you can jump the beer to an empty keg, thus eliminating the sediment portion of your worries.

 

[Yooper]

If you have spare kegs, you can jump the beer to an empty keg, thus eliminating the sediment portion of your worries.

That is what I do. Let the beer settle and clear and jump to a new keg leaving. the sediment behind. We go to south Texas every winter, taking three kegs that way and are drinking one of them within an hour after arrival although it is still a bit warm.

Once the beer is carbed up and clear and moved to a new keg, it settles very quickly.

 

[BreezyBrew]

That is what I do. Let the beer settle and clear and jump to a new keg leaving. the sediment behind. We go to south Texas every winter, taking three kegs that way and are drinking one of them within an hour after arrival although it is still a bit warm.

Once the beer is carbed up and clear and moved to a new keg, it settles very quickly.

I'm all over this, just one thing stopping me. . How do you know when the keg Is full? Weighing it seems like a royal pain.

 

[And1129]

If you could, just get there the night before and let the kegs rest overnight. I routinely travel between California and Washington State with beer. In fact, my usual method of carbonation involves putting 40-50 psi on the flat beer in the kegs and then throwing the kegs in the trunk of my car for the ~1000 mile journey. After a day of resting and cooling at the destination, the beer is nicely carbonated!

 

[Flipadelphia]

I'm all over this, just one thing stopping me. . How do you know when the keg Is full? Weighing it seems like a royal pain.

Do it enough and you'll know how much time it takes. Plus the keg you're jumping from will be empty, and hopefully you can tell what an empty keg feels like.

 

[Yooper]

I'm all over this, just one thing stopping me. . How do you know when the keg Is full? Weighing it seems like a royal pain.

there are a couple of ways. One is the easy way- if you jump a full keg to an empty keg, it will be full and the original keg will kick (duh, I know).

The harder way is when you're doing this from a 5 gallon keg to a 3 gallon keg.

The way I tell when it's getting full is to close the kegerator door, so the kegged beer is cold, but put the new keg out on the floor in front of me. In a warm room, you can see the 'frost line' on it, as it fills. that is very helpful. Otherwise, when I pull the pressure relief valve, and I get a little beer out via foam, I stop. Not exactly scientific, but it does work!

 

[SeeMont]

I don't know it this will help. I weigh my kegs with a scale that is used to weigh lugage. Emply kegs are very consistant in weight and beer weighs about 8 lbs per gallon. I weigh my kegs in keezer. Good Luck

 

[ElGeneral]

Thanks, guys.

 

[BreezyBrew]

there are a couple of ways. One is the easy way- if you jump a full keg to an empty keg, it will be full and the original keg will kick (duh, I know).

The harder way is when you're doing this from a 5 gallon keg to a 3 gallon keg.

The way I tell when it's getting full is to close the kegerator door, so the kegged beer is cold, but put the new keg out on the floor in front of me. In a warm room, you can see the 'frost line' on it, as it fills. that is very helpful. Otherwise, when I pull the pressure relief valve, and I get a little beer out via foam, I stop. Not exactly scientific, but it does work!

Great! Thanks for the info Yooper. Great as always.

 

[j1n]

i was going to say what yooper did. The warm moist air will condense on the keg you can easily tell where its at. I will sometimes leave the kegerator fridge door open for 5 min to see how much volume i have left in the kegs. Also when i filter from one keg to another i use that as a guide to see where its at.