Bottling from a keg...competitions... etc.

[sirsloop]

So I'm going to be submitting a couple of my brews to competition next weekend. I have all of my beer kegged and was just curious about carbonation holding up. In the very very few bottles that I pull off the keg, I just release all of the keg pressure and pour slowly into a chilled bottle at like 1psi. Well.. I use flip top bottles.. but will be capping these for competition. Anyways, do you think carbonation will hold up for two weeks while the bottles sit around? I know none of the gas is going to escape or anything, but i'm just concerned about them pouring a dud cause the headspace filled up with CO2 out of suspension. Should I put in a tiny bit of dextrose in the bottles just to partially prime them during the wait? Like bottle them tonight, put in 1/4tsp in the bottom, let them sit warm?

 

[Bobby_M]

nah, man, use the BMBF. He just did a test on carb loss after 6 months, and there was none...lost that is.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=24678

Just make sure you sanitize everything really well.

 

[PeteOz77]

I am interested in this thread as well. I made a minor mistake when adding hops to one of my extract brews and it has come out very bitter. I am hoping it will mellow with age. It's been a month and it's still very bitter. I am thinking of degassing the keg completely, and then priming and putting into bottles to age, as I want my keg back. 3-4 month, possibly longer is probably how long I am going to have to wait, and I can use the keg for lots of other batches between then and now..

So will opening the pressure valve and then giving it a shake a few times a day to release all the carbonation work? Then prime as normal?

 

[sirsloop]

Well I guess as long as you are able to bottle the carbed up beer without it foaming up and offgassing... when you cap it i'll still have all that gas in solution. I remember seeing that post about the bottle. I don't have a #2 stopper, but I can hook up a bottling wand to the end of the tap off a short hose. I figure 3-4' of hose going into a wand should work pretty well at super low pressure. Once the end of the wand is covered in liquid there should be minimal agitation.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you have any other size stopper, you can still create a decent seal by pushing it on TOP of of the bottle. Just make sure you sanitize the faucet and lines really well. you don't want to get dinged for a sour brew.

 

[BierMuncher]

...Once the end of the wand is covered in liquid there should be minimal agitation.

Needs to be super duper low pressure since you can't control the flow without a stopper.

Make sure the tip of your cane is cut at an angle to prevent beer from "forcing" its way into the bottle.

 

[Chriso]

Rather than bump, I just figured I'd ask here:

BM, How did you make your angle cut in your ex-racking-cane for the BMBF?

I used a dremmel with a cutoff wheel and it feels VERY rough. I worry about nasties hiding in there. I'm sure StarSan will get them all, but still. Paranoia.

Hot knife maybe????

 

[BierMuncher]

Rather than bump, I just figured I'd ask here:

BM, How did you make your angle cut in your ex-racking-cane for the BMBF?

I used a dremmel with a cutoff wheel and it feels VERY rough. I worry about nasties hiding in there. I'm sure StarSan will get them all, but still. Paranoia.

Hot knife maybe????

I used a hack saw. Then I used some rolled up fine grit sand paper to smooth off the roughies.

THe smooth edges are as important for a smooth flow of beer as for sanitation.

 

[Chriso]

Was wondering if you sanded. Thanks for the update!