Can a corny keg empty itself?

[rtbrews]

I recently spent 6 months conditioning a Tripel in one of my corny kegs then put it on tap before the holidays. I only had 2 glasses from it because my co2 tank ran out before vacation and I didn't have time to refill it. I figured the beer would only improve more as it cold conditioned longer.

I returned and the keg was 100% empty with just a little yeast left behind. I have four batches conditioning right now so this concerns me very much because I have no clue how this could have happened so I am going to list all the details in hopes somebody can tell me what happened:

*keg was left full (maybe half gallon to gallon of head space) inside the kegerator for about 3 weeks @ about 40 degrees

*It was a ball lock keg and neither the in or out lines were attached to it.

*The beer was conditioned with corn sugar in the keg (back in August) so it should have had some co2 pressure in there

*There were not any signs of beer anywhere outside the kegerator

*I already had some spilled liquid on the floor of the kegerator but the volume seemed to have increased slightly when I came back but I cannot say for certain because I never considered documenting such things but I am assuming that is where the beer went

I cannot think of anything else at the moment so please ask if I left any possibly helpful detail out. The only other possibility is that the woman who has zero knowledge of a kegerator and was terrified of the co2 tank who had my keys to feed the cat over the break somehow drank nearly 5 gallons of 11% Tripel and figured out a way to pump all the beer out with no co2 when I could not get any out myself without it.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I'm assuming someone drank it. Either they had an extra co2 tank and extra people, or it was beer gnomes.

Unless you're blind, I doubt you'd miss 5 gallons of liquid that had leaked out. Maybe the woman also saw a leak and cleaned it up. Did you ask her about it?

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Maybe the woman also saw a leak and cleaned it up. Did you ask her about it?

This is my bet. I have had kegs leak from the liquid out post before. I have always caught it before more than a pint or two spilled though, usually a fairly slow leak. Not sure how this would have happened without Co2 attached though...seems impossible.

 

[ahave]

Sorry for your loss!

I have had kegs leak inside by keezer that spilled all 5 gals. Some of the beer started draining out the drain hole in the bottom even though it was closed off. By the time I found it, some of the beer that made it outside the keezer and had evaporated off leaving behind some concentrated sugar water behind.

Depending on how long you were gone, something like this could have happened.

 

[BoxofRain]

Do you have kids?

 

[peachwein]

Do you have kids?

Haha... i'm going with this one...

 

[ultravista]

I could not have disappeared, it's sealed in a stainless vessel ...

 

[arturo7]

If there is no spill residue, I'd say somebody drank it.

 

[DaveMcPhee]

I recently spent 6 months conditioning a Tripel in one of my corny kegs then put it on tap before the holidays. I only had 2 glasses from it because my co2 tank ran out before vacation and I didn't have time to refill it. I figured the beer would only improve more as it cold conditioned longer.

I returned and the keg was 100% empty with just a little yeast left behind. I have four batches conditioning right now so this concerns me very much because I have no clue how this could have happened so I am going to list all the details in hopes somebody can tell me what happened:

*keg was left full (maybe half gallon to gallon of head space) inside the kegerator for about 3 weeks @ about 40 degrees

*It was a ball lock keg and neither the in or out lines were attached to it.

*The beer was conditioned with corn sugar in the keg (back in August) so it should have had some co2 pressure in there

*There were not any signs of beer anywhere outside the kegerator

*I already had some spilled liquid on the floor of the kegerator but the volume seemed to have increased slightly when I came back but I cannot say for certain because I never considered documenting such things but I am assuming that is where the beer went

I cannot think of anything else at the moment so please ask if I left any possibly helpful detail out. The only other possibility is that the woman who has zero knowledge of a kegerator and was terrified of the co2 tank who had my keys to feed the cat over the break somehow drank nearly 5 gallons of 11% Tripel and figured out a way to pump all the beer out with no co2 when I could not get any out myself without it.

I wish my dad was more like you when I was 16

 

[KevinM]

Was your cat at all drunk or looking guilty when you came back? Never know about those things. They do all sorts of things to get back at you because you go away. This could just be one of those things cats do when you're not looking.

Otherwise, I'd go with the leak/evaporate. The co2 pressure has been said to be enough to push beer out if there was a leak.

 

[Gameface]

I had a batch of apfelwein that I had only drank about 1/2 gal of fill up the bottom of my keezer because the nut on the beer out QD to the picnic tap was loose. I still had another 1/2 - 1 gal in the keg, but after 4 months and really liking it I was bummed. In my 7cu ft chest freezer there was more than 2" of liquid in there.

I'm thinking something else happened to your beer.

 

[arturo7]

fess up

you drank it

 

[paulthenurse]

I cannot tell a lie. It was me.


Pretty good beer, too. Thanks.


PTN

 

[rtbrews]

No kids. Nobody else had keys to the apartment. The leak/evaporate seems like the only possibility.

Does anyone know what could cause this leak or does this just happen sometimes if a pressurized keg sits aorund? I am think I am done kegging until I can figure out how to prevent this from ever happening.

Oh, I also checked the keg and there were no holes or leaks in the bottom.

 

[Ace_Club]

Was the keg pressurized when you opened it up after discovering the incident? If it was a leak, there should have been little to no pressure left in the keg.

 

[rtbrews]

It seemed there was no pressure left in the keg so the leak is pretty likely. I just don't understand how the leak occurred in the first place.

 

[Ace_Club]

Did either of the posts seem loose? How about the condition of the poppets?

This is odd.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

The leak happened because a seal or post was not properly seated. This accident happens to everyone once. Now you will now to double check and spray some soap solution on the posts to check for leaks.

 

[P-J]

The keg in now empty. Clean it, leave it empty and charge it with CO² to about 20+/- pounds and disconnect it. Just let it sit for several days and then check the pressure. If there is a leak somewhere in the keg, it will be obvious. All you need is a small pin hole through the SS and that's something you will have a heck of a time finding by simply looking.

Question for you. Does your kegerator have a bottom drain? If so, that might explain where the brew went. Most self defrosting units have drains.

Just saying.

 

[Special Hops]

I think it must have been the beer goblins. What did you do to anger them?

 

[tjpfeister]

Had to be beer goblins. There is no way if that keg was taken off CO2 that the remaining pressure would have pushed ALL the beer up through the post. So the only feasible leak-answer is that it is leaking at the base somewhere and that gravity was the force moving the beer and then it fell into a wormhole landing in another dimension... or else nasty little beer goblinses!

 

[tjpfeister]

Wait wait wait! I got it!

Are you an insomniac? Have you and another individual who seems slightly cooler and slightly better looking than you started a fight club recently? Could the beer goblin be Tyler Durdin? Could YOU be Tyler Durden?