Cold crash in keg

[Traz1986]

Do you need to vent the keg if you rack to a secondary in a keg an cold crash in the fridge. This batch is an ale, if I was lagering would that need a vent/ airlock on the keg. This is after the 3 week primary fermentation.

Thanks, Jim

 

[douglasbarbin]

It will probably cold crash faster if the keg is not under pressure, but it will cold crash either way, given enough time. I would probably skip the secondary entirely unless you have a compelling reason for it. Do you plan to serve from that same keg?

 

[YeastMode]

I am a bit unclear as to your question, so let me restate it as I understand it: If you go from primary straight to a keg and cold crash in the keg, do you need to vent?

I do this almost exclusively at this point, and the answer is no (assuming primary fermentation has been completed). When you transfer to the keg, purge the headspace with CO2 and then cold crash. The first few glasses drawn will be murky, but after that it will be good to go. I actually carb and cold crash at the same time, and my beer clears just fine. I sometimes even use gelatin in the keg.

 

[WarmGas]

I do this almost exclusively at this point, and the answer is no (assuming primary fermentation has been completed). When you transfer to the keg, purge the headspace with CO2 and then cold crash. The first few glasses drawn will be murky, but after that it will be good to go. I actually carb and cold crash at the same time, and my beer clears just fine. I sometimes even use gelatin in the keg.

I use the same process as YeastMode but I also cold crash the primary before transferring to the keg. I find this helps settle things and I get clearer beer into the keg as a result. Then the keg will sit for another two weeks or so (my secondary fermentation) before I stick it in the Kegerator, "cold crash" and carb it up at the same time.