Corny keg to bottle conundrum

[JRGlobis]

LOL. Overthinking things is my curse unfortunately...

 

[Wolffie]

I have them in 5 of my corny kegs. No issues whatsoever. They work “as advertised”. You have to buy the one that says torpedo keg though, not Fermzilla

I have 3 of them with SS nuts attached to help sink the tubing, I push the nut on to the ball float tubing end. (stays and helps pull the ball not just the tubing) Clear brew to the bottom of the torpedo keg.

 

[JRGlobis]

I’m in a bit of a pickle and need some guidance.

I’m new to the mead game, but have made a few batches of everything from extract to all grain beer, so I’d say I have a basic knowledge and vocabulary, but admit I’m mostly clueless and wing it mostly. Please don’t slay me if I sound naive!

So I made a 5 gallon batch about 8 months ago. It was on primary for 3-4 weeks. Due to time constraints, I had to transfer it to a corny keg for secondary. Before doing so, I added about 5lbs of fresh raspberries that I had steamed for about 30 min to sanitize, puréed them, and poured into the corny with the mead. I then pushed CO2 into the keg, essentially force carbonating and trying to get any residual oxygen out, and left it for 7 months.

While I was gone, I had my wife “burp” it periodically by lifting the blowoff valve just to make sure it was still carbbed, but never added additional CO2 as it seemed by her description that it always seemed to be a strong burp, and it smelled good and sweet.

Now the conundrum. I want to bottle some of it for aging, and I want to leave some in the keg for immediate enjoyment, but I’m concerned that as soon as I try to make the first pour the liquid out tube or poppit valve will become obstructed by the sediment and raspberries.

I have considered blowing off all the CO2, siphoning out the sediment, and the filling bottles with the picnic tap, but I’m worried about, infection, oxygen corruption, and how that would affect aging and carbonation over the long term.

I’ve considered blowing off the oxygen, flipping it upside down, and trying to slowly unscrew the gas in ball lock valve enough to let the sediment escape, and once I see mostly clear, screwing it back on, flipping it back up, re pressurizing, and not bottling.

Last, I’ve considered just rolling the dice and hoping the poppit or ball lock doesn't
get fouled and trouble shoot from there.

Desired endstate would be to successfully have 2/3 of it bottled, and the last 1/3 drinkable, preferably not in a quasi raspberry mead smoothie form.

If y’all have any ideas, suggestions, or “shame on you” feedback, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Update:
Took about a 4 oz room temp sample from the vey top of the keg using a sanitized turkey baster as a sort of “thief”. Didn’t seem to have any off flavors, and to my disappointment was actually somewhat flavorless. Very light honey notes, zero raspberry, and almost no sweetness. Also very little carbonation, bordering on none at all.

Some good news is that it definitely had a warm, mellow after taste which leads me to believe it has a decent ABV. Color was a very light pinkish tan, and was slightly hazy, but see through.

I’m guessing these tasting notes are due to it coming straight from the top of a keg that has been sitting for 7 months undisturbed, and that it will surely be a different story as I get samples from seller into the keg.

I’m going to continue to wait for the floating dip tube before posting anything else on how this thing turned out.

I should like to say thanks to everyone who pitched in with their recommendations and opinions. Y’all rock!

 

[madscientist451]

Update:
Took about a 4 oz room temp sample from the vey top of the keg using a sanitized turkey baster as a sort of “thief”. Didn’t seem to have any off flavors, and to my disappointment was actually somewhat flavorless. Very light honey notes, zero raspberry, and almost no sweetness. Also very little carbonation, bordering on none at all.

My experience with raspberries is that most of the flavor is lost in fermentation and what's left is a "hint" of flavor. Also 5 lbs for a 5 gallon batch isn't very much. If the mead isn't all that exciting, you can use it for blending with other beverages.

 

[JRGlobis]

Outstanding info my friend. Thanks! I’m going to taste it today and see where it’s at. Fingers crossed.

What did you back sweeten with, and roughly how much?