Growler Fill and bottle fill from keg

[robbyice]

I know that this has been discussed many times but Im confused..

I took 2 of my beers to a party last night... one in a growler and one in a 32oz swing top ez cap bottle...

I don't have a beer gun or a racking cane cobra combo.. I poured down into the bottle with the cobra tap set on about 10psi, got tons of foam as expected, I spent 20 minutes getting them full due to the foam. I got em pretty full and put the lids on tight... both were opened 20 minutes later at the party and were really flat and boring. I thought capturing all that foam would keep them carbed but obviously not.

would they have been carbed if I had a racking cane down into the bottom of the bottle and quickly capped them as they got full? was taking so long to fill the bottles my biggest problem?

 

[JF_HBrews]

I feel your pain and disappointment. I've had the best success lowering the pressure as low as possible (1-3psi) to allow beer to be pushed out of the keg. You'll have to release the pressure on the keg after this. Add a racking cane to your picnic tap but be sure to take off the valve and spring. Or, if using fixed taps then add tubing from the tap and long enough to reach the bottom of the container being filled. Some people also suggest pre-chilling bottles/growlers before filling too.

 

[TeamAshBrewing]

Yes they would have been carbed. You also risk oxidizing your beer doing it that way as well. I use a short piece of hose and shove one end up the faucet end. My faucet is 20 yrs old, so most likely not the same as yours, but experiment with the OD of the hose and find what works for your system. it doesn't have to be an air tight fit. The key is a short hose-just long enough to hit the bottom of your growler/bottle. Any more and you will get air in the line. The carbonation will last at least thru the weekend, and I haven't tested longer than that.

 

[hifidelity]

Like others have said- fill from the bottom and you'll keep more carbonation. I also like to put my growlers in the freezer before filling them...it seems to help CO2 stay dissolved.

I don't even bother turning down the CO2 when filling growlers. I'll leave it at serving pressure (usually around 12 PSI) and use a growler filler tube.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

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

This really works. I use a larger stopper for growler fills. I chill the bottles before filling to reduce foaming.

 

[YeastMode]

Try getting a growler filler adapter for the faucet and place a short length of host on it and keep it in the bottom of the growler as someone mentioned above. It will last for you to take it to a party. Something liek this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Growler-Fil...903?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20cf4fd07f

I have also used a small length of 304 stainless steel tubing with a stopper on it, and then it functions like the BierMuncher not-a-beer-gun situation but without the footprint. Something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perlick-Gro...734?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item28039f2b0e

Each work great to bottle right from the tap. I usually use the first style when I am filling growlers for a party, and the second style when I am filling bottles right from the tap that will be shipped, stored, or otherwise not consumed within the next 24 hours. With both, fill to the top to eliminate headspace and cap on foam.

 

[m00ps]

As others have said, using a piece of tubing (my usual tubing for my auto siphon fits snugly inside the taps) and extend it to the bottom of the growler. Lower the serving pressure to 2 psi or so and vent the keg. This should minimize foaming. I so this for friends when I give them a bottle that will be consumed within 2-3 days

I bought a beer gun for long term bottling from my keg since I wanted to be able to keep things like IPAs that are so much better from the keg. It was totally worth it IMO

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Like others have said- fill from the bottom and you'll keep more carbonation. I also like to put my growlers in the freezer before filling them...it seems to help CO2 stay dissolved.

I don't even bother turning down the CO2 when filling growlers. I'll leave it at serving pressure (usually around 12 PSI) and use a growler filler tube.

Exactly what I was going to say. Exactly.

 

[Natdavis777]

Ive had a lot of luck filling with a tube attached to the faucet. I have made provisions though to invest in a beer gun.

I tried building the cobra tap combo and it leaked everywhere. When I fill bottles directly from a cobra tap, they go flat quickly.

 

[Ski12568]

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

This really works. I use a larger stopper for growler fills. I chill the bottles before filling to reduce foaming.

I do this and it works great. I use a stopper for bottles but I don't even bother for the growlers.