keg as a secondary?

[cheap]

Anyone ever use the keg as a secondary and carbonate later? I have been thinking of was to streamline, and though I can foresee some line out clogging issues, I don't see any other down side.

Thoughts?

 

[AnOldUR]

Unless you transfer to a second keg as a serving vessel, it's not a secondary. It's . . . well, it's a keg. :cross:

When you carbonate it after it's in the keg you won't change anything as far as how it ages. So if you want to age it outside your beer fridge, just set the pressure to what ever it takes to get your proper volumes at that temperature.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Sure! Just give it a big shot of co2 to purge the oxygen and seal it.

Just mark it so you don't forget what's inside.

 

[cheap]

good idea, wouldn't have thought about the o2

 

[Foosier]

I agree this will definitely work. When we put our beer in the keg it definitely changes over time. Most of us have experienced flavors changing mellowing and hitting their prime after a few weeks or more. Honestly, it is not too different from lagering if you put the keg in the fridge. If you just want to bulk age it though, fill the keg, purge with CO2 as said before and out it aside till you are ready. Then chill and carbonate. If you had the space tyo age and carbonate at the same time, I don't see how that would hurt things either. It would certainly save time waiting for the carbonation to finish once the beer is aged. Kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I'd hit it with 30# of co2 to seal the lid, purge a couple times, hit it again, check for leaks, then purge it almost flat to remove any remaining o2. Leaving a bit of pressure on it won't hurt though. Might actually be better.

When you do carb it up, you will get a bit of sediment in your first pour. After that, if you don't move the keg around, you will be good!