Keg now and wait for CO2?

[Bryggehus]

Here's my dilemma:

I have a Black IPA in the secondary that is dry hopped. I want to keg this one (my first time) but don't have my CO2 yet. My schedule just changed so I don't know if I can get my tank filled. However, I'm not sure I want that beer sitting in the secondary that long. It started at a fairly high OG, and there is a decent amount of trub in the carboy, plus the dry hops.

Soooo.....for you keggers out there, have you racked a beer in the keg and put the CO2 on later? I'm guessing guys with the large chest freezers have done this. I can get it in the fridge to keep it cool and obviously the corny keg is sealed and will be sanitized.

My other options are to bottle this one like I've been doing for years, or leave it in the carboy until I can get the CO2 tank filled.

 

[lumpher]

you can always boil up and add 5 or so oz of sugar to the keg, like when you used to bottle. i sometimes do that to my kegs anyway, especially if i know they're going to sit for a while.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I just keg mine and let them age a bit if I don't have space in the kegerator yet.

 

[Zhameng]

I was in the same situation and let the beer ride it out in the carboy for a couple more weeks. I didn't have enough beer to fill the keg and didn't want a substantial amount of air sitting on the beer. The beer was a porter though and I didn't have to worry about it sitting on hops to long and imparting off flavors. You could do as lumpher suggested and some sugar then purge the air as the yeast turn it into CO2 and alcohol.

 

[wildwest450]

I think it's better off in the secondary than it is being transferred with no way to purge the oxygen. Another case of the impatient's.


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[Bryggehus]

Personally, I'm tired of responses about being impatient. I'm following a recipe that says to dry hop for a week. If a week is up I'm moving it to avoid imparting any off flavors from the sediment and/or hops. Typically, I can let it sit in the secondary and not worry about it but I've never dry hopped before.

I think I will keg it with a bit of bottling sugar as should only be a few days until I can get the CO2 and hook it up.

 

[wildwest450]

Personally, I'm tired of responses about being impatient.

Then buy more equipment, or stop being impatient. You asked a question and I gave a practical answer. Ask any experienced brewer on here and see if he would leave a freshly kegged beer sitting with oxygen in the head space.

And leaving the hops in there for a few more days will not impart off flavors.


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[erikpete18]

Yeah, I don't think he was trying to be a jerk, but at this point it becomes more of a "which side is worse" proposition. You can either leave it in secondary on the dry hops for a few more days and hope that you don't get grassy flavors, or you can put it in the keg without CO2 to purge and hope you don't get oxidative flavors. Not sure if the priming sugar will help the yeast clean up any O2 that gets into solution, but it might.

It really depends on which way you feel more comfortable doing it. The other option, if you've got another carboy free, would be to transfer it to a second carboy and off the hops. Speaking from experience, I've left beer on dry hops for 2-2.5 weeks when I got busy and never had any off flavors, but some of that may depend on the hop type used.

 

[weirdboy]

If a week is up I'm moving it to avoid imparting any off flavors from the sediment and/or hops.

Guh?

Typically, I can let it sit in the secondary and not worry about it but I've never dry hopped before.

Oh, that explains it.


Just let it sit it'll be fine.

 

[Balue]

I am new to kegging my self and have a couple questions regarding this as well.

Wouldn't moving to secondary impose more o2 concern then racking to a keg for the same purpose? Seems to me a secondary carboy or bucket has more surface space and potentially more o2 absorption potential? Not to mention a second racking to keg after secondary. (I personally don't use secondaries but I would like to build a keg pipeline and am looking for the best practice for this)

Also if priming sugar was added, and due to surface/head space to volume ratio I read you should actually use half the amount you would if you bottled. By my argument above wouldn't we be safer kegging with priming sugar than actually bottling? And also the natural co2 build up with push the oxygen up and a couple purges every few days would expel any oxygen? Leaving the keg primed and ready for serving once space/equipment free up or arrive?

Lets all RDWHAHB!

 

[erikpete18]

Yeah, you're gonna get some potential O2 exposure at several steps along the line, the key is to minimize it. If you've got a good keg, I'm sure it wouldn't matter whether it got moved to a secondary (or tertiary) versus moving to the keg. I know I've got a couple of kegs that won't seal without a little bit of CO2 though, which is where I would worry about it sitting without a seal (either the keg seal or an airlock).

I think you're right about needing less priming sugar, something to do with the amount of headspace/surface area in the keg versus a bottle. However, if you were trying to carbonate this way you wouldn't want to purge the keg since then you'd release the CO2, but there's no reason you couldn't purge a couple of times and then let it sit, maybe get to around 1 volume of CO2, then use your CO2 to get it the rest of the way up.

 

[Balue]

However, if you were trying to carbonate this way you wouldn't want to purge the keg since then you'd release the CO2, but there's no reason you couldn't purge a couple of times and then let it sit, maybe get to around 1 volume of CO2, then use your CO2 to get it the rest of the way up.

Yeah, I was not thinking of completely purging the built up co2 but rather after a few days a quick purge to force out oxygen sitting on top then another quick purge a few more days later and then not touch again till moving to kegerator.

Also was not worried to much about completely carbing up the keg for serving but more as a preservative measure. Then it would be like a natural carbing boost once moved to keg and would be serving quicker since it is already aged and semi carbed or more. I live in an apartment so I am space and equipment limited, I want to make sure I am using the best practices I can to streamline my process yet maintain a nice supply.

Damn this is a fun obsession! There are always things to try, learn and play with at all steps of the process.

 

[Bryggehus]

Then buy more equipment, or stop being impatient. You asked a question and I gave a practical answer. Ask any experienced brewer on here and see if he would leave a freshly kegged beer sitting with oxygen in the head space.

And leaving the hops in there for a few more days will not impart off flavors.


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Honestly, how does that help? What more equipment would you suggest? I have over 200 bottles, so if I want to just bottle it then I will. If other "experienced brewers" suggest moving to another carboy, then I will. I have 3 glass carboys and two buckets with lids.

I can't help that my schedule changed. I didn't expect it. My alternative would be to just bottle it as I've been doing for 10 years now. How is that not being patient? I wanted to keg it, on schedule, and was wondering what others thought about my dilemma. Yeah, I worried about oxygen in the headspace which is why I inquired about alternatives.

I guess I was looking for some creativity. RDWHAHB

But thanks for taking the time to respond. Despite how it comes across online, I truly do appreciate your input. If you say a few more days won't matter, then I'll let it go.

 

[Seven]

I'd agree to just leave it in the secondary for a few more days vs. racking it over to a keg now with no way to purge the air from the headspace.