OK, so here is one I don't think I have asked yet. LOL. I am just finishing my single hop brew in my keg. I have another one in the fermenter ready to get kegged. My question is, do I need to go thru the process of cleaning and sterilizing the keg when I can just put my next beer in and not expose it to any O2? I hope the answer is yes cause this one at the ready has been dry hopped for 3 days now and needs to get into a keg for serving. Thoughts? Input is always welcomed.
Kegging Question
- Thread starter redrocker652002
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I always clean and sanitize my kegs between fills, but I don’t see why you can’t do what you’re asking.
I probably should err on the side of caution. I need to clean the bucket fermenter and a few kegs that will be used in my next experiment of fermenting and dry hop in a keg. LOL
What style of beer will you be kegging? If it’s the same style as the one you’re serving now I’d be more apt to just closed-transfer the new beer without opening/cleaning the serving keg. Especially if you don’t already have another empty purged keg at the ready.
Haven't done this myself, but I've read here that others do routinely. It seems very low risk to me.
fluketamer
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do whatever you want. its your beer. lol
seriously the one problem i could see is that i sometimes have a decent amount of sludge at the bottom of the keg. i woudlnt want that swirled up into my next beer. it took so long to form that sludge. lol. if you have time its prolly not a problem since that will likely settle back down in the new beer also.
seriously the one problem i could see is that i sometimes have a decent amount of sludge at the bottom of the keg. i woudlnt want that swirled up into my next beer. it took so long to form that sludge. lol. if you have time its prolly not a problem since that will likely settle back down in the new beer also.
I haven’t tried it either, but I probably read the same thread as you because I remember someone here saying they’ve kegged multiple beers, one after another, without ever opening and cleaning the keg.
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to keep doing what I normally do and clean everything and sanitize it all. It is a few hours of work, but well worth it to make sure there are no problems.
The one in the keg currently is a single hop pale ale. The one I am going to be transferring tomorrow is a pale ale as well, but with a bit more hops both in the boil and dry hop.
I had not thought of that. Usually I get a decent amount of sludge as well. So it is probably best to just clean and sanitize it all.
If there is a substantial amount of sludge on the bottom it would definitely be a concern, as it would mix with the new beer being added.
You could rinse out the sludge by adding some (1/2 - 3/4 gallon) water or Starsan to the keg, then swirl well to suspend the sludge, and push that out.
Repeat for good measure or until it comes out clean/clear. Then add your new beer.
I've done that successfully and is quite a bit faster than opening, rinsing/cleaning out, followed by a 100% liquid pre-purge.
Just be aware, removing thick, compacted sludge can be a bit of a hassle when only swirling, as it may not suspend all that easily. Now after some good (initial) swirling, the slurry starts to get thicker, which helps suspend the remaining sludge faster and faster due to the increase in mass and friction.
You could rinse out the sludge by adding some (1/2 - 3/4 gallon) water or Starsan to the keg, then swirl well to suspend the sludge, and push that out.
Repeat for good measure or until it comes out clean/clear. Then add your new beer.
I've done that successfully and is quite a bit faster than opening, rinsing/cleaning out, followed by a 100% liquid pre-purge.
Just be aware, removing thick, compacted sludge can be a bit of a hassle when only swirling, as it may not suspend all that easily. Now after some good (initial) swirling, the slurry starts to get thicker, which helps suspend the remaining sludge faster and faster due to the increase in mass and friction.
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Dunno if this will give you the food-for-thought you're looking for or not, so I'll try not to leave out the details of my own 'refilling' experiment; I have a couple staple brews that finish at approx. 12G..This goes into two 5G cornys and one 3G corny. In part to constantly test my cleaning/sanitizing/purging routine I leave my kicked kegs sitting around until they're needed again as any flaw in the process will expose itself to my nose when I finally vent them. I usually do the cleaning/sanitizing/purging the day before I fill them and this has been working well for me. I only transfer clear beer to my kegs, so there is absolute minimal (if any) sludge in the bottom. On one occasion last year when it came time to refill my kegs with same brew they previously held I decided to leave the 3G keg sealed and uncleaned just to see what difference I might notice; There was a difference. Not too much, but it still tasted very slightly stale...thankfully no cardboard O2 taste, just 'older' in a less than ideal way.
At the time, I was still using Bevlex 200 for my transfer lines, but have since upgraded to EVABarrier for transfers so at some point I will be repeating this test, but that'll be another experiment that will risk 3G of beer. My usual habit for storing full kegs is to force-carb them and then just leave them sit in my constant 68° basement waiting weeks or so for thier turn in the kegerator. Since I switched my transfer lines to EVABarrier, the waiting kegs now taste exactly like the first one that went straight into the kegerator...previously with the vinyl lines, they had tasted 'less-fresh'.
If I do try another 'dirty' refill soon, I'll try to remember to come back to this thread.
At the time, I was still using Bevlex 200 for my transfer lines, but have since upgraded to EVABarrier for transfers so at some point I will be repeating this test, but that'll be another experiment that will risk 3G of beer. My usual habit for storing full kegs is to force-carb them and then just leave them sit in my constant 68° basement waiting weeks or so for thier turn in the kegerator. Since I switched my transfer lines to EVABarrier, the waiting kegs now taste exactly like the first one that went straight into the kegerator...previously with the vinyl lines, they had tasted 'less-fresh'.
If I do try another 'dirty' refill soon, I'll try to remember to come back to this thread.
This is pretty brilliant subjective testing, @Broken Crow . Makes me wonder about more microbiological methods like culturing the residue and seeing what grows. But what matters most, of course, is flavor/aroma.
MR BEER
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I have been brewing and kegging for about 12 years. I use Sanke 1/6's. I only clean and sanitize if the keg has been sitting around in the sun. Normally I remove the downtube, add some water and swirl around. Turn the keg upside down to drain and then I flush it out very well. Rack fresh brew into keg and add co2 to carbonate. Easy, fast and never had a problem. I figure the keg never has a chance to get contaminated.
Thanks all. I ended up just going thru my whole cleaning routine and cleaned and sanitized the keg, tap and hoses. Seemed like the right thing to do. Took me a couple of hours but heck, I had nothing else going. Thanks all
I always clean and sanitize - because I didn't know there was an option. Ha.
That said - I wait until I have at least two cornys to clean/San - as I reuse the PBW and star San when possible because I am old and frigal. After cleaning I put a little pressure in the keg to store until filled up. Before filling - I pull the PRV and expect the hiss... As I can confirm the keg is holding pressure.
Recently switched to brewing 10 gal batches which increases my patience allowing the beer to condition to perfection. Some varieties are fine "young" but others (pilsners, lagers, stout and some brown ales) really benefit from ... Sitting. So ... I got a bunch more used cornys ready to fill with beer.
That said - I wait until I have at least two cornys to clean/San - as I reuse the PBW and star San when possible because I am old and frigal. After cleaning I put a little pressure in the keg to store until filled up. Before filling - I pull the PRV and expect the hiss... As I can confirm the keg is holding pressure.
Recently switched to brewing 10 gal batches which increases my patience allowing the beer to condition to perfection. Some varieties are fine "young" but others (pilsners, lagers, stout and some brown ales) really benefit from ... Sitting. So ... I got a bunch more used cornys ready to fill with beer.
I also tend to keep a kicked keg in one of my fridges until there's a second as I use a Mark II keg washer and prefer to amortize the setup/filling/teardown on more than a single keg 
Cheers!
Cheers!
