Lager bottling from a keg

[castlefreak]

I have my first lager going, OG was 1.055 now it's about 1.022 so I figure it's about time for a diacetyl rest.

I plan to bottle this and give it to my father in law for his birthday, but I want the beer to stay nice and clear throughout so I don't really want to bottle condition it. I know he will want to save some so my questions are:

If I force carb it and bottle from the keg, will it hold its carbonation?

Will the small amount of oxygen in the bottle cause it to spoil over time?

I have a length of racking cane attached to a picnic tap that I use to bottle for my free-loading friends, but no fancy counter-pressure filler.

 

[Yooper]

I have my first lager going, OG was 1.055 now it's about 1.022 so I figure it's about time for a diacetyl rest.

I plan to bottle this and give it to my father in law for his birthday, but I want the beer to stay nice and clear throughout so I don't really want to bottle condition it. I know he will want to save some so my questions are:

If I force carb it and bottle from the keg, will it hold its carbonation?

Will the small amount of oxygen in the bottle cause it to spoil over time?

I have a length of racking cane attached to a picnic tap that I use to bottle for my free-loading friends, but no fancy counter-pressure filler.

If you use this method: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/, you can bottle it and it will hold its carbonation just fine and it won't spoil.

 

[castlefreak]

Do I really need to go get the stopper? I guess I just don't understand why it's necessary if you're just venting the pressure anyway. Thanks for the help.

 

[binaryc0de]

Without the stopper it would most likely just foam up. The stopper allows you to fill slower.

 

[Yooper]

Do I really need to go get the stopper? I guess I just don't understand why it's necessary if you're just venting the pressure anyway. Thanks for the help.

You're not really just "venting the pressure anyway". What you're doing is actually transferring the beer under pressure, similar to a counter pressure bottle filler. That's the key to holding in carbonation and keeping it from oxidizing. "Burping" it does vent some of the pressure, yes, but not much of it. Keeping the pressure IN the beer keeps it carbed up in the bottle. If you skip the stopper you won't have carbonation in the future. I hope that makes sense!

 

[castlefreak]

Yes it does, thanks.

 

[castlefreak]

Bottled today with the stopper and everything. I filled and capped one bottle and left it in the fridge for a couple hours and it poured wonderfully with a nice white, creamy head. Worked out quite well. Thanks, folks!

Cheers!