Messy.....

[Scooter13]

ok....I'm on my second batch kegging and I need some help fixing a problem (if there is one...)

I got a little busy (ok....lazy...) and racked straight from my primary to my keg.

I primed via carbonation a few days ago, and checked it this morning and it's ugly as hell....It looks like something flushed out of a storm sewer....

I didn't use gelatin, cause my first kegged batch turned out ok...But then again, I did have it in a secondary for about a week or so after primary...

Will this settle to the bottom eventually? The taste is fine, but I'm a little concerned that any house guests will definitely NOT partake of this particular brew unless it clears up...

many thanks to any input here...

 

[cubbies]

Sediment in a keg is certainly a problem, especially if you dont use a long primary or a secondary. As fas as I know your only options are to cold condition, or bend your dip tube a little bit. You will lose a small amount of beer, but you also wont be drinking sediment. Personally, I cold crash for at least a week. My beer is crystal clear when I keg it.

 

[Scooter13]

Thanks...

I'm not sure if the root-cause was a sloppy racking or time spent in the primary...(It was just shy of 3 weeks...)

I'm not sure I wanna bend my tube, so what exactly is "cold-conditioning"?

 

[cubbies]

Getting your beer cold is essentially all it is. Think of it this way. You rack to your keg, then you put it in the cold. When the beer gets cold, all of the residual "stuff" in it, settles to the bottom of the keg, then up the dip tube and into your glass. If you get your beer nice and cold before you put it in the keg, say in the secondary (which is what I do), all that stuff will settle and compact in your secondary and you are going to be good to go. I rarely get any sediment in my first glass and never any in my second.

 

[Scooter13]

Update:

check it out.....Went down this morning to check the progress, thinking I'm gonna have to empty, re-keg, etc...etc...

I pour a glass and it's perfectly fine!?!? Carbonation has kicked in, and although a little hazy, the sediment is completely gone....Tastes pretty yummy too...

Explanation anyone????

 

[cubbies]

The dip tube for your keg goes to the bottom of the keg, sits just a fraction of an inch off of the bottom. If you do not cold condition or give your beer ample time to settle, there is still going to be residual "stuff" in your beer. This beer is going to settle when the beer gets cold; in this case, in the keg. So, since the dip tube sits only a fraction of an inch off of the bottom, it is likely sitting in a thin layer of sediment. After you pull a pint or two (of beer/sediment) the sediment is going to be gone with only beer remaining.

 

[Scooter13]

cool.....thanks cubbie for all the help.

lesson learned here is to either be more patient or use a secondary...which I typically do....Thats probably why I had beer ready quicker last batch...

damned hardest part to this beer-making is waiting to drink it!!!!

s

 

[cubbies]

damned hardest part to this beer-making is waiting to drink it!!!!

s

Solution...brew more!!

No problem, it is my pleasure.

 

[BierMuncher]

Solution...brew more!!

Fixed my problems...

 

[Scooter13]

you ain't kidding....lol

My buddy came over last nite and we fixed that problem for good...The beer in question is now just about gone...:cross:

Now I can start from scratch next week with the new batch...

I'm gonna take cubbies advice and cold-condition in my secondary for a few days and then keg it...

thanks again guys....

 

[wilserbrewer]

Hey Scooter13,

You can cold crash the primary as well. Some of us go directly from primary to keg w/ excellent results. Typical schedule would be something like primary 10-14 days and then cold crash for a week. Rack carefully to a keg and condition for as long as your patience holds out.

IMHO secondary is overated except for big beers that need time.

Mike

 

[BierMuncher]

...IMHO secondary is overated except for big beers that need time....

I've come around to this way of thinking as well...

 

[Scooter13]

I've come around to this way of thinking as well...

Yea...It really comes down to equipment availability for me...I use the secondary for bigger beers or to clear my primary for the next brew if it needs a bit more time to clean up...

I'm still a noob, but think I too have formulated the opinion that the secondary is really an optional step for the most part...Although I do like the idea of cold-crashing my kegged beers in it...

 

[cubbies]

IMHO secondary is overated except for big beers that need time.

Mike

I still use a secondary, but mainly just for cold conditioning. Maybe I am just not that good with the ole auto siphon, but I always suck up some trub out of the primary. My typical schedule is 10-14 days primary, 3-5 days secondary, then cold conditioning for 7-10 days, and then into the keg until I start drinking it. I certainly could skip the 3-5 days in secondary, but it just helps me minimize the amount of trub in the keg.