Out of C02. Can I transfer and perge tomorrow?

[corycorycory09]

I was planning on kegging my pliny the elder clone today but I just realized I'm out of c02. The closest place that does fills is already closed.

Normally I tranfer and then purge with c02 right away.

Would it be safe for me to transfer to the keg today, keep the beer in there until tomorrow when I can get c02... or should I just wait until I have the c02? Mostly worried about oxidizing the beer, but not sure how big of a deal that is over a less than 24 hour timespan.

 

[porterpounder]

You need to purge the keg before filling with beer, not after. So if you have a pressurized keg, then vent it, go ahead and transfer and put it on CO2 to carbonate tomorrow.

 

[corycorycory09]

You need to purge the keg before filling with beer, not after. So if you have a pressurized keg, then vent it, go ahead and transfer and put it on CO2 to carbonate tomorrow.

I've never heard this. I've always just transferred into an empty keg and purged the remaining headspace without issue. It seems like a bit of a waste of c02 to purge an empty keg?

My question is simply whether it is okay to purge the headspace the day after transferring.

 

[kh54s10]

You need to purge the keg before filling with beer, not after. So if you have a pressurized keg, then vent it, go ahead and transfer and put it on CO2 to carbonate tomorrow.

I never purge first. Co2 is expensive and when I bottle the beer goes into a bottling bucket, then the bottles.

I figure the beer goes in the air comes out. The small head space at the top then gets purged.....

I would wait until you can purge the head space.

 

[mongoose33]

How I do it:

1. Fill keg w/ Star San.

2. Apply CO2 to keg, push Star San out to another keg or a 5-gallon bucket to keep it for next time.

3. Crack lid, allow residual Star San to drain (invert the keg).

4. Transfer beer through liquid-out post, displacing CO2 with beer.

5. Seal up, add pressure, purge a few times, and good to go.

 

[beskone]

I don't get the CO2 is expensive argument.

I fill my 20lb tank for about $20. it lasts about 10 kegs including me pre-purging, 10 times post purging at 20psi, AND force transferring all my beers from carboy to keg.

That's about $2 per 5 gallons of beer. I guess I'm just baller like that?? Or is CO2 just THAT cheap here in Los Angeles??

I never purge first. Co2 is expensive and when I bottle the beer goes into a bottling bucket, then the bottles.

I figure the beer goes in the air comes out. The small head space at the top then gets purged.....

I would wait until you can purge the head space.

 

[beskone]

Almost exactly what I do but I've got a bad back so no inverting kegs filled with 5 gallons of liquid. There's never that much left once I push it all out anyways.

How I do it:

1. Fill keg w/ Star San.

2. Apply CO2 to keg, push Star San out to another keg or a 5-gallon bucket to keep it for next time.

3. Crack lid, allow residual Star San to drain (invert the keg).

4. Transfer beer through liquid-out post, displacing CO2 with beer.

5. Seal up, add pressure, purge a few times, and good to go.

 

[corycorycory09]

I don't get the CO2 is expensive argument.

I fill my 20lb tank for about $20. it lasts about 10 kegs including me pre-purging, 10 times post purging at 20psi, AND force transferring all my beers from carboy to keg.

That's about $2 per 5 gallons of beer. I guess I'm just baller like that?? Or is CO2 just THAT cheap here in Los Angeles??

C02 is $2.75 + tax per pound here. So about $59 to fill a 20lb tank.

 

[kh54s10]

Co2 here is about $30 for a 5 pound tank!!! or about $6 per pound, so yes it is expensive. I need to find the other place I have heard about around here.

Besides that I have never had any beer that I could say got oxidized so the effort alone is not worth it to me.

 

[TX_Brewing]

I don't get the CO2 is expensive argument.

I fill my 20lb tank for about $20. it lasts about 10 kegs including me pre-purging, 10 times post purging at 20psi, AND force transferring all my beers from carboy to keg.

That's about $2 per 5 gallons of beer. I guess I'm just baller like that?? Or is CO2 just THAT cheap here in Los Angeles??

That is cheap co2.

 

[Jwin]

Prime your keg with sugar and let it naturally carbonate
That will fix t he o2 issue

Also, in regards to purging and transfering, you can feed the gas inlet of the keg back into the fermenter and gravity transfer
That will save a keg worth of co2

 

[mongoose33]

Almost exactly what I do but I've got a bad back so no inverting kegs filled with 5 gallons of liquid. There's never that much left once I push it all out anyways.

No, the keg is virtually empty when I invert it--that is, when I push out the Star San, there's always a little left--so I invert the EMPTY keg and let it drain out past the lid.

 

[normonster]

My question is simply whether it is okay to purge the headspace the day after transferring.

No. Don't do it.

I wouldn't. Why risk tainting (yes, I said taint) $50 worth of ingredients when it's going to have to sit for 2 weeks anyway. I'd do it tomorrow and cut it down to 1 week 6 days..lol.

 

[imasickboy]

If the beer in question will be consumed within 6 weeks, don't worry about any oxidation. If you plan on having that keg around for several months, purge before and after.

 

[flars]

I was planning on kegging my pliny the elder clone today but I just realized I'm out of c02. The closest place that does fills is already closed.

Normally I tranfer and then purge with c02 right away.

Would it be safe for me to transfer to the keg today, keep the beer in there until tomorrow when I can get c02... or should I just wait until I have the c02? Mostly worried about oxidizing the beer, but not sure how big of a deal that is over a less than 24 hour timespan.

Wait until you have the CO2 to rack to the keg. Your beer will not be harmed by being in the primary for an extra day.

 

[stella_tigre]

If the beer in question will be consumed within 6 weeks, don't worry about any oxidation. If you plan on having that keg around for several months, purge before and after.

We only have one keg active at a time, and usually it's gone in 2 or 3 weeks....maybe less So we don't pre-purge the keg necessarily.

Beers that will not be consumed immediately, such as a belgian tripel, are bottled and conditioned in the bottle, so they will be fine for a good long time.

If we thought a beer was going to be in the keg for more than a month, I'd probably pre-purge.