I want to start this article by saying that my methods described below are nothing new. I'm writing this because I firmly believe the secret to consistently brewing great beer is developing great methods. Everyone who makes the jump to kegging immediately realizes the time savings that kegging affords the brewer.
One thing that I quickly realized is the CO2 can be used for other processes in the brewery. I find they not only save time, but reduce the risks for infection and oxidation. I first started off using CO2 to clean and sanitize multiple kegs. I have 15 cornies and always find myself having many kegs to clean at the same time.
My process of cleaning kegs is as follows.
1. I wash them all out with water.
2. Then, I'll fill one half way with OxiClean, close the lid, and shake the crap out if it. I have a jumper attached to the liquid out, and the other end to another cornie liquid out.
3. Next, I attach CO2 to the kegs gas post with Oxy in it. Then, I open the pressure valve on the EMPTY cornie, and turn the gas on. The CO2 pushes all the oxy into the empty keg. I continue this process until I have cleaned all the cornies.
4. I repeat step 1-3 using Sanitizer instead of the OxiClean. Now, I have a bunch of cleaned, sanitized & pressurized kegs that can be stored for use anytime.
The other use for CO2 is to transfer beer from a carboy to cornie.
I always saw racking beer from primary to secondary or cornie as one of the biggest risks for contamination.
When I first started brewing 6 years ago I would primary for a week or two, and then transfer to a secondary to wait for the beer to reach terminal gravity, then rack into a cornie.
My 3rd batch of beer got infected when I was racking it to the secondary.
I actually watched it turn black from the top down in the matter of 2 days time.
It was at that moment I knew that there must be a better way, and below is the method I developed.
I never secondary. I believe the cons far outweigh any potential positives.
I understand that there are beers that need time to mature and for those styles I suggest a secondary, but I don't brew those styles, so I never secondary anymore.
I now use CO2 to transfer all my beer from carboy to cornie.
If I have to dry hop, I'll do it in a cornie, then jump it to a clean cornie for carbing and serving.
This is my method for transferring from a carboy to cornie.
1. I want to address sanitizing the equipment. I have a dedicated cornie that holds fresh sanitizer that I use to sanitize all hoses racking canes and ball locks. I attach my transfer hose to the racking cane and run sanitizer through it into a bowl that I have in the sink. This sanitizes the lines, ball locks, and racking cane all at once. I then sanitize miscellaneous parts in the bowl that is in the sink. These include the bottom part of the racking cane, carboy cap, beer thief, and hydrometer.
2. I remove my carboy cap (removing airlock and sanitize the cap)
and take a sample to determine my final gravity.
3. Mount the racking cane to the sanitized carboy cap and re-cap the carboy.
4. Release the pressure from one of my cleaned & sanitized kegs
so it's ready for transfer leaving the valve in the OPENED position.
5. Attach the transfer hose to the liquid outpost on the keg and the other end to the racking cane that's in the carboy.
6. Attach the purged gas line to the second port of the carboy cap
(I have a dedicated line from my regulator and a customized fittings here, but you could easily just use a small piece of 3/8 silicone)
7. I am now ready to transfer the beer. Set the regulator for 4-5 PSI. NO MORE! Then, turn on the gas valve on your manifold. At this point you should start to see beer flowing.
8. Keep an eye on the carboy transfer and also keep an eye on the pressure relief valve on the keg. Be mindful that if you started with more than 5 gallons in the carboy there is a chance you will get beer shooting out the pressure valve toward the end of the transfer.
9. Once the keg is filled turn off the gas and then disconnect the gas line from the carboy cap (there will be a small rush of CO2 from the connection so be ready).
10. Disconnect the line from the keg and close the release valve.... the keg is now ready to be carbed.
11. All done. I now use my dedicated cornie filled with sanitizer to clean the hose and racking cane, and parts so it is ready for next time.
NOTES ON SAFETY: I use glass carboys and while there is always risk involved when using CO2 and glass, I have never had any issues in the past 5 years.
I can't emphasize enough that the most important thing is to make sure the regulator is set to 4 PSI. Make sure to purge the line for 1-2 seconds before attaching (this will release any gas that is left in the line from a higher PSI). I would imagine carboy cap and 3/8 silicone connection to the carboy would "pop loose' before the carboy would fail. If you decide to try my method on glass carboys you do so at your own risk.
Cheers
Chris
One thing that I quickly realized is the CO2 can be used for other processes in the brewery. I find they not only save time, but reduce the risks for infection and oxidation. I first started off using CO2 to clean and sanitize multiple kegs. I have 15 cornies and always find myself having many kegs to clean at the same time.
My process of cleaning kegs is as follows.
1. I wash them all out with water.
2. Then, I'll fill one half way with OxiClean, close the lid, and shake the crap out if it. I have a jumper attached to the liquid out, and the other end to another cornie liquid out.
3. Next, I attach CO2 to the kegs gas post with Oxy in it. Then, I open the pressure valve on the EMPTY cornie, and turn the gas on. The CO2 pushes all the oxy into the empty keg. I continue this process until I have cleaned all the cornies.
4. I repeat step 1-3 using Sanitizer instead of the OxiClean. Now, I have a bunch of cleaned, sanitized & pressurized kegs that can be stored for use anytime.
The other use for CO2 is to transfer beer from a carboy to cornie.
I always saw racking beer from primary to secondary or cornie as one of the biggest risks for contamination.
When I first started brewing 6 years ago I would primary for a week or two, and then transfer to a secondary to wait for the beer to reach terminal gravity, then rack into a cornie.
My 3rd batch of beer got infected when I was racking it to the secondary.
I actually watched it turn black from the top down in the matter of 2 days time.
It was at that moment I knew that there must be a better way, and below is the method I developed.
I never secondary. I believe the cons far outweigh any potential positives.
I understand that there are beers that need time to mature and for those styles I suggest a secondary, but I don't brew those styles, so I never secondary anymore.
I now use CO2 to transfer all my beer from carboy to cornie.
If I have to dry hop, I'll do it in a cornie, then jump it to a clean cornie for carbing and serving.
This is my method for transferring from a carboy to cornie.
1. I want to address sanitizing the equipment. I have a dedicated cornie that holds fresh sanitizer that I use to sanitize all hoses racking canes and ball locks. I attach my transfer hose to the racking cane and run sanitizer through it into a bowl that I have in the sink. This sanitizes the lines, ball locks, and racking cane all at once. I then sanitize miscellaneous parts in the bowl that is in the sink. These include the bottom part of the racking cane, carboy cap, beer thief, and hydrometer.
2. I remove my carboy cap (removing airlock and sanitize the cap)
and take a sample to determine my final gravity.
3. Mount the racking cane to the sanitized carboy cap and re-cap the carboy.
4. Release the pressure from one of my cleaned & sanitized kegs
so it's ready for transfer leaving the valve in the OPENED position.
5. Attach the transfer hose to the liquid outpost on the keg and the other end to the racking cane that's in the carboy.
6. Attach the purged gas line to the second port of the carboy cap
(I have a dedicated line from my regulator and a customized fittings here, but you could easily just use a small piece of 3/8 silicone)
7. I am now ready to transfer the beer. Set the regulator for 4-5 PSI. NO MORE! Then, turn on the gas valve on your manifold. At this point you should start to see beer flowing.
8. Keep an eye on the carboy transfer and also keep an eye on the pressure relief valve on the keg. Be mindful that if you started with more than 5 gallons in the carboy there is a chance you will get beer shooting out the pressure valve toward the end of the transfer.
9. Once the keg is filled turn off the gas and then disconnect the gas line from the carboy cap (there will be a small rush of CO2 from the connection so be ready).
10. Disconnect the line from the keg and close the release valve.... the keg is now ready to be carbed.
11. All done. I now use my dedicated cornie filled with sanitizer to clean the hose and racking cane, and parts so it is ready for next time.
NOTES ON SAFETY: I use glass carboys and while there is always risk involved when using CO2 and glass, I have never had any issues in the past 5 years.
I can't emphasize enough that the most important thing is to make sure the regulator is set to 4 PSI. Make sure to purge the line for 1-2 seconds before attaching (this will release any gas that is left in the line from a higher PSI). I would imagine carboy cap and 3/8 silicone connection to the carboy would "pop loose' before the carboy would fail. If you decide to try my method on glass carboys you do so at your own risk.
Cheers
Chris
