Pouring bottles into keg to carb

[1stTimer]

I brewed a bourbon porter months ago. It’s been in bottles since late August and just never carbed. Just the slightest and I mean slightest carbonation.

Can I open the bottles and pour them into my empty sanke and then put CO2 on it? Theres probably 3.5 gallons total.

 

[bobbrewedit]

What temp are you storing the bottles at?

 

[1stTimer]

They've been anywhere from 68 to 75 in the last 3 months.

 

[bobbrewedit]

Hmmm. You could probably give each bottle a gentle swirl and let them sit at 75+ degrees for a few more weeks, if you have the time and patience. The obvious issue with pouring into a keg is oxydation...but if you are going to throw out the beer anyhow, I would give it a shot. Try to agitate it as little as possible and drink it as fast as possible!

 

[1stTimer]

Never thrown out a brew yet. I fond an old thread where someone said they tried this and it lasted a week before ti went bad. THink I will just give them a roll or two and then put them somewhere 75 degrees or more. The beer tastes so damn good I cant toss it. But the flatness is killing me. Thanks for the replies everyone.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/undercarbonated-bottle-pour-bottles-into-keg-159285/index2.html

 

[bknifefight]

You said there is a slight bit of carbonation. That means something. Unless you messed up your priming sugar amount, or the yeast pooped out, it may eventually carb.

Pouring from the bottles into the keg, no matter how careful you are, will result in oxidation. I would just let it ride in the bottle.

 

[1stTimer]

I was thinking that perhaps the bourbon had a negative influence on the yeast. But there is a slight amount of carbonation. So I am going to let it hang out longer. But in a few months I am going to drink it either way. Brewing has taught me patience I never thought possible.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

BK is spot on. If you did mess up the priming sugar then you could pop the top and add carbonation drops to each one.

How much yeast do you see in the bottom of each bottle?

Is it possible that the priming sugar wasn't mixed well and the bottles you have opened didn't get enough?

 

[1stTimer]

At this point i think anything is possible. Im going to hold off on carb drops/tablets till I give it a few weeks at higher temps. Im thinking it was a lack of sugar or that the bourbon may have killed some of the yeast. It was Bookers after all. 129proof and damn good.

 

[Golddiggie]

Depending on the ABV% and yeast used, you could just be in for a long carbonation time. It's not uncommon for high ABV brews (with yeast that is pushed towards it's tolerance limit) to take a significant amount of time to carbonate in bottles. 6 months is not unheard of.

I would also advise chilling a bottle (every month or so) for at least 1-2 weeks before you go to sample it. The longer fridge time will push the CO2 into the beer better.

 

[BigRob]

I think if you completely filled your keg with CO2 and then carefully poured em into the keg you could avoid most of the oxidation, just make sure you drink it quickly.

 

[1stTimer]

THanks again everyone. Next time I go to open one I will chill it for a week or 2 before.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I did what you're planning to do last year with a R.I.S. that failed to carbonate.

First, I sanitized the keg (as normal), and flushed thoroughly with CO2. I also kept the CO2 on the in-valve (at about 1-2PSI) while I cautiously emptied every bottle into the keg, without splashing - just running the beer down the side of the tilted keg.

It worked. Got quite a few ribbons out of that beer, too. Last one was this past wk-end, look under flight #23. I took 2nd place. http://battlegroundbrewers.com/joomla/index.php/2012-skirmish-in-the-triad

MC

 

[bknifefight]

Interesting idea filling the keg with CO2 first. I hadn't thought of that

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Interesting idea filling the keg with CO2 first. I hadn't thought of that

Absolutely. You don't want to oxidize the beer when you pour it in.

MC

 

[Hopper5000]

I actually just did what your talking about with a 14% barley wine that hasn't carbed in 9 months. There was for sure enough sugar in there and I actually popped all the caps one time and added an eye dropper full of yeast (that I made a starter with) into each bottle with no luck.

I purged the corny and poured all the bottles in very carefully with periodically purging it with Co2. I had thrown out so much of it because I didn't want to drink the flay beer that I only had about 2.7 gals left (racked into a 3 gal corny). I am currently force carbing it and hoping I didn't oxidize it too much or accidentally infect it. We shall see with time.

I was thinking of rebottling with a counter flow chiller since "drink it fast" isn't necessarily that easy with a 14% beer...

 

[Golddiggie]

Possibly a better way than going direct into the corny keg could be to use your bottling bucket, with CO2 in it. Then run a length of hose from the spigot on the bucket into the bottom of the keg (also filled with CO2). Possibly less risk of oxidation that way.

Personally, I'd rather keg a batch, carbonate with CO2 (2-3 weeks method) and then bottle some off of that. I'm actually planning exactly that for my >15% barleywine that I have fermenting. I'll probably even carbonate it in the basement during the winter (in the low 50's currently, so about 10psi will give me what I want).

 

[Hopper5000]

Ya it makes sense to keg but I am under the thought that having some yeast in the bottle (especially with a beer that big which is meant to be aged) to keep things fresher is a good thing.

 

[Golddiggie]

Ya it makes sense to keg but I am under the thought that having some yeast in the bottle (especially with a beer that big which is meant to be aged) to keep things fresher is a good thing.

Whaaaa??? Why would you want stressed out yeast in the bottle??? Makes no sense to me at all. If you're going to age it for some time, do it in bulk first. Once it's ready to drink, other than needing carbonation, I would carbonate in keg. IF you want to have some for long term storage/aging, bottle off of keg. That way you have solid carbonation already and can not worry about that at all. Carbonating BIG brews (high ABV) can be difficult, depending on what you made, yeast used, etc.

BTW, you can 'cellar' in a keg if you actually have a cool basement. I'm tracking the temperatures in mine since moving in. Looking like [at least] one side will be perfect for this.

 

[Hopper5000]

I don't think the amount of yeast in the bottle and the amount of sugar in there stresses the yeast out. I have heard from numerous beer judges that bottle conditioned beers generally taste better which would lead me to believe that having some yeast in there is beneficial.

 

[Golddiggie]

I don't think the amount of yeast in the bottle and the amount of sugar in there stresses the yeast out. I have heard from numerous beer judges that bottle conditioned beers generally taste better which would lead me to believe that having some yeast in there is beneficial.

I think that most people tend to rush their beers to keg and then carbonate them via the fast/burst method. I do neither of those. My brews end up just as great in either keg or bottle.

Giving the beer the time it needs to become great BEFORE you keg it is important. Low OG brews don't need nearly as long as higher OG brews. Most of the time, I'm seeing people bottle bigger brews too soon (IMO/IME) and then have to wait even longer for bottle carbonation. Where I would go longer in fermenting vessel and then two weeks at temperature and pressure to carbonate. Total time from grain to glass is about the same, but I have the added benefit of having the exact carbonation level desired and the ability to adjust carbonation level almost on the fly. NOT possible with bottling. Look through the boards a bit and you'll see a lot of postings where people have inconsistent bottle carbonation, or complaining about how it's been two, or three, weeks and the bottles are not carbonated, carbonated enough, or are gushers. I left all those issues behind when I started kegging.

Also, I like being able to pour the entire bottle of home brew into glass (or more than one if splitting it) without any sediment issues, worries, etc. Plus, even when I bottle some of my beer, from keg, I'm spending far less time doing so than when bottling the entire batch.

Bottle if you like, but don't fool yourself into thinking that kegging produces inferior results.

 

[bknifefight]

I have heard from numerous beer judges that bottle conditioned beers generally taste better which would lead me to believe that having some yeast in there is beneficial.

I have heard this as well as beer will last longer if the yeast is in the bottle but have no first hand experience to confirm nor deny it.

 

[Hopper5000]

Gold, I didn't mean to inferr that kegging was inferior I am just stating what I have heard. Personally I don't really know if I have noticed a difference as I both keg and bottle.

I usually keg anything below about 8% to have on tap and I usually bottle anything above that since I only have room for 2 corny's in my keezer and I don't necessarily want to pass out in my basement after drinking 2 beers

I know that patience is important and generally don't try to rush my beers at all.

As for being on the yeast I guess I was just referring to if you are going to age big beers for a long time (years) I have heard that having it on yeast will prevent it from "spoiling" faster, help decrease oxidation, etc. As I haven't done side by side agings of kegging vs bottle condition for years I am not sure.

I have stuarded at a few competitions where I tasted bottle conditioned vs not. It was hard to tell a difference for me but the only realy way would be to make the same beer and do a side by side down the line.

I do agree that it's a pretty cool feeling to be able to pour the whole beer out without any sediment.

I guess if you look at commercial beers it's really a mixed bag as to being on the yeast or not. I see a lot that do and a lot thta don't...

 

[Golddiggie]

I have heard this as well as beer will last longer if the yeast is in the bottle but have no first hand experience to confirm nor deny it.

I seriously doubt that's actually true. Properly sealed bottles will last just as long in either case. If anything, the bottles without trub could age better. No additional yeast cells trapped in there to give off nasty things when left for an extended period. Of course, I'm talking about many, many months, or years, here. Not <6 months.

 

[Golddiggie]

I have things in bottles that are not carbonated, and are only improving (mead). Granted that's not beer...

I have a 12% wee heavy and 9% old ale aging right now. Those will be moved to serving kegs at some point, and then carbonated as they go into rotation. Or, I'll carbonate them in the basement (low enough temp to do it) and then decide. I might setup something down there to hold the big ones in. If I score a good priced, sized right, chest freezer, that could do the trick.

IMO, you shouldn't be pulling down pints of something over 8% if you can't handle it. I'll be using smaller glasses for the big boys, so I'll be able to enjoy them more. :rockin: