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Biergarden

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Has anyone experimented with kegging the second runnings of a beer and kegging it? I'm asking out of curiosity since I've made hop water already with a bit of sugar and it's nice. But why not the second runnings as well? Of course not fermented and kept cold to 32 f so it won't freeze. Any thoughts?
 
So you're thinking about kegging wort instead of beer? It'll spoil very quickly as it won't be boiled unless you stabilize it before kegging. It will be difficult to add enough stabilizers without destroying the taste. Then you'll just have VERY sweet flavored water if you're lucky, instead of sweet chemical water if you added enough stabilizers. If you do boil it before kegging, then you just might as well finish it up and ferment it. My vote is "No".
 
So you're thinking about kegging wort instead of beer? It'll spoil very quickly as it won't be boiled unless you stabilize it before kegging.
Or are you thinking about boiling and hopping but not fermenting? I enjoy tasting the hydrometer sample that I use for measuring OG, but I don't know that I'd want to drink that sort of thing regularly.

Maybe see if you can find this product and give it a try. Although I suppose second runnings would be thinner and less sweet.
 
The second runnings have a gravity of 1.020 and keeping it at 32f will keep any fermentation from infection from happening. If you've ever made rootbeer from an extract kit, you'll see what I mean.
 
Or are you thinking about boiling and hopping but not fermenting? I enjoy tasting the hydrometer sample that I use for measuring OG, but I don't know that I'd want to drink that sort of thing regularly.

Maybe see if you can find this product and give it a try. Although I suppose second runnings would be thinner and less sweet.
Malta is my inspiration for this. :) If I'm correct it's known as Kinderbier in Germany. In any event, those sugars left over after the mash are money and opportunity lost. But here's my real motivation, making only 5 gallons at a time, I wanted to see what my customers would think in the taproom. I don't have a NA beer, which seems to be picking up steam. Then someone's kid could have a "kids' beer" with the family. That vs just carbonated hop water.
I'd be interested in everyone's feedback.
 
For any stability beyond a couple of days, you need to get it's pH down below 4.5 or so. Fermentation usually drops the wort's pH so you'll have acidify to reach that point.
 
The second runnings have a gravity of 1.020 and keeping it at 32f will keep any fermentation from infection from happening. If you've ever made rootbeer from an extract kit, you'll see what I mean.
There's nothing magic about 32F. If not boiled, it's teeming with spoilage bacteria and you'll be lucky if it is drinkable in 3 days.

Root beer typically has sorbate. I bet there are other presevatives (sulfites, etc) in the mix, too. It's also relatively sanitary when you make it.
 
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There's nothing magic about 32F. If not boiled, it's teeming with spoilage bacteria and you'll be lucky if it is drinkable in 3 days.

Root beer typically has sorbate. I bet there are other presevatives (sulfites, etc) in the mix, too. It's also relatively sanitary when you make it.
Second runnings are boiled for 60 minutes or more
 
Second runnings are boiled for 60 minutes or more
Has anyone experimented with kegging the second runnings of a beer and kegging it? I'm asking out of curiosity since I've made hop water already with a bit of sugar and it's nice. But why not the second runnings as well? Of course not fermented and kept cold to 32 f so it won't freeze. Any thoughts?
Your initial statement was a little ambiguous. I was also under the impression that you would just keg the second runnings straight from your mash/lauter tun. So it would be boiled then just chilled and served carbonated? Still may have to deal with the ph issue as mentioned by Agent or add some other kind of preservative. Boiling will kill anything present in the boil but if you're serving this commercially you'd probably want more guarantee than just keeping it cold after that.
 
Just saw the commercial bit. Acidification is a must. I'd inquire with your local health department, as this wouldn't technically be beer, and would probably be subject to food safety monitoring/logging/etc. NA and perishables require a significant safety protocols or you're putting the business at risk.

https://www.fda.gov/food/hazard-ana...haccp/haccp-principles-application-guidelines

edit: (I also think one of the pro forums is probably a better place to inquire than a homebrew forum, when commercial safety is in the mix.)
 
Just saw the commercial bit. Acidification is a must.
Assuming a relatively normal mash, the pH of the boiled wort is going to be around 5.5, right? Dropping that to 4.5 shouldn't be hard. But I think I would try a few one gallon test batches for personal consumption before I got too carried away. If you can't make something that tastes good then you don't have to worry about how to commercialize it safely.
 
OP is after a sweet, hopped, 0% ABV beverage. So probably not.
Yikes I missed that. I guess like a sweet malt / hopped tea? I guess I’ve never thought much about that, but now that I think of it I think Goya or someone makes a malt flavored carbonated drink. I think I’ve e seen six pacs in the grocery stores.
 
Link in post #3 is the Goya product. OP's response in post #5: "Malta is my inspiration for this."
I think if you read you will probably agree the 2 products Malta & the Goya I referenced seem like they are similar.
 
I think if you read you will probably agree the 2 products Malta & the Goya I referenced seem like they are similar.
Are you kidding? They're not similar, they're identical. My point was that it had already been mentioned, including by the OP as a product similar to what he's going for.
 
Are you kidding? They're not similar, they're identical. My point was that it had already been mentioned, including by the OP as a product similar to what he's going for.
Are you trying to pick a Keyboard fight? The more you type the more you are exposing your backside. 😂
 

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