too much beer to put into one corny keg.

[FrostyGrog]

Hi everyone, I have a simple problem that tends to be repeating for me.

I use 7 gallon Fermonster carboys and typically brew between 6 and 6.5 gallons in a batch. As I want to keg all the beer I consistently have more volume that will fit into a single 5 gallon Corny keg. My question is what to do with the remaining beer? if I want to bottle the extra I would need to estimate the sugar amounts before I transfer which is difficult, requiring estimation and requiring me to make the priming sugar amount before I do the transfer.

Is it possible to put a gallon or so in a spare 5 gallon corny keg? what would be the downsides apart from waisting Co2?

I live in Costa Rica where items such as 2 or 3 gallon kegs are not available, I also can't get my hands on priming sugar tablets for individual bottles unfortunately.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice - Cheers!

 

[mj1angier]

Just drop a sugar cube in each bottle and fill with beer. I normally make my batches a t 6-6.25 gal just so I can have some to bottle. That way I can do taste test at 3, 4 , 5 and 6 months to see if it gets better!

 

[FrostyGrog]

Great tip and I read that works for a 12oz bottle perfectly. Here we also don't have sugar cubes believe it or not, maybe I can dose out individual amounts with loose sugar somehow. Cheers Mj

 

[FunkedOut]

eso es.
pura vida mai.

 

[FrostyGrog]

eso es.
pura vida mai.

Tuanis! - Brewing here is definitely a learning process

 

[beerlover77]

Can you mail order these?
https://www.amazon.ca/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...argid=kwd-492092464512&ref=pd_sl_6q43778ezw_e

 

[FrostyGrog]

I could try to order through Amazon, it would take close to a month to get here though but if a friend is coming down I'd get some of those. I need to keg/bottle in a week though so maybe in the future. Cheers.

 

[BrewInspector]

It's not that difficult but don't estimate. You can measure your remaining amount of beer any number of ways then use an online calculator or app to determine how much priming sugar (in whatever form, honey, dme, table sugar, corn sugar...) is needed. After a couple times you will quickly know how much you have left to bottle and how much to prime.

 

[FrostyGrog]

Cheers BrewInspector, my worry is (maybe irrational) that I like to have the priming solution boiled, cooled and ready to add to the bucket beforehand, making this part an extra calculation on a brew day. I do use Beersmith software so I'm sure it's not rocket science in principle.

I read in another forum a method of estimating like you have said, or do individual bottles like this: The writer explains he weighs out anywhere from 130-150 g of sugar into a saucepan, then adds maybe 500 g of clean spring water. Then he weighs the entire pan, boils for 5 min or so and cool (w/ an Al foil cover) then re-weigh to determine losses to evaporation (maybe 20 g). He wrote that he then uses a 60 ml plastic syringe to spike the bottles and adds 6 or 7 mL per bottle. - I may try this hoping that the method and calculations are correct.

 

[NTexBrewer]

Bottle 1.5 gallons of beer. Should give you 16 12oz bottles.

Then fill your keg.

 

[FrostyGrog]

Bottle 1.5 gallons of beer. Should give you 16 12oz bottles.

Then fill your keg.

Love it!! thats great advice and with less hassle - Cheers!

 

[mj1angier]

This is what most of us use: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Domino-Dots-Sugar-Cubes-1-lb-Pack-of-12/17768249

Works out to about 2.28 grams per cube. You may be able to get a small measure that will get you close

 

[passedpawn]

Get a couple of 2L plastic soda bottles and fill them. Use carbonation caps and force carbonate. You can usually carbonate these in minutes by shaking while the gas is attached.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071GLYQV7/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Aaron Beers]

Get a couple of 2L plastic soda bottles and fill them. Use carbonation caps and force carbonate. You can usually carbonate these in minutes by shaking while the gas is attached.

This is what I do. Recommended approach if you don't want to bother with bottling and carbing via sugar

 

[beernutz]

This is what I do. Recommended approach if you don't want to bother with bottling and carbing via sugar

This X 3. I have had a carbonator cap for over a decade, though mine is plastic not the fancy SS one PP recommended.

I use it all the time so that I finally swapped out one of the 4 pin lock gas connections in my keezer for a ball lock gas connector to use the carbonator cap easier. Not only will it force carbonate but you can put already carbonated beer in a container and use the cap to purge the headspace of air to improve shelf life of portable beer.

 

[BrewInspector]

I don't use carb drops or tabs or sugar cubes so that method is out for me. I have added measured amounts of priming solution to bottles individually but find that tedious and potentially variable.

I like the bottle first method best. I've actually done that several times. I pull out the amount needed to fill the number of bottles I want, add the required amount of priming sugar to the bottling bucket, bottle that then keg the rest.

In my case I wanted a specified number of bottles. Your scenario was the opposite. I suppose that's why I didn't think about it.

 

[passedpawn]

This X 3. I have had a carbonator cap for over a decade, though mine is plastic not the fancy SS one PP recommended.

I use it all the time so that I finally swapped out one of the 4 pin lock gas connections in my keezer for a ball lock gas connector to use the carbonator cap easier. Not only will it force carbonate but you can put already carbonated beer in a container and use the cap to purge the headspace of air to improve shelf life of portable beer.

I've only used mine a few times over the many years I've had it. I did use it for EXACTLY the purpose the OP needs it for though (6.5g fermentors, 5g kegs, oh my). But I'm so lazy now I just through away the extra beer that doesn't fit into my kegs.

One thing to watch out for is beer going back down the gas line when you're shaking the 2L. One of my 5 gas lines is long just for this purpose.

 

[passedpawn]

Hi everyone, I have a simple problem that tends to be repeating for me.

I use 7 gallon Fermonster carboys and typically brew between 6 and 6.5 gallons in a batch. As I want to keg all the beer I consistently have more volume that will fit into a single 5 gallon Corny keg. My question is what to do with the remaining beer? if I want to bottle the extra I would need to estimate the sugar amounts before I transfer which is difficult, requiring estimation and requiring me to make the priming sugar amount before I do the transfer.

Is it possible to put a gallon or so in a spare 5 gallon corny keg? what would be the downsides apart from waisting Co2?

I live in Costa Rica where items such as 2 or 3 gallon kegs are not available, I also can't get my hands on priming sugar tablets for individual bottles unfortunately.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice - Cheers!

Something else you might consider, if you haven't already, is using a angle grinder or hack saw to cut off most of the gas dip tube. They are usually 1-2" long, but they don't need to be more than 1/4", just enough to hold the oring. That will allow you to squeeze more beer into the keg without obstructing gas entry.

 

[brewscot]

Hi everyone, I have a simple problem that tends to be repeating for me.

I use 7 gallon Fermonster carboys and typically brew between 6 and 6.5 gallons in a batch. As I want to keg all the beer I consistently have more volume that will fit into a single 5 gallon Corny keg. My question is what to do with the remaining beer? if I want to bottle the extra I would need to estimate the sugar amounts before I transfer which is difficult, requiring estimation and requiring me to make the priming sugar amount before I do the transfer.

Is it possible to put a gallon or so in a spare 5 gallon corny keg? what would be the downsides apart from waisting Co2?

I live in Costa Rica where items such as 2 or 3 gallon kegs are not available, I also can't get my hands on priming sugar tablets for individual bottles unfortunately.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice - Cheers!

I do this deliberately every time, as I always want about 10 500ml bottles for tastings etc. A scant 1/2 tsp sucrose per bottle with a clean measuring spoon is about right; been doing it for years with 0 problems. The carbonation caps are also good if you want to force carbonate instead; I use these too, but not for 10 500ml bottles.

 

[bigdawg86]

Another option is that you can prime the whole volume of beer with sugar, fill the keg and bottle the rest... the keg and bottles will naturally carbonate. That way you don't have to mess with figuring out priming sugar for the leftovers.

 

[PADave]

Or if you don't want to deal with the bottling, just brew less.

 

[beernutz]

Something else you might consider, if you haven't already, is using a angle grinder or hack saw to cut off most of the gas dip tube. They are usually 1-2" long, but they don't need to be more than 1/4", just enough to hold the oring. That will allow you to squeeze more beer into the keg without obstructing gas entry.

Doh! I've only been kegging about 27 years and it never occurred to me to do this. I have shortened the liquid intake tubes on a couple of kegs but I never thought of doing the same to gas output tubes.

 

[gunhaus]

I have only faced this a time or two - but if I had the kegs on hand, i would just put 3 or so gallons in each one and be done with it. Rather than fuss with the bottles, and rather than the 5 in one - one in the other routine. 3 or so gallons in each one is not THAT big a waste of gas or anything. I did pretty much this with a batch of cream ale. One I did the set and forget for two weeks thing, the other I shook the living hell out of it and forced it up in a couple days. Win-win

 

[mredge73]

Just don't fill it all the way to the top. You need head space to force carbonate.

 

[FrostyGrog]

Great to read all the comments! Today I made a DIY carbonation cap as per this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/homemade-carbonator-cap.124602/ using an air chuck and a tire stem valve. Today me and my girlfriend bottled an American stout and we tested the new cap on some PET bottles and it worked perfectly! green creamy stout but not too bad. I ordered a nice stainless carbonation cap on Amazon along with some carb drops to try which should get here in 4 weeks.

The local restaurant is interested in grabbing some kegs off me which is a bonus, passedpawn's suggestion of cutting the gas inlet tube may help me fill closer to 5 gallons in my Corny's for them.

Cheers to all, I'm going to take the genius advice of BrewInspector (why did I not think of it) to put a gallon or so in a bucket for bottling, add the priming sugar, then go ahead and keg the rest.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

To much beer? Oh gee darn!

 

[Renegade Brewer]

Unfortunately this is a problem we face as well. We brew 15 gallon batches which means brewing 18 gallons. 16 runs into the fermenter and 15.5 into the brite tank. We end up dumping .5 gallons each week when kegging and end up calling it an angel share.....here’s one for the homies.

Just be glad you’re ending up with excess; a lot of my customers end up with 4 gal once it’s all said and done because they don’t take into account the loss in the kettle and fermenter.

 

[beernutz]

Unfortunately this is a problem we face as well. We brew 15 gallon batches which means brewing 18 gallons. 16 runs into the fermenter and 15.5 into the brite tank. We end up dumping .5 gallons each week when kegging and end up calling it an angel share.....here’s one for the homies.

Just be glad you’re ending up with excess; a lot of my customers end up with 4 gal once it’s all said and done because they don’t take into account the loss in the kettle and fermenter.

Couldn't you brew 17.5 gallons? Not being a smartass (much) but if you consistently dump a half gallon you must know your system pretty well.

 

[Renegade Brewer]

Absolutely, I could, but because I have myself and 3 brewers on staff the math is much easier and consistent to stay at 18 gallons. We come up with more round numbers at a total of 18. When I entered my equipment and recipes into beer smith I saved the profile for everyone at 18 gallons, so we are just used to it. Honestly the last .5 gallon is hardly wasted. It’s carbed and cold off the brite tank so it ends up in a growler for staff enjoyment.

 

[MaryB]

.1oz/2.83495grams table sugar per bottle, I would weigh and add it dry to each bottle then fill. If you are weighing water mineral additions a gram scale is part of brew equipment. If not it should be easy to come by... that is for 2 volumes CO2... can change it around using this calculator https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/