Transfer carbed beer question

[trimixdiver1]

So I have a IIPA that I let too much of the dry hops xfer over to a keg. I keep plugging the dip tube and connector. What's the best way to xfer it to another keg? I was going to pull the liquid out post and pull the tube up and put some half inch tubing over it and tranfer. Thoughts? Can't do it pressurized so it's going to suck.

 

[MagicMatt]

I'd use an auto-siphon with a nylon hop bag tied around the "out" end to catch any hop material that gets pulled when transferring.

 

[okbecker]

Don't know how often its getting stuck though you can hook gas to the out post, give it a quick shot of co2 to clear out the dip tube...I would lay keg on its side and try to transfer through the gas in post ...just reverse your connections...I had to do it this way once due to hops..pain in butt though worked well.

 

[trimixdiver1]

Don't know how often its getting stuck though you can hook gas to the out post, give it a quick shot of co2 to clear out the dip tube...I would lay keg on its side and try to transfer through the gas in post ...just reverse your connections...I had to do it this way once due to hops..pain in butt though worked well.

Great idea! Thanks!

 

[JKoravos]

Don't shoot co2 into the liquid post, especially if the keg lid is open. That will turn into a foam bomb. Same with a siphon. Siphoning carbed beer will just leave you with lots of foam and oxidation.

I'll second swapping the connections. Lay the keg on its side and pull from the gas diptube. Make sure you send it to a pre-purged and pressurized keg to avoid oxidation. Keep your first keg at serving pressure and slowly bleed gas from the second keg to get the liquid to transfer.

 

[Subdivisions]

This happened to me once. I took the liquid post off, pulled the dip tube out and cleaned it and took the poppet out of the liquid post. It seemed that it was clogging more at the top of the dip tube because the poppet is the narrowest point for the beer to go through. You'll have to take the pin out of your liquid disconnect also.

I had glasses with some hops in it at first but it eventually cleared when the sediment around the dip tube finally cleared out.

 

[judsonp]

I don't know how bad the hop situation is, but I've had that happen a couple of times. What I did was connect the CO2 line to the "out" post (the way you're not supposed to), jack up the pressure a bit, and then bleed off a small amount of gas to send CO2 (under ~30 psi) down the dip tube. Usually if you do that a couple of times without otherwise disturbing the keg, it'll clear out the area around the dip tube enough to actually draw beer through the tube until the keg kicks.

 

[MagicMatt]

Siphoning carbed beer will just leave you with lots of foam and oxidation.

Good point, I was thinking uncarbed. Never had to transfer carbed beer before.

 

[dierythmus]

I had a problem with this a while back, and I simply cut 1/4" or so off of the bottom of my dip tube. Fixed the problem really easily.

 

[jddevinn]

I've found that when the clog happens it is almost always at the poppet. The last few times I've had this happen I've:

-removed gas in, purged pressure
-removed beer out poppet, re-installed poppet without spring and center piece
-taken a pick-nick tap and removed the spring and centerpiece from the quick disconnect
-turned pressure way down
-pushed some beer and all the hops through the dip tube and pick-nick tap, without the springs and centerpieces they did not clog. usually get one or two pints before it clears
-purged pressure
-opened pick-nick tap to ensure no pressure
-removed pick-nick tap, sprayed my self in the face anyway
-re installed spring and centerpiece on poppet and turned pressure up

 

[trimixdiver1]

Thanks guys, did what okbecker said and a flawless transfer!

 

[JKoravos]

It works as long as there's not too much gunk at the bottom of the keg. Ask me how I know...#plinyclone