Transferring carbonated beer from keg to bottle.

[Surly]

I stopped at one of my local home brew shops. It is one of the large ones you most likely know of.

Talking to a staff member, I mentioned I would like to transfer beer from a keg to bottles. I want to make a six pack or two to take to events, parties, competitions etc.

His solution was a 3/8" tube that I could attach to a picnic tap and use as a bottle filler. I thought that sounded like a fine solution.

It was not until today when I began to question something he mentioned. He said that this process of transferring carbonated beer from a keg to a bottle would only allow carbonation to last up to three weeks. Well, at the time that sounded fine. But today am wondering if I might not want to set a couple of bottles aside for a number of months or so.

His process:
Attach tube to picnic faucet.
Using cold and sanitized bottles fill until foam pours out.
Cap
Enjoy

Now, if his process is only a temporary one lasting three weeks, what if I were to add a couple of carbonation tabs for the bottles I want to store long term? A part of me says, "If I am filling bottles with carbonated beer and capping them right away they should stay carbonated and last much longer than three weeks.

Thoughts?

 

[dynamobrewing]

Although I've never used the technique he describes, my first inclination is the same as you mentioned at the end of your post: how would the CO2 escape? If the seal on a bottle cap holds the carbonation achieved through priming sugar, why wouldn't it hold the carbonation achieved through forced CO2 in a keg?

 

[Toy4Rick]

Hey there,

I use a bottling wand rather than clear tubing. The wand fits perfectly in the pic nic tap. Cut the wand/tube on an angle so it doesn't sit flat on the bottom of the bottle. Chill the bottles 10mins or so. Reduce keg pressure to about 3 psi and fill until BEER comes out not foam. Remove the tube and it will be perfectly filled. I fill and cap one bottle at a time. No reason why the carb wouldn't keep forever like anything naturally cared.

It's quick and easy

Enjoy
Rick

 

[Hammy71]

BM came up with that idea years ago. It's very simple and you can follow the link. Better yet look it up on you-tube and see how it's done. As long as you cap the bottles correctly the carbonation will be fine. One suggestion is to raise your psi on your keg a few days before you bottle by a couple pounds and fill the bottles all the way to the top with as little head space as possible. This will help stop the CO2 from off-gassing from the beer into the head space and making your beer less carbonated than it was in the keg.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

 

[duboman]

BM came up with that idea years ago. It's very simple and you can follow the link. Better yet look it up on you-tube and see how it's done. As long as you cap the bottles correctly the carbonation will be fine. One suggestion is to raise your psi on your keg a few days before you bottle by a couple pounds and fill the bottles all the way to the top with as little head space as possible. This will help stop the CO2 from off-gassing from the beer into the head space and making your beer less carbonated than it was in the keg. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

+1
Simple, cheap, easy and works!