Transporting fermenting beer

[rs3902]

Hi everyone! I have a Rye ale in the fermenter for about 2 weeks, but here's my problem: the fermentor is at my friend's house about 2 hours away from my current apartment. I know that transporting the fermentor can lead to all sorts of oxidation issues, but is there any way to safely do it? I have 6 gallons in the bucket, but I'm thinking maybe if I rack it to a 5 gallon carboy with little to no headspace and plug it up no air will get in. Is this safe? Any other ideas?

 

[medusa1066]

Bottle it or Keg it at your friends house? Plugging it is a BAD idea. There is a lot of CO2 in the fermenter still, waiting to be jostled on the car ride and explode.

 

[VinceF]

Got a keg? Transfer it to a corny and hit it with some gas to purge the air out of it.

 

[KBentley57]

I had to move about 4 full carboys during a move a few weeks ago. I'd suggest racking them to a carboy before moving. I used a few blankets and strapped it into the front seat without any problems. It was actually more stable than I would have thought. Another method I've used it putting it in the floorboard, sliding the seat all the way up against it, and shoving towels on either side to keep it form moving.

However, this was with wine, that was mostly degassed. I'm not sure how a still fermenting, CO2 laden beer filled carboy will perform.

 

[rs3902]

Thanks for the ideas, the more I think of this the worse my idea sounds haha. I was just hoping for some out of the box ideas so I don't have to make the 2 hour trip back to dry hop, then another trip to bottle. I've never kegged before so that's not really possible for me at this point.

 

[medusa1066]

Drive to your friends. Rack onto your Dry hops. Use a blow off tube into star san. The vibrations on the drive will blow off CO2 and protect your beer from oxidation. As long as the star san does not get sucked backed into the vessel (which should not be a concern as long as you maintain fairly constant temp) you should be good to go.

 

[rs3902]

Thanks for the tip medusa, I think I'm going to try that. ... But upon further thought, does driving with that violate any open container/alcohol laws?

 

[InLimbo]

Can't you just tell your friend to drop a couple ounces of hops into the carboy or bucket for you? Wait 1 week, then drive there and bottle it yourself? I don't even rack to 2ndry for dry hopping anymore. Waste of time and effort IMO.

 

[medusa1066]

Thanks for the tip medusa, I think I'm going to try that. ... But upon further thought, does driving with that violate any open container/alcohol laws?

I would really hope that a LEO would let that slide. Play dumb. Definetely have ZERO alcohol in your system so that you can suggest a breathalizer if need be. Are you crossing state lines? If so, you need to change your handle to "Smokey" ....and the Bandit