Transporting keg

[Kennanwt5]

Hi everyone. Question regarding transportation here. I am driving to Maine for the holidays and I am going to be bringing my newly kegged lager I brewed. Beer is still in primary at the moment, but if all goes well, it should have been in the keg for about 10 days by the time I go up in later December. That said... Can I transport the beer up to Maine from Pa in a keg in my car, or will that jack it up. If so, any recommendations for the trip?


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[dnslater]

Will it be carbonated? If not, fill the head with co2 and purge a few times. Oxygenation would be your biggest threat here. Also, maybe cold crash before you keg otherwise you will have cloudy lager over the holidays.

 

[Kennanwt5]

I am probs gonna carb it so it could be drank within a day or so.

 

[antony]

carb it & strap it in. worse case scenario you'll have cloudy beer from all the motion.
I transport my kegs in my 60qt cube cooler all the time now.

 

[ulnpiper]

I've transported my kegs from Georgia to Michigan and to Tennessee without problem.

Cold crash it and carb it first. Then I wrap it in a heavy beach towel to both insulate it and absorb condensation.

I try to put it in the floor of the backseat so its either upright or mostly upright.

Don't leave it in a hot car.

-g

 

[Kennanwt5]

Good stuff guys, and happy early holidays!

 

[solbes]

I brought two kegs 1200 miles south to a rented TX beach house a few years back. Was really fun and worked very well. One was a wheat, so I didn't care that it was cloudy with yeast. The other was a Maibock that I wanted crystal clear so it definitely got racked to secondary and lagered for an extended time. It was clear and very tasty.

If you have secondaries, this is a case where skipping the cold crash and racking into secondary for a few days will give you clearer beer for the journey. Any yeast that is transferred into the keg will be mixed up in the beer. Also I placed both kegs side by side in the trunk and wrapped with 2 towels. They were still pretty cool even after a 21 hour journey. As long as you purge and carb before you leave, you will not have any oxidation issues.

 

[Kennanwt5]

I am going to cold crash this weekend... then rack to secondary...then lager for 5 weeks at 40 deg. It better be clear! haha. Thanks again!

 

[Tbattisti]

Similar situation here. Going to be kegging (my first batch!) this weekend that I'll be bringing to northern Wisconsin for deer season. I'll be traveling on the 21st. From what I've read, I plan to force 20 PSI into the keg then throw it in the kegerator (which I also just made). After a day I should purge and lower the PSI to 10? For transportation purposes, it will be in the back of the truck. I should just be sure to secure it into place to prevent it from rolling around? And when I get there, could I just hook the tank back up and set the regulator back to 10?

FWIW, this is an IPA that I dryhopped with 3 ounces of Citra. After a week, I racked again, still some hops floating at the top. I have the capability to cold crash, and plan to before kegging. Am I on the right track here guys?

 

[ulnpiper]

I would also let the keg settle for a few hours after you arrive and before you tap it.

I've started to let mine sit for ~12 hours after arriving and haven't had foaming issues. Once when I tapped within a couple hours of arriving, got nothing but foam, but that could have been an over carb issue.

-g

 

[Yooper]

I am going to cold crash this weekend... then rack to secondary...then lager for 5 weeks at 40 deg. It better be clear! haha. Thanks again!

After it's clear, I love to "jump" the clear beer to a new keg. It's super easy to do, and then you have sediment-free and clear beer while you travel.

I do this all the time, as we go to S. Texas in the winter, about 1700 miles.

Once the beer is cold and clear and carbonated, I use two black disconnects and a short length of beer line. Without moving the full keg, I hook it up with both QDs on the "out" then push the beer with about 2 psi (to avoid foaming). I just pull the pressure relief valve on the receiving keg occasionally to keep the beer flowing. Then, I have this wonderful fully carbed completely clear beer in a keg without any sediment at all- and it takes less than 10 minutes!

 

[Peyope]

After it's clear, I love to "jump" the clear beer to a new keg. It's super easy to do, and then you have sediment-free and clear beer while you travel.

I do this all the time, as we go to S. Texas in the winter, about 1700 miles.

Once the beer is cold and clear and carbonated, I use two black disconnects and a short length of beer line. Without moving the full keg, I hook it up with both QDs on the "out" then push the beer with about 2 psi (to avoid foaming). I just pull the pressure relief valve on the receiving keg occasionally to keep the beer flowing. Then, I have this wonderful fully carbed completely clear beer in a keg without any sediment at all- and it takes less than 10 minutes!

I assume this is due to sediment that sits below the dip tube. I also assume you purge the empty keg before filling. I like this idea and might try it if I bring some beer home for the holidays.

 

[Artifishal]

Yes, I like it too. Can you explain the jumping? I'm about to keg 5gal of IPA. I'd like to take it up north for a fishing trip one week from today. I have a 2.5 gallon keg too.

So... Purge the 2.5, then hook up a liquid to liquid line, then pull the release valve so it fills or just so it with the lid open so I know when it's about full?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, I like it too. Can you explain the jumping? I'm about to keg 5gal of IPA. I'd like to take it up north for a fishing trip one week from today. I have a 2.5 gallon keg too.

So... Purge the 2.5, then hook up a liquid to liquid line, then pull the release valve so it fills or just so it with the lid open so I know when it's about full?

If you leave the lid off, it's no longer a closed transfer. What I do is keep the kegerator door closed, and the beer cold while the room is warm, and you can see the line of beer via condensation on the keg. Or, when you pull the pressure relief valve and some foam comes out- it's close enough! Either way has worked for me.