Traveling with keg in car

[Panderson1]

I read a lot of people transfer their beer to a new keg to rid of sediment. Is this a must? I cold crash my IPAs and my closed transfer are pretty clean (from the fermenter).

 

[day_trippr]

When you clean a kicked keg, how much sediment do you typically find? Unless it's pretty nearly "none" the potential for a bright beer to become not so bright is there...

Cheers!

 

[Panderson1]

When you clean a kicked keg, how much sediment do you typically find? Unless it's pretty nearly "none" the potential for a bright beer to become not so bright is there...

Cheers!

OK thanks. So it's mostly a clarity issue? If so i'm not really worried.

 

[fluketamer]

i wouldnt say its just clarity. my beers taste better when they clear. cleaner and less yeasty. i dont think its the actual yeast in suspension but the stuff the yeast is holding onto or attached to that might not be optimal tasting.

i also have yet to travel with kegged beer but really want to and was also thinking of process. i have descided to transfer to large pet bottles and serve from there with carbonation tee piece rather than bring a whole keg anywhere. i noticed that when i have transfered to them in the past the beer transfers nice and clear.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Nice timing. I'm getting ready to brew a coconut milk stout. My plan is to keg it and drive it down, 2 1/2 hours to my daughter's house some time around Thanksgiving. They have a huge annual Christmas cookie exchange and beer sharing party, usually around the 16th of December. I'll probably partially carbonate it before I take it down, and finish it up down there. They have a 2 tap kegerator and they'll have a commercial beer and my beer. I'm hoping three weeks will give it enough time to settle.

 

[odie]

if you are fermenting and serving in the same keg...yeah, you want to transfer.

I use 1.6 mini kegs when taking beer to events/parties.

 

[fluketamer]

odie do you transfer to the mini from a full settled keg or are you racking into it from the fv?

 

[mac_1103]

I also use 1.6 gallon mini kegs for traveling, and yes I transfer clear beer into them from a settled five gallon keg. Or at least I try to.

 

[beren]

I would say yes transfer it into anything you can. I made the mistake and it didn’t look great and it didn’t taste anywhere near as good.

 

[IslandLizard]

I travel with kegs to events. They'll shake up.

You definitely want to "jump" the clear, carbonated beer into a clean, pre-purged keg, leaving the sediment behind.
Liquid-out to liquid-in. And if you have one, a spunding valve on the receiving keg's gas post. If not, just gently release some extra pressure whenever the transfer starts slowing down.

As soon as you see milky beer appear in the transfer tube, pull the receiving keg's liquid QD off the post. Toward the end of the transfer I keep my hand on that QD, with the collar already lifted, ready to pull in a split second.

 

[beren]

Toward the end of the transfer I keep my hand on that QD, with the collar already lifted, ready to pull in a split second.

Im terrible at pulling it off fast. Duotight + ball valve is far easier.

 

[wdavis2003]

Sucky thing is you might lose some of that lovely IPA aroma when transferring but I think the benefit out weighs the risks.

 

[hottpeper13]

I have soooooo many flip tops both 16 and 32 oz. bought the tap cooler as soon as it was out,sanitize everything and they last 3-4 weeks. If you want more time you need to clean and sanitize the tap and line. I have a cooler that holds 6- 32 oz bottles so I tell people , I'll bring a 6 pack and they think I'm being cheap(cause I have 3-7 kegs in a pipeline),then I open up the cooler,

 

[IslandLizard]

Sucky thing is you might lose some of that lovely IPA aroma when transferring but I think the benefit out weighs the risks.

How would that be in a closed transfer?

 

[odie]

odie do you transfer to the mini from a full settled keg or are you racking into it from the fv?

full keg to mini keg. I ferment and serve in the same keg but I use a floating dip tube.

I have a short liquid to liquid jumper. I'll fill the mini keg with water, push the water out with co2, then hook the liquid-liquid jumper and the beer will flow. Once the pressures equalize, i'll install a flow stopper on the mini gas post. that lets pressure bleed so the flow starts again. I'll put co2 on the big keg and set it around 5psi to keep it flowing. once the mini keg is full, beer will flow into the "flow stopper" and cut off. then you just remove everything and pressurize the mini keg to your desire.

 

[slomo]

I once drove two hours with a 5 gallon batch. I set it upright in the passenger side floor board and used every blanket I had around the keg and pulled the seat all the way to the front to keep the keg from moving. I set my AC to max and kept it set to the floor vents. The keg had been conditioning in my keezer for about 20 days, so I wanted to minimize any temp change. I had the keg sit in a trash can filled with ice for two days, and served on the third. No issues.

 

[wdavis2003]

How would that be in a closed transfer?

Bleeding off the pressure using the prv or a spunding valve while transferring you can just smell that goodness leaving the keg but hey, may be very minimal. I wonder if there have been studies?

 

[Broken Crow]

My personal opinion's been swayed... I began by using a spunding valve on the recieving keg but owing to concerns over CO2 wastage, I moved to using a gas>gas return line to the fermenter and though subtle, the difference in retained hop-aroma even in a brown ale I had done several times before was distinctly improved.
I too would love to see if there have been any studies on this. I know there was a thread not long ago (but I can't find it) in which various folk wieghed in their own practice and results that largely seemed to me to support a distinction between a "Closed Transfer" which uses a gas return, and a "Semi-Closed Transfer" in which gas is vented.
[I hope this isn't my brain-damage missing something that should be obvious again....thoughts?]

 

[Broothru]

I once drove two hours with a 5 gallon batch. I set it upright in the passenger side floor board and used every blanket I had around the keg and pulled the seat all the way to the front to keep the keg from moving. I set my AC to max and kept it set to the floor vents. The keg had been conditioning in my keezer for about 20 days, so I wanted to minimize any temp change. I had the keg sit in a trash can filled with ice for two days, and served on the third. No issues.

I recently transported a keg from Maryland to Florida (actually a 2.5 gal. Torpedo keg with a Sanke fitting) for my son-in-law’s new kegerator. The pre-chilled keg fit perfectly in a 5 gallon Igloo cooler with plenty of room for ice. We had several side trips enroute and took six days to drive 900 +/- miles. Had to drain water twice and add fresh ice, but the keg remained upright and cold.

I did a pressurized transfer from my serving keg at home, so it was clear and carbonated before the trip. Actually enjoying one right now: Late-hopped Citra Pale Ale.

 

[mac_1103]

I began by using a spunding valve on the recieving keg but owing to concerns over CO2 wastage, I moved to using a gas>gas return line to the fermenter and though subtle, the difference in retained hop-aroma even in a brown ale I had done several times before was distinctly improved.

I also do my transfers with a closed loop. I'm not really sure why anyone would do it any other way. Maybe speed? Can't really comment on hop aroma retention though. Intuitively it would seem that if it's coming out of the beer then it's going to be lost whether it goes back into the fermenter or out into the air or a bucket of starsan.

 

[Broken Crow]

I also do my transfers with a closed loop. I'm not really sure why anyone would do it any other way. Maybe speed? Can't really comment on hop aroma retention though. Intuitively it would seem that if it's coming out of the beer then it's going to be lost whether it goes back into the fermenter or out into the air or a bucket of starsan.

If speed is an issue; I've taken to using a diaphram-type racking pump that can handle up to 60 or so psi..now I can transfer to a keg on my scale without having to elevate the sending vessel. ...and yes, I clean/sanitize/purge/pressurize my pump and transfer lines. An added benefit is that the churning of the pump seems to help it carbonate quicker.