When to transfer to keg?

[mcubed45]

Hey guys, brewing my very first batch. It's a coopers irish stout that's currently at 2 weeks in the fermenter. The airlock is still bubbling verrrrry slowly (several minutes between bubbles). I'll be serving from a keg in my keezer.

I was wondering when I should transfer to the keg? When the bubbling stops completely?

Also, after purging, should the keg go into the keezer already or sit some more at room temps?

 

[beerman0001]

You will not know when it is done until you take a hydo reading three days in a row and the sg is the same. Some folks will tell you leave it three weeks in the fermenter but that will be up to you to decide.
After the ferment is over rack to the keg purg set it in the keezer at around 40deg put it on the gas at about 12psi and leave it alone for 2 weeks. Or you can use about 2.5 oz of priming sugar and let it sit at room temp for 2 weeks and carb up naturaly then put in keezer to kool.

So many ways to do the same thing try them all then do what you like the best.

 

[Brewnoob1]

2nd the thought of hydro reading. I'm sure Revvy will chime in soon with the link to one of his hydro posts. The only way to know if you've completed fermentation is by a reading. Bubbling just means that....excess co2 being released through the airlock. So take a reading and go from there.

As for Kegging, it depends on what you want to do with the beer really. If you are ready to get to drinking, throw it in the keezer and put on the gas at the temp/carb level you want. Let it go for a week or two and get to drinking! If you want it to clean up further, you can leave it at room temp and let it chill.

 

[pjj2ba]

One of the beauties of kegging is there is no danger of a bottle bomb, so even if a beer is not quite done, one could transfer it anyway if one was in a hurry to get a beer on tap. Or perhaps you have time now but might not later. With kegging you have much more wiggle room. You might get a bit more sediment, but that is no big deal.

I personally don't worry about taking hydrometer readings to tell me if a beer is done. I make sure I pitch the proper amount of yeast so they ferment quickly. I'll take a reading when I keg. If it seems high (very rarely), then I'll put a 5 psi pressure relief valve on the keg and let it go a couple more days before sealing it up.

 

[jetmac]

You really want to wait until after you have reached FG. After FG let the yeast flocculate and drop out. I would wait at least a week after FG but I prefer to let it sit a month in primary(from the time I pitch) then transfer to keg. That is plenty of time to ferment, clean up and clear up.

 

[jetmac]

I'll take a reading when I keg. If it seems high (very rarely), then I'll put a 5 psi pressure relief valve on the keg and let it go a couple more days before sealing it up.

Interesting,

Do you have a picture or a link?

 

[pjj2ba]

No picture. I got the valve from McMaster and rigged up a swaged copper fitting to a keg disconnect and a threaded fitting at the other end that matched the valve.

I think there are pictures of similar devices in this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/

 

[mcubed45]

One of the beauties of kegging is there is no danger of a bottle bomb, so even if a beer is not quite done, one could transfer it anyway if one was in a hurry to get a beer on tap. Or perhaps you have time now but might not later. With kegging you have much more wiggle room. You might get a bit more sediment, but that is no big deal.

I personally don't worry about taking hydrometer readings to tell me if a beer is done. I make sure I pitch the proper amount of yeast so they ferment quickly. I'll take a reading when I keg. If it seems high (very rarely), then I'll put a 5 psi pressure relief valve on the keg and let it go a couple more days before sealing it up.

cool thanks. so no harm in kegging it if it's still bubbling slightly?

should i leave it hooked up to the gas at that point?

 

[daksin]

cool thanks. so no harm in kegging it if it's still bubbling slightly?

should i leave it hooked up to the gas at that point?

Let it ride. The beer isn't going to be good if it's still fermenting. Give it a week after you reach FG.

 

[mcubed45]

Let it ride. The beer isn't going to be good if it's still fermenting. Give it a week after you reach FG.

is it odd that it's still bubbling at 3+ weeks?

 

[ETCS]

is it odd that it's still bubbling at 3+ weeks?

Nope. As stated above, bubbling isn't an indication of anything except off gassing. This could be caused by temperature change.

 

[daksin]

Nope. As stated above, bubbling isn't an indication of anything except off gassing. This could be caused by temperature change.

I've had beers that fermented solidly for 6 weeks, though. You're not telling this beer what to do, it just doesn't work that way. Once the beer's completely at FG (via hydrometer readings), give it another week on the yeast and then do with it as you please (dry hop, secondary, keg, bottle etc etc etc).

 

[dbrewski]

Not to hijack this thread, technically this is still a "when do you keg" question, but I kegged an ale that had sat in primary for nearly three weeks, 2.5 maybe, using an auto-siphon like normal. I have been force carbing, set it at 30psi and rock it back and forth for 100 seconds. It has worked great on every batch so far, but I've been using secondary fermentation. So I skipped secondary on this one, and when I went to tap it there was quite a bit of particulate that came out, at one point the dip tube got clogged. I had to put the gas in on the liquid out post to dislodge it. But I'm hearing a lot of folks say they go "primary straight to keg". Is it the lack of settling time on my force-carbed keg? How much muck do you typically clean up from a keg pulled right off primary vs. one pulled off secondary?

 

[gr8shandini]

dbrewski,

It sounds like you're just sucking up a little too much trub when transferring. If you have the means, cold crash for a day or two and the yeast will fall out of suspension and form a rather compact cake. Keep your siphon above that, and you're home free.