OVHA Chat

I have been filling mini 1.25 gallon kegs off the main kegs to transport because the big kegs go cloudy when I move them around. I am doing a 2 week secondary fermentation so I'm not sure what else to do, short of filtering.

How are you guys transporting kegs without shaking them up? I can't even carry them from my garage fridge to the kegorator without shaking them a bit.

The mini kegs are starting to feel like a hastle to me because they don't last more than 20 to 30 minutes. It's a rediculous step I have to take for clear beer.

Once the beer in the keg is carbonated & settled, dispence a glass or two before moving the keg. Most of the sediment should be eliminated then & the rest of the beer should be fairly clear.

Some brewers cut off an inch or so of the dip tube to leave the sediment behind, but they can't move a keg without stirring it up.

I try to pour off a glass before I move it but it will get stirred up no matter what you do. If you get it there early enough it will have a few hours to settle down a little before serving time.

The only way to get it perfectly clear is to filter it, and that will shorten the life considerable, plus probably alter the taste some (no yeast).

You have several choices:

You can use gelatin or sparkloid fining to artificially clear the beer.

You can keep the carboy cool after a couple weeks of secondary fermentation, then chill it down to near freezing. This will stop the yeast from slowly fermenting. They float during slow fermentation, then fall out of suspension when you carbonate the beer, again because the carbonation inhibits frementation. A longer secondary fermentation will help too, but you must lower the temp to prevent yeast autolysis.

Or you can make a bright tank -- a keg with a short dip tube. Transfer and carbonate the beer as usual, allow it to sit cold for a week or so, then using a "double ended" ball-lock hose, transfer it to another clean keg under pressure. This will leave the sediment in the bright tank.

Peter