Kegging without CO2

[Adam Barnes]

I have a batch of beer that is ready to bottle (been fermenting for two weeks). I was hoping that I'd have my kegging set up by now and that I'd be able to keg rather than bottle this batch, however it's not quite ready. I have most things - keg, line, tap, disconnects etc, I'm just having reg issues (another story in itself) and I am waiting for a CO2 cylinder conversion to become available.

 

So, I'm wondering whether I still keg it or go through the process of bottling it, which I'm over and is the reason I want to move to kegging! If I keg it I'll store it under the house for a few weeks (generally about 13 degrees) and hopefully by then the setup will be finished. Plus, the beer will be nicely conditioned without me being able to drink it!

 

Without CO2 I wont be able to flush the oxygen from the headspace. So, there's two options here, prime the keg with dextrose, or find someone handy to Ngaio in Wellington that has gas that could flush it for me.

 

...or I perhaps rent a CO2 bottle from BOC for a month or so and the problem goes away!

 

Anyone see any other issues if I do keg it?

[Tilt]

I'd rack to the keg with a bit of dex.  If you can get someone to give it a quick CO2 squirt to purge the oxygen after you've racked even better.  Depending on your yeast you might want to keep it a bit warmer than 13degrees while its carbing though.

The only problem I could see is that some lids/ prvs and poppets take some pressure behind them to seal properly.  The natural carbing process could be too slow to force them shut but thats only a small worry really.  Making sure you've got new seals and a smear of keg lube on the rubbers would minimise the risk. 

Nothing better than having a nicely conditioned beer stashed away in a keg for the moment you've got your set up sorted!

[Fairlane]

Buy dome dry ice pellets from BOC and drop a couple in.  Wait a couple of mins and then seal it up.  All of the air in the headspace should have well and truly gone by then.

[Adam Barnes]

Thanks for the reply guys, have called BOC and am just going to rent a cylinder until I get my own one. $15 per month excluding gas ($30 for 7kg which is the smallest they have).

[Michael]

If you want to come to Tawa, I can hook up my co2 to it to flush the air out. You can even shake the keg and force carbonate if it is cold already.

[Adam Barnes]

Thanks Michael, much appreciated!

 

I've put in an application for a BOC account, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some gas in the next couple of days. If it doesn't work out I might have to take you up on your offer.

[Sam]

Hi Adam

I got a converted fire extinguisher co2 cylinder from Porirua cylinder testing, their worth a try if you haven't tried them already - from memory $250 

[Adam Barnes]

Hi Sam,

I checked with them (and the rest of the wellington crowd- Wormald, Wards, Supagas and BOC) a few weeks back and came up short (unless I wanted to spend $450 odd on a new one).

I then talked to Chris from Nova/Pressure Check in Akl and he said he was expecting some in very soon (last week) and that he'd get back to me when they're in. Hopefully wont be too long.

Adam