Maturing time in a soda keg @ what pressure

[Fat Duck Brewery]

Hi all,

Quick question over fermenting and maturing home brew.

Generally I do the following; I do my primary ferment in a plastic bucket for at least 1 week ( I do check the gravity level) then I transfer into a new glass vessel for a two week secondary ferment.
Then I would bottle, at this point I would add my priming sugar and leave the beer to carbonate and mature for a month or more.

But when I keg, I pressurize the keg at pouring pressure and leave it for a week, but how long should I then leave my beer to mature in a keg? I do notice even with a 1.8m hose my beer pours very foamy which is a pain.

Lastly whats the best way to then take some of that kegged beer and transfer it into bottles for sharing with friends etc.

Many questions sorry, but I'm so keen to keep improving. I started straight on all grain and I've only been brewing since November 2017.
Thanks all

 

[jeffpn]

Quick answer for your bottling question.

https://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/beergun

 

[BOB357]

Hi all,

Quick question over fermenting and maturing home brew.

Generally I do the following; I do my primary ferment in a plastic bucket for at least 1 week ( I do check the gravity level) then I transfer into a new glass vessel for a two week secondary ferment.
Then I would bottle, at this point I would add my priming sugar and leave the beer to carbonate and mature for a month or more.

But when I keg, I pressurize the keg at pouring pressure and leave it for a week, but how long should I then leave my beer to mature in a keg? I do notice even with a 1.8m hose my beer pours very foamy which is a pain.

Lastly whats the best way to then take some of that kegged beer and transfer it into bottles for sharing with friends etc.

Many questions sorry, but I'm so keen to keep improving. I started straight on all grain and I've only been brewing since November 2017.
Thanks all

First, transferring to secondary is usually a waste of time. There's no harm in leaving beer in primary for several weeks. A beer that you're adding fruit to or a big beer you are bulk aging are exceptions that come to mind.

As for the foaming problem. you need to read this: https://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/...our-kegged-beer-co2-line-length-and-pressure/

jeffpn answered your third question. BTW, welcome to BF.

 

[Beer_Pirate]

The beer gun is good, but being as cheap as I am I use a different method with pretty good results. I connect a liquid out (ball lock for me) to a party tap using beer line, then pop in a bottling wand with a drilled #2 (I think) stopper. Insert the wand until it almost touches the bottom of the glass, then seat the rubber stopper on the lip of the bottle. You want the pressure set very low, so that the beer is barely flowing into the bottles, and make sure to "burp" the stopper seal every so often. This method is good for beers that you'll drink within a relatively short time period, since this doesn't provide a CO2 layer to protect from oxidation. You still get a bottled product without the yeast sediment you'd otherwise get from bottle priming and it's cheap.

 

[jmcnamara]

The beer gun is good, but being as cheap as I am I use a different method with pretty good results. I connect a liquid out (ball lock for me) to a party tap using beer line, then pop in a bottling wand with a drilled #2 (I think) stopper. Insert the wand until it almost touches the bottom of the glass, then seat the rubber stopper on the lip of the bottle. You want the pressure set very low, so that the beer is barely flowing into the bottles, and make sure to "burp" the stopper seal every so often. This method is good for beers that you'll drink within a relatively short time period, since this doesn't provide a CO2 layer to protect from oxidation. You still get a bottled product without the yeast sediment you'd otherwise get from bottle priming and it's cheap.

Mind sharing a few pics?

 

[BOB357]

The beer gun is good, but being as cheap as I am I use a different method with pretty good results. I connect a liquid out (ball lock for me) to a party tap using beer line, then pop in a bottling wand with a drilled #2 (I think) stopper. Insert the wand until it almost touches the bottom of the glass, then seat the rubber stopper on the lip of the bottle. You want the pressure set very low, so that the beer is barely flowing into the bottles, and make sure to "burp" the stopper seal every so often. This method is good for beers that you'll drink within a relatively short time period, since this doesn't provide a CO2 layer to protect from oxidation. You still get a bottled product without the yeast sediment you'd otherwise get from bottle priming and it's cheap.

I use a similar setup. I have a growler filler attachment for my faucets. The same outside of that. Works well if the beer is going to be kept cold and consumed within a few days. If you want to get rid of most of the oxygen, just lift the stopper and let it foam a bit at the end and cap on the foam.

 

[Beer_Pirate]

Mind sharing a few pics?

I will as soon as I get a chance! It's been hectic over here the last few days.

 

[Beer_Pirate]

Mind sharing a few pics?

The bottling wand fits pretty snugly in the picnic tap. I use about 5 feet of line to keep the foaming to a minimum and try to chill bottles before filling for the same reason. The drilled stopper allows for filling under some pressure. It's no counter-pressure filler, but it allows me to take bottled beer places and drink it from the bottle.

Edit: I also usually use smaller line (like what's on the ball lock), but I just had to rig something together real quick for demo purposes.

 

[jmcnamara]

Thanks! I had checked out the link that someone else had, and that's pretty much it....
Can't wait to try it