Transfer from keg to bottles

[SteBeardface]

Morning homebrewers!

I've had my first (EVER) homebrew in a keg for a few weeks now and carbonation seems minimal to non-existent. I'm convinced that I didn't lubricate properly and the gas leaked out. So, I've decided I want to bottle the rest of it so the oxygen doesn't go and ruin the 3 gallons I have left in there.

Is it possible for me to reprime the beer with carbonation drops when bottling? Will the yeasties in there be happy enough waking up for a bit and having a quick feed so I can finally have a reasonably fizzy beer? I have already tried cold crashing it so my buddies could drink it last weekend, so I'm worried there won't be anything left to do the job.

Cheers for your help!

 

[Leon103]

Yes you can and I have done it before, it wasn't in the keg as long as yours but turned out fine

 

[Dutto]

In addition to the above, when you have transferred the brew into bottles take a good look at the seal on the PB's cap.

The cap on PB's (including the best that money can buy) can refuse to seal until you have taken a long block of wood, wrapped some fine sandpaper around it and gently removed all of the burrs from the sealing surface.

My last carbonation failure (yesterday - the first time in about a year!) was caused by a damaged sealing surface after I dropped the PB, misjudged the extent of the damage and tightened up the top as usual.

 

[cmwood64]

It's quite possible the CO2 has leaked out of your pressure barrel, especially if it is a budget one, as they are notoriously difficult to seal, but you should be aware that even if it is fully sealed you still won't get "fizzy" beer. The carbonation you get from a PB is more akin to cask ale levels than bottled beer.

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[ukphiltr7]

If I was you I would givery it a go. The beer currently is not how you want it so what have you got to loose. I have only ever primed in bottles and as yet I have not had an issue. True I have had to leave some longer than I thought but it always give bubbles of some degree or another.

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[SteBeardface]

It's quite possible the CO2 has leaked out of your pressure barrel, especially if it is a budget one, as they are notoriously difficult to seal, but you should be aware that even if it is fully sealed you still won't get "fizzy" beer. The carbonation you get from a PB is more akin to cask ale levels than bottled beer.

Ah, that would explain a lot then... probably a good thing - I much prefer a cask beer and any more carbonation would probably give me a load of foam rather than drinkable beer. It's already slow enough coming out while trying to avoid a 3/4 head! Cheers for the heads up!

If I was you I would givery it a go. The beer currently is not how you want it so what have you got to loose. I have only ever primed in bottles and as yet I have not had an issue. True I have had to leave some longer than I thought but it always give bubbles of some degree or another.

I bottled about 5 on Monday so we'll see how it gets on. I'll keep the rest in the PB and get it drank and me drunk sharpish

While I'm here, can anyone advise on using Sodastream canisters on PB's? Its a Young's PB with 2" cap, S30 valve. I've a fair number of CO2 cartridges, but I don't want to keep having to buy them unless it really is the best way, considering I've used about 4 or 5 on this batch of beer alone (is that normal?)

 

[leighton1271]

Yeah, you'll be fine doing that, I've had the same issue and it turned out fine.