Bottling after stage 2 ferment in keg

[antonylj]

Yep another noob question.

Is it ok to stage 2 ferment in my keg then transfer some to bottles for friends and family?

What's the best way to transfer the stage 1 beer from the bucket to the keg, bearing in mind I dont want to disturb any sediment which may be at the bottom.

Thanks.

 

[Keruso]

Hi, I guess you mean primary and secondary fermentation, personally I don't bother with secondary fermentation, but that's a whole other debate. When I used to bottle I would use a siphon to transfer the beer into another bucket to get the beer off the yeast and filter out any hop matter. I would then add priming sugar and bottle with a bottling wand attached to the tap on the second bucket. Now I keg I still use the siphon to transfer beer into the keg, being careful not to splash. Getting the beer out of the keg into bottles will be tricky because the bottling wand relies on gravity and a tap, which kegs don't have. You can get a beer gun that can attach to a keg, it used CO2 to purge and transfer. If you are new to brewing I doubt you will have that yet. Personally I would use a second bucket with a tap. You can fill a keg and fill bottles from it rather than trying to get beer out of a keg.

 

[antonylj]

Thanks Keruso.

So do I actually need to to stage 2? Adding extra sugar?

Also, i have just taken a sample to test, 3 days after adding hops pellets, sprinkled over the top as suggested. I'm shocked just how much sediment is now in my beer....

Did I do something wrong?? How am I supposed to filter this out?

I'm using a starter kit from youngs. My keg has a tap so I was going to siphon the contents from the main bucket to the barrel + add sugar. Now I'm kinda at odds as to what I should do.

 

[phildo79]

I'm confused as to what equipment you have. Do you have a bucket (with no tap), a pressure barrel (with tap) and a corny keg?

 

[antonylj]

It's a youngs home brew kit.

1 x fermenting bucket with lid and air lock

1x keg with tap and top which has a co2 attachment ( when keg gets low on beer )

Testing tube ( in picture ) & hygrometer test tube.

 

[phildo79]

Is this keg with a tap one of those massive, white plastic, king keg pressure barrel things?

 

[antonylj]

Apart from those 2 tins, this is my kit

Is this keg with a tap one of those massive, white plastic, king keg pressure barrel things?

Lol.... I'm new to this. Its white plastic. Has a screw top with brass valve for adding co2. Has a tap at the bottom.

The fermenting bucket has no tap

 

[Banbeer]

As @Keruso says, you don't need to use a secondary, it's personal choice, I don't, I just ferment in the one FV and using a tap and a syphon I transfer it to the Corny keg or in your case your plastic barrell.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

It's a youngs home brew kit.

1 x fermenting bucket with lid and air lock

1x keg with tap and top which has a co2 attachment ( when keg gets low on beer )

Testing tube ( in picture ) & hygrometer test tube.

It sounds like you have a pressure barrel (PB) rather than keg (I'm not saying it to be picky, they are different and will affect responses to your question). If you do have a PB, you could bottle from it, preferably with a piece of silicone tube, or ideally with a bottling wand that would fit on the tap.
Regarding the sediment, I don't think it looks too bad. If you transfer to a secondary, you can leave it to allow more to drop out. It looks like opinion is divided on transfering to a secondary.
In your situation, this is what I would do if I wanted to store most in PB but bottle some (bare in mind I am pretty new to all this):

1. Add priming sugar in a solution to PB - be careful to not add too much. PBs are better suited to styles that require low carbonation due to tha max pressure it can hold. It seems like 80g is best for a PB with 23L of beer, and 100g is the max. There is a priming calculator on the internet somewhere.
2. Rack the beer into the PB
3. Bottle what you want to bottle, keep the rest in the PB.

Also, consider that some beer styles are better bottled and that PBs are best suited to beer styles requiring lower carbonation. What are you brewing?

 

[Keruso]

Hi, I should not have assumed you were using a Cornelius keg, they don't have taps. Sounds like you have a keg like the picture below. I don't know your kit instructions but as a guide you normally do 2 weeks fermenting including adding hops, 2 weeks carbonisation at room temperature, 2 weeks conditioning somewhere cooler. You will ferment in your bucket, you can transfer beer when fermentation is finshed to the Keg, adding what's called priming sugar to the keg, within two weeks the yeast will eat the sugar turning that into CO2 for fiz, it will add pressure to the keg too, which allows you to serve but when pressure drops you may need CO2 to serve the beer. Sediment is normal, especially if you add hops during fermentation (called dry hopping). If you are able to put your fermenting bucket somewhere cold (1.5 degrees celsius) after fermentation has finished, for 24 hours or more, it causes all the sediment to drop, but not everyone can do that without the equipment.

​

 

[antonylj]

It sounds like you have a pressure barrel (PB) rather than keg (I'm not saying it to be picky, they are different and will affect responses to your question). If you do have a PB, you could bottle from it, preferably with a piece of silicone tube, or ideally with a bottling wand that would fit on the tap.
Regarding the sediment, I don't think it looks too bad. If you transfer to a secondary, you can leave it to allow more to drop out. It looks like opinion is divided on transfering to a secondary.
In your situation, this is what I would do if I wanted to store most in PB but bottle some (bare in mind I am pretty new to all this):

1. Add priming sugar in a solution to PB - be careful to not add too much. PBs are better suited to styles that require low carbonation due to tha max pressure it can hold. It seems like 80g is best for a PB with 23L of beer, and 100g is the max. There is a priming calculator on the internet somewhere.
2. Rack the beer into the PB
3. Bottle what you want to bottle, keep the rest in the PB.

Also, consider that some beer styles are better bottled and that PBs are best suited to beer styles requiring lower carbonation. What are you brewing?

Thanks. It is a pressure barrel. My bad. Sorry.

So it looks like I need to raise the primary fermenter onto the worktop, immerse the siphon tube into the beer and siphon the beer into the pressure barrel.
All in all, trying to avoid the sediment both on the top and bottom of the current brew.

Therefore, I should leave about an inch or so in the primary fermented which is where the bulk of the sediment will stay.

 

[antonylj]

I'm looking at my test tube, smelling the brew. Omg I soooooo wanna try it. But the floaty bits....

 

[antonylj]

Here's my test sample. I've uploaded a small clip to my google drive account.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aYgxETQPWJwxGJcbMWw9ZJh5pohbr6Al/view?usp=drivesdk
Smells lovely. Now to spoo off the sediment on top and test it and try it.

 

[antonylj]

Thanks Keruso.

It was in primary fermented for 8 days, tested on day 6 and again on 8, both readings were identical.

Sprinkled hops over the brew.

3 days later, this is where I am now.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Thanks. It is a pressure barrel. My bad. Sorry.

So it looks like I need to raise the primary fermenter onto the worktop, immerse the siphon tube into the beer and siphon the beer into the pressure barrel.
All in all, trying to avoid the sediment both on the top and bottom of the current brew.

Therefore, I should leave about an inch or so in the primary fermented which is where the bulk of the sediment will stay.

No need to apologise - I want to make sure you get the response tailored to your situation :)
It sounds like you're on the right track with the process. It goes without saying that you'll need to sanitize everything that will be in contact with the beer.

Now to spoo off the sediment on top and test it and try it.

I must admit, I have never spooned stuff off when racking. Someone else will know better than I, but it sounds unnecessary, unless you're talking about the sample only - I couldn't access the photo.

Thanks Keruso.

It was in primary fermented for 8 days, tested on day 6 and again on 8, both readings were identical.

Sprinkled hops over the brew.

3 days later, this is where I am now.

If you have successive FG readings in the desired range, I imagine you're ready for proceeding to whatever the next step is. Again, I am pretty new myself so don't take may word for it!

 

[antonylj]

Thanks all. Its filtered and in the pressure barrel with its last lot of sugar. Tested perfect and tasted good. Now a 2 week wait.

 

[phildo79]

Not sure why you need to wait two more weeks. It will be carbed up before then. Hang on, was it a kit beer? If it was, they all seem to take at least four weeks, from start to finish, before they're drinkable. But if it isn't a kit, I'd be trying it in less than a week from now. The whole 2+2+2 thing is a very general rule of thumb that I have never used or felt the need to.

 

[antonylj]

Thanks phildo. It is a kit.
I assume, as I've added extra sugar when I put it into the pressure barrel, it will continue to clarify and finish for the 2 weeks. Admittedly, when I tried it, after filtering but before barreling, it tasted fine.

Are you saying just go ahead and drink it?

 

[phildo79]

No, it needs time to carb up but I would have a taste in about five days time. Are you keeping the barrel in a fridge?

 

[antonylj]

No, it needs time to carb up but I would have a taste in about five days time. Are you keeping the barrel in a fridge?

it sits under my stairs. Should it be somewhere colder? the barrel is a bit large to get into a fridge.