It's Kegging Time 2023

[Shamus O'Sean]

Not sure if knowing the answer will help, but if you disconnect the second keg does it

• still happen
• settle down after a glass or two
• pour properly straight away?

What is weird is that you have had this set up before but this is the first time the excessive frothing has happened.  So what is different this time?

• Maybe it has got something to do with the keg you are serving from. 
• Maybe something has got stuck in the beer line or somewhere in the pluto gun and is causing the frothing. 
• Maybe the beer in the second keg has continued to ferment a bit and built up extra pressure and is forcing the beer out of the serving keg faster.

[Aussiekraut]

Ok, it seems that as the pressure in the new keg increases, it gets easier to pour beer from the other.

[kmar92]

Kegged my English Bitter today, it looks good so can't wait to taste it.

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged my tribute to Mister Sinister tonight.

Tasting a bit more bitter than I had hoped.

[Kegory]

9 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Kegged my tribute to Mister Sinister tonight.

Tasting a bit more bitter than I had hoped.

Is that the one where you reduced the amount of dextrose, Shamus?

[Shamus O'Sean]

13 hours ago, Kegory said:

Is that the one where you reduced the amount of dextrose, Shamus?

Hi Kegory, Yes it was.  This will be interesting to taste when it is carbonated.  My version might not have the right balance.  Although the Dextrose virtually ferments completely and does not leave a sweetness, the fact that the original recipe's ABV is quite high, still offsets the bitterness and dominating flavour from the Roasted Barley (and the Chocolate Malt I added to my version).

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged my Galaxial Eclipse Australian Pale Ale tonight.  It was inspired by the Coopers recipe Eclipse Australian Pale Ale.

Jury is still out on this one.  I was worried about a grassiness/staleness from the old Galaxy hops I used.  There is something undesirable in the sample I tasted.  However, until I get it into my kegerator and carbonated I will not know for sure.

[Classic Brewing Co]

Would any of you AG/Kegging Gurus like to comment on this settled on the top of the FV, it has spent 3.5 days in the fridge with temp control between 3-4c & am about to keg or chuck it.

There are no bad smells & it is only on the top, otherwise it looks fine, I am thinking it is a result of CC or am I wrong?

Obviously, I am going to use the KL SS siphon from the top to do this due to the trub around the tap. This was the batch I messed up 2 weeks ago.

Cheers

Phil

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Classic Brewing Co

[kmar92]

28 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Would any of you AG/Kegging Gurus like to comment on this settled on the top of the FV, it has spent 3.5 days in the fridge with temp control between 3-4c & am about to keg or chuck it.

There are no bad smells & it is only on the top, otherwise it looks fine, I am thinking it is a result of CC or am I wrong?

Obviously, I am going to use the KL SS siphon from the top to do this due to the trub around the tap. This was the batch I messed up 2 weeks ago.

Cheers

Phil

 

Why would you chuck it? If it smells OK and tastes OK (sample it) just keg it and drink it.

[Classic Brewing Co]

8 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

Why would you chuck it? If it smells OK and tastes OK (sample it) just keg it and drink it.

Thanks for your response @kmar92 much appreciated, I have just been talking to @Hoppy81 & he said to pour off some into a jug, chuck it, rinse it & run off some more, I did that it smells OK, taste like flat beer so I am going to keg it the normal way into the keg & steer clear of the trub, obviously the keg won't get the full 19l so I don't suppose that will matter.

Sample attached.

Cheers.

 

[kmar92]

4 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Thanks for your response @kmar92 much appreciated, I have just been talking to @Hoppy81 & he said to pour off some into a jug, chuck it, rinse it & run off some more, I did that it smells OK, taste like flat beer so I am going to keg it the normal way into the keg & steer clear of the trub, obviously the keg won't get the full 19l so I don't suppose that will matter.

Sample attached.

Cheers.

 

Yes, the sample looks OK, and your nose and your mouth are the best judges of if the beer is OK. Looks can be deceiving, remember you were going to chuck it because it had a thick trub, then you also contemplated chucking it because of what was floating on the top. If it smells OK and tastes OK, it is OK. Keg it and enjoy the fruits of your labour

[Classic Brewing Co]

22 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

Yes, the sample looks OK, and your nose and your mouth are the best judges of if the beer is OK. Looks can be deceiving, remember you were going to chuck it because it had a thick trub, then you also contemplated chucking it because of what was floating on the top. If it smells OK and tastes OK, it is OK. Keg it and enjoy the fruits of your labour

Well, it is in the keg now, I missed all of the trub completely. This was a 2l AG APA so the amount that actually went in the keg was more like 18l as I didn't bother to bottle any.

It all turned out pretty clear in the end. Cheers.

 

[Red devil 44]

Kegged the Sabre Session Ale today.

[iBooz2]

6 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

This was the batch I messed up 2 weeks ago.

Phil, when you did this AG batch did you give it enough time to clear up and settle out most of the hot break before cubing it up?

I suspect you have cubed it too soon when it was cloudy and a lot of protein and hot break matter has gone into your cube.   I always re-circ the wort immediately after boiling to sanitise pump and pipes etc. then switch off the pump and let the whirlpool action settle most of the hot break out of your required wort.

The wort can get down to 70 - 80 C before you really need to cube it up.  Less than 70 C then bigger risk of stray infections coming into the recipe.

[Classic Brewing Co]

26 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

Phil, when you did this AG batch did you give it enough time to clear up and settle out most of the hot break before cubing it up?

I suspect you have cubed it too soon when it was cloudy and a lot of protein and hot break matter has gone into your cube.   I always re-circ the wort immediately after boiling to sanitise pump and pipes etc. then switch off the pump and let the whirlpool action settle most of the hot break out of your required wort.

The wort can get down to 70 - 80 C before you really need to cube it up.  Less than 70 C then bigger risk of stray infections coming into the recipe.

The cube sat on the laundry tiled floor for 24 hours & when I transferred to the fermenter it was at 25c & by the time I pitched at 21

litres it was 24c, good point though, thanks.

[iBooz2]

32 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

The cube sat on the laundry tiled floor for 24 hours & when I transferred to the fermenter it was at 25c & by the time I pitched at 21

litres it was 24c, good point though, thanks.

Just to clarify.  I was talking about letting it cool in the Brewzilla just after the boil / whirlpool stage and before cubing it, just so all the crap settles out and does not end up in your cube and hence your FV as extra trub.

Edited April 29, 2023 by iBooz2

[iBooz2]

On 4/26/2023 at 10:49 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Kegged my Galaxial Eclipse Australian Pale Ale tonight.  It was inspired by the Coopers recipe Eclipse Australian Pale Ale.

Jury is still out on this one.  I was worried about a grassiness/staleness from the old Galaxy hops I used.  There is something undesirable in the sample I tasted.  However, until I get it into my kegerator and carbonated I will not know for sure.

@Shamus O'Sean I used up some very old Galaxy hops a fair while back in a Pacific Summer Ale and it ended up with what I would call a sour-ish taste.  I used them commando and they were in the beer for a day or two longer than planned so it could have been that mistake as well.   Good luck with yours

BTW I was at Bright Brewery a few weeks back and on their bar was a big tub of freshly picked Galaxy hop cones, picked that afternoon at the local hop producer's farm and the smell was just amazing.  If only our pellets smelt that same way, hey?

[Shamus O'Sean]

8 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Would any of you AG/Kegging Gurus like to comment on this settled on the top of the FV, it has spent 3.5 days in the fridge with temp control between 3-4c & am about to keg or chuck it.

There are no bad smells & it is only on the top, otherwise it looks fine, I am thinking it is a result of CC or am I wrong?

Obviously, I am going to use the KL SS siphon from the top to do this due to the trub around the tap. This was the batch I messed up 2 weeks ago.

Cheers

Phil

 

Hi Phil, My advice is keep an eye on this beer as you empty the keg.  I think what you have in the FV is a pellicle.  I had one in a recent Passionfruit Sour beer.  The beer tasted normal.  However, about halfway through the keg, I noticed floaties in the beer.  It still tasted fine.  However, not knowing how good or bad they were, I decided to tip the keg.  I will be sanitising with something stronger than Stella San.  Maybe Iodophor or even Bleach.

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

@Shamus O'Sean I used up some very old Galaxy hops a fair while back in a Pacific Summer Ale and it ended up with what I would call a sour-ish taste.  I used them commando and they were in the beer for a day or two longer than planned so it could have been that mistake as well.   Good luck with yours

BTW I was at Bright Brewery a few weeks back and on their bar was a big tub of freshly picked Galaxy hop cones, picked that afternoon at the local hop producer's farm and the smell was just amazing.  If only our pellets smelt that same way, hey?

Thanks iBooz, Hopefully my Galaxy brew goes okay.  I could smell something  not quite right in the packet, so I probably should not have used them in the first place.  But I could also smell the usual Galaxy fruitiness too.  So I was tempted to take the risk.

A tub of fresh Galaxy hops sounds wonderful.  Did they let you grab 100g or so of them?

[Classic Brewing Co]

38 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi Phil, My advice is keep an eye on this beer as you empty the keg.  I think what you have in the FV is a pellicle.  I had one in a recent Passionfruit Sour beer.  The beer tasted normal.  However, about halfway through the keg, I noticed floaties in the beer.  It still tasted fine.  However, not knowing how good or bad they were, I decided to tip the keg.  I will be sanitising with something stronger than Stella San.  Maybe Iodophor or even Bleach.

Thanks, Shamus @Hoppy81 also said that, I will take that on board & watch out for it. I have White King Unscented Bleach in the laundry for such emergencies as much as I dislike using it, in fact I have the FV soaking in it overnight to be safe.

I will nuke it too death with hot then cold water in the morning & re- sanitise with SS.

Cheers for your input.

[Uhtred Of Beddanburg]

2 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Thanks, Shamus @Hoppy81 also said that, I will take that on board & watch out for it. I have White King Unscented Bleach in the laundry for such emergencies as much as I dislike using it, in fact I have the FV soaking in it overnight to be safe.

I will nuke it too death with hot then cold water in the morning & re- sanitise with SS.

Cheers for your input.

I reckon if it taste good etc the rest doesn't matter we sometimes get worked up on looks.  I have kegged beer with funky looking stuff on top and wondered if was bad.

Had taste tested it a few times up until a month and then dry hopped the keg for 2 days with a sanitised hop tube and removed and slowly drank it for another month. 

Smell and taste all the way if not crapping ur pants or it taste bad it's good.

And nothing wrong with bleach clean If well rinsed no difference than sodium percarbonate. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Uhtred Of Beddanburg

[Brauhaus Fritz]

On 4/26/2023 at 10:10 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi Kegory, Yes it was.  This will be interesting to taste when it is carbonated.  My version might not have the right balance.  Although the Dextrose virtually ferments completely and does not leave a sweetness, the fact that the original recipe's ABV is quite high, still offsets the bitterness and dominating flavour from the Roasted Barley (and the Chocolate Malt I added to my version).

Be patient and let it age a few month, I am sure it will be delicious.

[Classic Brewing Co]

7 hours ago, Uhtred Of Beddanburg said:

I reckon if it taste good etc the rest doesn't matter we sometimes get worked up on looks.  I have kegged beer with funky looking stuff on top and wondered if was bad.

Had taste tested it a few times up until a month and then dry hopped the keg for 2 days with a sanitised hop tube and removed and slowly drank it for another month. 

Smell and taste all the way if not crapping ur pants or it taste bad it's good.

And nothing wrong with bleach clean If well rinsed no difference than sodium percarbonate. 

Even with Extract brews you can get lots of weird, funny looking krausens & I have only ever had one out of many hundreds of brews that was infected/undrinkable due to a pinhole in the bottom of a brand-new fermenter. It became worse looking each day & giving off this putrid smell, I even saved the photo. As I don't live that far from the LHBS I took it there & it was replaced & I was given a replacement FV & new brew.

AG brews are different of course & I think we have diagnosed the problem with my latest brew so until it comes to pouring one from the keg, I will have to wait & see.

As far as Bleach goes, I use it for cleaning the bathroom/laundry/tiled areas etc. I would only use it for extreme circumstances like this not for everyday cleaning/sanitising. I have a range of products from Keg Land for my brewing equipment.

 

 

[iBooz2]

19 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

A tub of fresh Galaxy hops sounds wonderful.  Did they let you grab 100g or so of them?

No, was only allowed to take in a few good sniffs ha ha.  The staff there directed me to Hop Products Australia head office just up the road at Rostrevor where they said I could buy some but unfortunately by the time we headed back that way the HPA farm was closed for the day.  Next March will return an snaffle some for sure.

[Brauhaus Fritz]

On 4/25/2023 at 10:37 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Kegged my tribute to Mister Sinister tonight.

Tasting a bit more bitter than I had hoped.

My last bottle of Mr Sinister with chocolate malt, 20 months old and sooo gooood. I understand why you wanted to bring the Abv down, it is really packing a punch. But like you say, the sweetness balances the bitterness. Still have some bottles with roasted barley left, maybe have one next month.