Can I bottle after beer is primed & conditioned in a keg?

[Sportyfish]

Hi, I am all very new to this.
I have realised its a steep learning curve on what to do and more importantly not to do!
Anyway, I am doing a Wherry kit, I've done the primary and now have it kegged so after a couple of weeks carbing can I bottle some then or should I let it condition in the keg first?

I've really caught the bug, already can't wait to get the next kit on the go. Am planning the Ballihoo IPA. Anyone with any thoughts on this kit?

 

[RobWalker]

the keg for most people is usually the last stop before your beer hits your glass...

do you want it in bottles instead of in your keg? if so you can syphon it into bottles but you'll need to reprime.

 

[daf]

See above, the ale is 'live' so bung in half a tsp of sugar in the bottle and leave for a few weeks.

 

[Billyb83]

Hello Mate, I am pretty new to this as well so thought I would try to pass on my small amount of knowledge....

If you are bottling, all conditioning and carbing should be done in the bottle If you have kegged, as soon as you start trying to transfer to bottle you are going to lose most of your carbing because its not under pressure.

If it is nicely under pressure in a keg then you should just drink straight from there, you need to keep it under pressure or it will start going off. Have you added your priming sugar yet?

 

[Sportyfish]

Thanks for the advice.
I've already primed the keg so will now leave in there.
My only reason for thinking about bottling was for longer term storage. I don't think I'll be short of guests wanting to help me drink the beer!
Will bottle a batch post fermentation next time around.
It's carbing now, then due to going away it's likely to condition in the garage for around four weeks. Does that sound like a decent plan?
Anyone know how long it'll keep for in a good condition in the keg?

 

[Rhys]

Hello Mate, I am pretty new to this as well so thought I would try to pass on my small amount of knowledge....

If you are bottling, all conditioning and carbing should be done in the bottle If you have kegged, as soon as you start trying to transfer to bottle you are going to lose most of your carbing because its not under pressure.

If it is nicely under pressure in a keg then you should just drink straight from there, you need to keep it under pressure or it will start going off. Have you added your priming sugar yet?

Unless you have Blichmann Beer gun or a counter pressure bottle filler.

 

[RobWalker]

Thanks for the advice.
I've already primed the keg so will now leave in there.
My only reason for thinking about bottling was for longer term storage. I don't think I'll be short of guests wanting to help me drink the beer!
Will bottle a batch post fermentation next time around.
It's carbing now, then due to going away it's likely to condition in the garage for around four weeks. Does that sound like a decent plan?
Anyone know how long it'll keep for in a good condition in the keg?

Easily 6 months, if you keep it out of sunlight. Cover it with a cardboard box or whatever. I've never known a keg of beer last longer than that - because it gets drunk - so after that it's a non issue imo :lol: but yes, bottles are much better for longer term storage because you can just put them away and forget about them :thumb:

 

[kev]

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons.......carbonation and conditioning in a keg then bottling is EXACTLY how the Blichmann beer gun works.

I've been using it for a while and am really impressed with the results.

The key is to transfer fro. The keg to the bottle under the least pressure as you can manage. With a cornie it's dead easy as you can dial in the exact pressure but with a king keg or whatever it would be a right pain.

K

 

[brewtim]

Here's something to try, prepare some priming solution (calculated sugar solution boiled and cooled, use a 20% reduction in sugar to allow for the fact that your beer contains CO2 already) enough for say 6-8 bottles (3-4 litres) and prime your bottles ready for beer. From the keg transfer your beer using a jug into the bottles, hopefully you will lose some carbonation and carefully fill your bottles trying to keep foaming to a minimumn, leave a normal amount of headspace in the bottle and cap, follow the usual carbing routine 1-2 weeks warm to allow the bottles to carb, then into the cold for a few hours/days.

This will allow you to transport some of your beer in bottles and it should be carbed and nice to drink from the bottle, it will leave the rest of your beer in the keg so if it all goes wrong with the bottle priming (which it won't) then at least you will still have beer to drink.

There is a small risk of oxygenation and or infection with this method during transfers but as long as you are santitary it won't get infected and as the beer already has CO2 in solution there should be minimum O2 take-up which will probably be consumed as the yeast converts the sugars into CO2 in the bottle.

You might find you have 2 different tasting beers to enjoy into the bargain.

:thumb:

 

[oldbloke]

I'm thinking a Little Bottler (or equivalent wand) would minimise foaming?
But not having tried it, don't know for sure.
Simplest to leave this one in the keg, I reckon.

 

[adman1966]

If you decide to try and bottle some it will help to cool the beer as much as possible.
If you can get it down to around 2 C it will minimise the amount of foaming as the beer is transferred. It will also keep more C02 in the beer.
If you read the bottling section in Graham Wheelers BYOBRA book you will see that he recommends coditioning in the barrel before bottling.
As you have pointed out, it is a steep learning curve and there is all sorts of different advice on the internet. The only way to be certain is to try things out and see if/how they work. Half the fun is the experimentation!