Can I bottle from a pressure barrel?

[Polcho]

I have about a third of a King keg full of beer. I have a brew coming out of the fv Thursday or Friday. I tested the other KK and found it will leak.

Can I bottle from the KK without is spoiling?

I haven’t done bottling before, but I do have bottles.
And a crown capper.

 

[crowcrow]

You can, but it will lose carbonation - not all, but some.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

You can. Just pour from the KK into a jug and fill bottles from the jug. When I’ve done this I’ve also primed the bottles with a little sugar water.

I know others remove the KK cap and pour directly into bottles from the keg.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I tested the other KK and found it will leak.

Can’t you fix the leak? How did you test the KK out of interest?

 

[Polcho]

I 3/4 filled the KK, gassed it and checked it was coming out of the tap. I left it a day, opened the tap and nothing.
however, I did forget to put the sealing gel on.
would that make a large difference.

I now need to know how long after finishing fermentation can I leave the beer in fv without issues? Ideally I would like to wait until Saturday. That would be 2 days after the 10 Days. I haven’t checked the gravity yet, but it’s a very long time between bubbles.

 

[Cwrw666]

I now need to know how long after finishing fermentation can I leave the beer in fv without issues? Ideally I would like to wait until Saturday. That would be 2 days after the 10 Days. I haven’t checked the gravity yet, but it’s a very long time between bubbles.

I think most of us think 2 weeks is a good time as it lets fermentation finish and the beer begins clearing so less sediment in bottles. But another week shouldn't hurt.
BTW if your pressure barrel has lost pressure you can bottle straight from it but you'll need to prime the bottles.

 

[Bitter_Dave]

You can. Just pour from the KK into a jug and fill bottles from the jug. When I’ve done this I’ve also primed the bottles with a little sugar water.

I know others remove the KK cap and pour directly into bottles from the keg.

Won’t this oxidise the beer?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Won’t this oxidise the beer?

I did wonder about that myself when I first started doing it but so far, and after many hundreds of bottles, not one was oxidised.

I’ve never used the approach where you remove the cap so I can’t speak from experience about that approach.

 

[Buffers brewery]

@Polcho when I’ve tested my KKs in the past like you (3/4 fill and gas with CO2) I noticed that over several hours the pressure dropped significantly due to the CO2 dissolving into the water. I have a gauge on my caps so can see the pressure. Drops from 10 psi to 3 psi in a few hours. I would recommend using soapy water to check around the S30 valve as soon as you’ve pressurised to check for leaks - in my experience it’s usually one of the rubber seals/bands on the S30 valve.
I’ve left beer in the FV for a week after fermentation had finished with no problems. Don’t do it regularly though.

 

[Polcho]

Thanks for that, I never gave a thought to the water taking up the co2. I’ve tested as your suggested with soapy water, I didn’t see a leak.
I’m not happy enough to put a new brew into it though, so I’ve bottled the rest and cleaned the KK ready fir Saturday.
the fv is actually still bubbling, albeit up to a minute apart, so I’m hoping to be ok a couple of days over.
I think I’m going to have to look at corny kegs in the future.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Sometimes, if it's a slow leak it can take a while for it to show itself as a fine foam (not big bubbles). Also, put a coin over the S30 valve entry then spray around it. Just in case the non-return rubber is leaking.
I sympathize with you and your frustration. The King Keg barrel moulding us a pretty robust blow moulding in my estimation. It's the closure that lets it down. That's why I ended up making my own.

 

[Polcho]

Now that is dedication and perseverance right there!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Sometimes, if it's a slow leak it can take a while for it to show itself as a fine foam (not big bubbles). Also, put a coin over the S30 valve entry then spray around it. Just in case the non-return rubber is leaking.
I sympathize with you and your frustration. The King Keg barrel moulding us a pretty robust blow moulding in my estimation. It's the closure that lets it down. That's why I ended up making my own.
View attachment 46610

Very nicely made.
You could have just put that gauge on gas post connector and plugged it on and off that gas post for your readings
would have saved the bulkhead connector and some work! You would have had room for a Triclamp bulkhead and then could have put a butterfly valve on for dry hopping if that's your thing.

How did you make the female threaded bit that is wingnutted on ?

 

[Buffers brewery]

How did you make the female threaded bit that is wingnutted on ?

I made a pattern from a barrel cap and from that a silicone rubber mould. I cast either polyester or epoxy resin and the bolts are held in place while the resin sets. The casting is cut to create a clamp so it can be securely fixed to the barrel neck. This is what a polyester one looks like...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Buffers brewery
That is very neat, thought you might have done something like that. Was hoping that you had found a way to interpret the thread and get it 3d printed. Someone in Brazil is trying to make a new connector for the fermzilla as their collection vessel broke and not able to get a spare so was trying to make a new collar that could have triclamp fittings. I have forwarded this thread to them.
The thread is
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/fermzilla-dump-valve-adaption.691652/#post-9106273

 

[Buffers brewery]

@Buffers brewery
That is very neat, thought you might have done something like that. Was hoping that you had found a way to interpret the thread and get it 3d printed. Someone in Brazil is trying to make a new connector for the fermzilla as their collection vessel broke and not able to get a spare so was trying to make a new collar that could have triclamp fittings. I have forwarded this thread to them.
The thread is
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/fermzilla-dump-valve-adaption.691652/#post-9106273

I do have a 3-d model that I had printed. Sadly, it didn't work as I had made an error in either measurement or drawing and it didn't fit! . Fortunately I had already made my castings so not a big deal other than the cost of failure. Looking at the model in the post that's not going to be cheap!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I don't really know the only things I've had 3d printed I got done for free such as sleds for Ispindels. Keep thinking I need a 3d printer but then realise it would be like a pasta maker used then tucked away. I come from a dental background so the silicone impression and casting was my thought as well, very accurate and reasonably simple. Might be easier to find something with an equivalent lid and then fit a triclamp bulkhead fitting through that. It would have a flat bottom though with that route. It must be a standard thread of some kind on the fermzilla.

 

[Buffers brewery]

If the guy in Brazil has a broken jar that has the thread he's trying to copy, he needs to cut a section of the the thread and just measure it with some Vernier calipers. That's how I created my 3-d model.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I'll tell him about the calipers, which software did you use?

 

[Buffers brewery]

I use Turbocad. Very old but works (with limitations).
Just took a quick pic of the section I used to model my thread...

That's what he needs from his bottle. If he doesn't have any Vernier calipers and the thread is coarse, take a pic of it on some graph paper and enlarge it. Might work.