Does anyone ever transfer and then crash their keg vs crashing in primary and then transferring? Any benefits in doing this other than less traub in the keg?
If you do crash in the keg, do you need any type of gas pressure on it?
Just enough to seal it and ensure that any O2 is purged. I normally keg and put on CO2 just so it can start to carb up. The next day I will fine with gelatin to help clarify while it carbs.
I cold crash in the keg so since it’s easier for me to fit the corny in and I can dry hop and carbonate at the same time. .
I crash in the keg. Cold crashing in a better bottle with an airlock is not a good idea.
Another +1 for crashing in keg while I carb. After a couple days I’ll fine with gelatin or Biofine (for styles I want crystal clear).
If you crash in the keg, wouldn’t all of the traub collect at the bottom of the dip tube and consistently flow out of the tap or get mixed up again once you start serving?
the first couple pints are gunky but then it clears out the area around the dip tube and pours clear till you bump or otherwise jiggle the keg. you can, once it’s pouring clear, transfer to another keg if you want to travel with it.
This is key, though. If you move your keg, you’ll get some cloudy pours again.
Not a big deal, for me. But if I’m worried, I do what Mort suggests. Crash, fine, and transfer to a new keg.
Why don’t you guys just add the gelatin when you keg it? It shouldn’t make much different should it?
Gelatin (or Biofine) seem to work better when you get the beer cold first - the directions for Biofine and several references to adding gelatin say to. I just like to give it a day or two to let the beer hit serving temp then add the fining.
For my lagers I cold-crash in the fermenter for 2-3 days at 30F, then transfer to a keg. For my ales I don’t generally bother with cold crashing.
I guess I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if you add it at kegging and then allow it to crash. It mixes in when racking the beer on top of it. But I don’t know…maybe it settles out and is worthless then…
I’ve read in several places that it’s more effective on chill haze when the chill is actually present (ie., cold temps). I don’t know, but it noticeably works better to me when the beer is cold first.
I always transfer my beer from conical to keg and then add my gelatin and put the keg under about 12 psi (style dependent) to condition and carbonate. After about 2-3 weeks I’ll fill up a pint with the gunk from the bottom of the keg. Works like a champ.
This. If you want to knock out chill haze, you have to let it form first.
Plus, I usually only fine after I know I need to. If I don’t need to, I don’t.
i crash in the fermentor for a few days at 30F also then transfer to keg. +1 for not crashing in a better bottle or any other pliable fermentor it will implode. Well it did on me once never again.
May I ask why? As I have done this before
I crash in carboy. Prefer to leave more sediment behind before transferring to keg and if applicable, it’s cold and ready for fining.
The contraction of the liquid and airspace as it rapidly cools will effectively create a vacuum and cave in some portion of the bottle if you have a better bottle dry airlock since it seals really well, IME. If you have some sort of breathable bung, it would suck in air (along with a portion of oxygen). If you have a standard airlock with liquid, it will potentially suck in that liquid leaving it exposed to air.
Yep same here. I have no desire to create stress lines (and potential cracks) in the thing.