Keg it early?

beerlord · August 27, 2012, 3:31pm

I’ve got a batch of Caribou Slobber that won’t be three weeks in the fermenter until 3 more days. I’ve not checked the SG but I’m very sure it’s completed fermentation.
Due to the hurricane (well, it’s not a hurricane yet) coming my way and the fact that I know we’ll loose power and I’ll loose the ability to keep the fermenter cool, I was thinking of kegging 3 days early.
Now I know it will condition in the keg and I was going to do that as well but I wanted to keep it in the fermenter a bit longer to clear.

Anyone see any problem with kegging it now? I’m thinking it’s not a problem.

roffenburger · August 27, 2012, 3:47pm

I would do it. You could even cold crash it for a day to drop some additional yeast out of suspension too.

shadetree · August 27, 2012, 3:49pm

As long as you’ve reached terminal gravity, it’s fine to transfer (let the beer set the schedule).

beerlord · August 27, 2012, 4:01pm

Figured that. Thanks.
At least I have about 8 gallons in the kegerator to drink and a generator to keep it cold.

luckydogbrewer · August 27, 2012, 11:42pm

We dodged the huricane but are now getting tornado warnings from the outer bands. You don’t say where you are but I hope you can stay safe.

nighthawk · August 28, 2012, 12:03am

So, what will the difference be with the beer being in the keg with out temp control or being in a pail/carboy with out temp control?

Ya, keg it. If something unfortunate happens, your beer will be ready to drink.

dean_palmer · August 31, 2012, 6:14pm

The beer doesn’t know what container it is in, so no worries, not much more CO2 is being produced if any. If the main fermentation is over there is no reason you can’t store it in a sealed keg for clearing and conditioning.

goldenchild · September 2, 2012, 4:35am

98% of the beer that I brew Go into a keg in two weeks.

beer_lord · September 3, 2012, 6:12pm

I’m just west of New Orleans and lost power for 5 days. I managed ok with a generator keeping 2 refrigerators and my kegerator cold. I did keg the Slobber on Monday before the storm but have a Breakwater Pale Ale that was too early to keg but I managed to keep it at or below 68. Took work but I have some priorities.

beerlord · September 24, 2012, 2:21pm

With only 5 days on gas I gave this a taste test yesterday. It’s very good but still a tad bit green. I think in another week this one will be ready for prime time. I like the grapefruit aroma that citra gives. Doesn’t appear to be as strong as Simcoe.