5 replies to this topic

[jerzeyramfan]

I am switching from using 5 gallon kegs to the smaller 3 gallon kegs so I can split my batches among both bottles and kegs.I was wondering if anyone can share their best practices for doing this? Do you force carbonate the entire batch then transfer to bottles and a 3 gal keg? Or do you split the batch before carbonation and use priming sugar in the bottles?

[Genesee Ted]

I like to naturally carb my kegs so if it was my thing, I would just add the priming sugar as normal and then keg the 3 gals and then bottle the rest. I know that it is recommended to use less sugar for kegging, but I just bleed off any extra CO2 produced. I have never noticed a problem with excess foaming.

[jerzeyramfan]

Glad I asked the question.... that is one method I didn't even think of!Please, keep the suggestions coming!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Probably an obvious suggestion but you could just transfer 3 gallon to your keg, force carbonate over a week then bottles the rest with priming sugar and let them sit for a month and drink and give out. That way if the keg is gone in a month you can start cracking open the bottles unless you have given them all away too. You can also compare side by side the difference if any between both carbonation methods. Enjoy, where did you get the 3 gallons. Love to get some myself too for some high gravity brews.

[jerzeyramfan]

The 3 gallon kegs were scored on ebay.... no true way to get a 'good deal' on them, unfortunately. I bought 2 from one seller and one of them had a slow leak on the IN post weld. Tried to fix it with some StayBrite silver solder - looked perfect - attached the gas to it and a weak spot on the bottom of the keg had opened up beneath the rubber bottom. I guess the heat from the torch was too much for the keg to take. I'm starting to think that the new 3 gallon kegs are really the only way to go here. Especially after you pay seller shipping fees on ebay and replace all of the gaskets and/or worn parts on the kegs.Live and learn.

[ncbeerbrewer]

The 3 gallon kegs were scored on ebay.... no true way to get a 'good deal' on them, unfortunately. I bought 2 from one seller and one of them had a slow leak on the IN post weld. Tried to fix it with some StayBrite silver solder - looked perfect - attached the gas to it and a weak spot on the bottom of the keg had opened up beneath the rubber bottom. I guess the heat from the torch was too much for the keg to take. I'm starting to think that the new 3 gallon kegs are really the only way to go here. Especially after you pay seller shipping fees on ebay and replace all of the gaskets and/or worn parts on the kegs.Live and learn.

That is good information to remember. I have seen the new ones but never wanted to pay the $$$. At least they would be reliable, thanks for the insight and hope your batch splitting goes well too.