Transporting Fermented Wort in a Car

[zyx345]

I have a 5 gallon batch of IPA in my glass carboy. My GF is willing to help me bottle it and I want to bring it to her house which is a 45 minute drive (mostly highway).

I plan to remove the airlock and plug up the top of the carboy with my carboy cap. Next place the carboy in a milk crate and place it on the floor of the passenger side.

Any issues that could arise from this? Since the wort is done fermenting if I plug up the carboy and drive, will C02 pressure build up to a level of concern?

 

[freisste]

If you get pulled over, you'll have some 'splaining to do.

 

[h22lude]

Hahaha I thought an open bottle was bad...an open 5 gallon carboy will put you behind bars for years lol Nah I don't think they will do anything as long as you don't smell of alcohol. Plus they don't know what it is.

You have two issues to look out for. 1) you are going to be mixing around all that trub back into the beer so when you get there you will have to let it settle again 2) splashing too much O2 into the beer causing oxidation. If you put the milk crate on a few pillows to soften any bumps that might make it better. You might be ok though because right now you should have all CO2 on top since it was just fermenting so if you can remove the airlock and cap it quickly letting as little CO2 out and O2 in.

 

[frazier]

First of all, the technical term for fermented wort is "beer".

If it were me, I would take it over the day before, so it has some time to re-settle.

 

[m_stodd]

Wear a hazmat suit and get some bio-hazard stickers to put on the carboy. I doubt a cop will want to spend much time with you if you get pulled over. Also drive 30+ over the limit the entire way.

The above is optional, but I have transported fermented wort before. I'd suggest leaving the airlock in. It's going to splash around a lot, and that's going to release a lot of CO2. If you plug the carboy, it won't stay plugged for long. One thing I would do is make sure the entire airlock is sanitized, and fill it with vodka or something in case some liquid gets sloshed into the beer.

A thought occurs: cooling the beer as much as possible will help keep dissolved gasses in the beer when being sloshed around

 

[Harvestsmiles]

I want to subscribe to this thread just to hear the outcome Seriously though, maybe it be easier to bring your GF over to your place. You wouldn't even have to put her in a milk crate, unless she's "that" kind of girl

The possibility of shaking up the carboy steers me away from this kind of transport. You will need to let it settle (24+ hours) before bottling. If all the supplies are at your place keep it all there and pick her up.

But if it's set you gotta take the carboy for a ride I would suggest cooling it and going with the Vodka in the airlock, I wouldn't replace the airlock.

 

[Doctor_Wily]

Maybe it's just me but having someone trying to help me bottle a 5 gallon batch would really just drive me nuts. i'm more of a "just crank it out real quick" kind of person. Then again, this may be a way to bond or something, lol.

I agree with the suggestion of bring her to the beer if possible. Again, these have already been mentioned but my concerns would be mixing up the trub, CO2 degassing and blowing your stopper without an air lock (i'd leave an airlock in), spilling, etc.

Keep us posted on what happens!

 

[ReddHead]

My first two beers I drove an hour the day after I brewed it while it was fermenting. I didn't have my own burner and kettle yet. Both turned out great.