Filter and kegging beer

[thisisbeer]

I am getting set up to keg my beer and had a couple questions. Is there much of a flavor difference from bottle conditioning and force carbing in the keg? I would imagine there will be some difference but how extreme is it?

I was also wanting to occasionally (just certain batches for friends) filter a beer and bottle from the keg. I was thinking i should cold condition for a couple weeks before i filter and keg. I'm assuming they would be able to drink it from the bottle if I did this? This would be to make these beers more...portable.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Bottle conditioning will leave the yeast sediment that if you are not careful in pouring will add flavor to the beer. Force carbonated in the keg won't have this possibility. If you pour them carefully from the bottle both will be nearly identical (from my experience).

I have bottled from the keg before. The key is to get the keg extra cold before bottling so that you have some extra CO2 in solution, this way when you put it in a bottle at atmospheric pressure and some of the CO2 comes out to fill that space you still have enough carbonation. If you put what tastes good in a pint into a bottle and cap it, the bottle will be slightly flatter when opened a few days later.

 

[hunter_le five]

In my experience, there flavor difference is negligible. There's less risk of getting yeasty flavor from the sediment in the bottom of the bottle, if you're worried abut that sort of thing.

Definitely cold condition a few weeks before filtering. This will not only make it easier to filter (the more particles you drop out of suspension naturally, the less work the filter has to do), it will also improve the flavor.

After filtering, force-carbonate in the keg a few weeks and then bottle. It may be difficult to bottle-carb after you've stripped a bunch of the yeast out.

As for bottling from the keg, check out this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

 

[thisisbeer]

I would only be filtering beer that would be bottle from the keg. The only reason I'm considering filtering is so me and my friends can drink straight from the bottle on fishing trips, BBQ, etc.

 

[thisisbeer]

Well I guess I wouldn't need to filter. I can still bottle from keg to drink straight from bottle right?

 

[hunter_le five]

I filter my beer sometimes, but honestly most of the time it's not even necessary, even when bottling from the keg.

If you cold crash/cold condition the primary and force carb, the beer should be pretty darn clear and sediment free by the time you bottle (especially if you use irish moss and/or gelatin finings).

Edit: Didn't see your last post until after I posted this. Short answer is yes. Since you are not bottle carbing, you won't be getting the yeasty sediment at the bottom of your bottles.

 

[BansheeRider]

Just remember that when filtering you are stripping the yeast out of the beer. That means you have to carbonate in the keg then bottle.