Lagering Oktoberfest in Keg

[BrokenKnucklesBrewery]

I have an Oktoberfest fermenting in the low 50's right now. After it has finished and i've done my necessary d-rest, i was going to transfer it into a keg and lager it in my keezer. My question is, do i need to hook co2 or a blow off up to it, or can i just seal it up in the keg and lager until done?

Thanks

 

[Xandir]

I would hook the CO2 line to it and then open the top pressure relief valve to flood the head space with CO2 and make sure there is no oxygen sitting on top of the beer. Disconnect the CO2 and close the vent - positive CO2 pressure at this point will carb your beer and stress the yeast.

Then put it in your lagering chamber and follow your lagering schedule as planned. And occasionally crack the relief valve to release any built up CO2 pressure.

One bit of advice on the keg though - you will get a yeast cake at the bottom of your keg during lagering. I would suggest trimming (with a rotary pipe cutter) about 1/4" off the out tube (the long one) so that when you pull the beer off the cake, you don't suck up a bunch of yeast along with your beautiful clear beer. You can trim more than 1/4", if you like, but I would suggest starting at 1/4" and seeing if that is enough. Just remember, the shorter the tube, the more of your precious beer gets left behind!

Good luck!

 

[osagedr]

I have an Oktoberfest fermenting in the low 50's right now. After it has finished and i've done my necessary d-rest, i was going to transfer it into a keg and lager it in my keezer. My question is, do i need to hook co2 or a blow off up to it, or can i just seal it up in the keg and lager until done?

Thanks

You can do it either way. Since your yeast are finished their work after your d-rest I wouldn't worry too hard about whether they're "stressed" given that your lagering temperatures would make them dormant anyway. Definitely purge all the oxygen out of your keg for longer-term storage though!

 

[Rockn_M]

I lagered my Oktoberfest in my keg. In fact I just tapped it last night and it sure was good. I had it laggering since the beginning of May. There was a little bit of yeast at the bottom. I just poured about half a pint and it started comming out clear.

 

[Hammy71]

I lager in the keg all the time. Like Xandir said, purge the head space with CO2. Instead of cutting the dip tube (and leaving beer in the bottom of your keg when you reuse it for something else), after the lager period I transfer the beer to another keg for serving. Gets it off the compacted yeast cake in the keg and helps clear the beer.

 

[BrokenKnucklesBrewery]

Thanks guys!

Rockn M....that beer looks awesome!:rockin: