Transferring carbonated beer from keg to a bootle at room temperature

[eltomek]

Hi,
Will counter-pressure bottle filler allow me to transfer carbonated beer from keg to a bootle at room temperature?

Due to my apartment space limitation I can't afford having Cornelius kegs and cool them down but I have a storage room in a public basement where I can keep my kegs at ~63*F / 17*C. I am thinking about filling 1-2 liter PET bottles "on-demand"/when I need it with the beer down there in the basement and then cool them down in my home fridge. But I am afraid that instead of a liquid beer I will have foam going out of a keg.
I can't have the fridge down there in the public basement.

Looking over the internet I stumbled upon this counter-pressure bottle filler that might help keepng the beer in liquid state: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000002481993.html

I don't have any of the kegging equipment yet to be able to make the test and will appreciate any hints and comments if it makes sense. I really need to get rid of bottling

Best regards,
/e

 

[IslandLizard]

If the beer is at room temp, you're going to get foaming and lose carbonation, even when using a counter pressure method. You could try with a simple handmade rig. Such as using a drilled #2 stopper over your bottling wand or a (sawed off) plastic racking cane, to seal the bottle opening. Then squeezing the stopper, allows some gas to escape slowly while the bottle fills. This is the essence of the "I need no stinkin' beer gun" thread.

You can recarbonate your filled PET bottles to the intended carb level using a carbonation cap. This works faster with a carb stone attached to the stem.

Now seriously, there's really no space in your apartment for a small refrigerator or keezer that can hold 2-4 kegs?
You can always put a shelving unit over it to reclaim the lost floor space.

"Where's a will there's a way..."

 

[Curtis2010]

(edit: Duh, like described in the post above...I dont need no stinkin' beer gun!)

They are nice, but you dont really need the fancy counter pressure filler unless you plan to fill a lot of bottles.

I fill 1 liter flip top bottles from my kegs. I built my own filler by drilling a hole thru a spare bottle cap, pushing tubing thru the hole and connecting the tubing to a "picnic tap"...which in turn connects to the keg.

Gentle hand pressure is plenty to seal the drilled cap against the bottle mouth, let a little gas escape as liquid fills the bottle, but maintain enough pressure to keep CO2 in solution. Flow is controlled with other hand on picnic tap, fill then flip top into place. About 8psi CO2 at keg. Quick, easy, no mess.

Come to think of it my use is similar to yours in apartment/basement because my cervecería (brewery) at my place in Guatemala is about 100 meters away from the main house. So I usually fill a liter bottle or two and bring them up to the main house, more if we have guests.

 

[Jag75]

I'm not sure I'd even bother with kegs if I didnt have the means to keep cool . I would just bottle then move a 6 pack into your fridge every so often.

 

[eltomek]

Now seriously, there's really no space in your apartment for a small refrigerator or keezer that can hold 2-4 kegs?
You can always put a shelving unit over it to reclaim the lost floor space.

No, not really. I already have 2 fridges in my kitchenette - the regular one, for my family and another one, a built-in one as a fermentation chamber. Unfortunately, the only option was a built-in one but all fridges of this type that are available where I live have "ventilation duct" at the front therefore not leaving enough vertical space to fit the Cornelius kegs.

Shelving idea is to be considered though, I need to negotiate with my wife a bit