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I have about 3 gallons worth of IPA that are sitting in bottles. I just got a new 5 gallon keg and I really want to use it. Would it be a good idea to empty my bottles into the keg or is this something I should never do?

Thanks!

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Brew more beer. :) – Dustin Rasener Nov 16 '11 at 3:26
@Dustin: That should be an answer! Also, it should probably be the answer to most brewing questions :) – JoeFish Nov 18 '11 at 15:54

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Is your IPA in the bottles any good? Is the carbonation OK? If so, then do not do this, or you risk ruining the beer.

Moving the beer from bottles to a keg introduces a great deal of oxygen into the beer, which will dramatically shorten the shelf life of the brew and possibly introduce off flavors pretty quickly.

Having said that, I actually did this exact thing 2 weeks ago. A friend of mine had a batch of pumpkin ale that never carbed in the bottle, so we carefully poured the bottles into a keg and charged it up. HOWEVER, the beer wasn't great (not sure if it was the base beer or the transfer to the keg) and I don't expect it to get any better, in fact, it will probably start getting worse.

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You're spot on with the oxidation comment. If you do attempt this, purge the keg of air first by hooking up your gas line to the OUT post of your keg. – Dustin Rasener Nov 16 '11 at 3:27
I wish I knew what jacking up my beer was. – brewchez Nov 19 '11 at 2:55
+1 on don't do it unless you're trying to rescue a beer. "Jack up" means "mess up", I think. – Dale Nov 19 '11 at 14:31

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