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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Sign up to join this communityI 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!
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.