Keg to bottle questions

[Hayzer]

Because I'm getting a little behind on bottling (Want to drink these March 21st)....

What's your opinion on kegging, carbing a few days, then bottling a week ahead of drinking time? Also, I want the keg for another brew to take on 21st.

Would you carbonate then bottle all the way up to that cap? Is that even feasible? Would I lose carbonation?

[John Sand]

I keg carb by setting pressure at 30psi for 30 hours, then turning down to serving pressure and vent the keg. This gets me carbed in fewer days than set and forget. I bottle as full as I can, but even when there is the standard space there, the bottles stay carbed.

[Hayzer]

I bottle as full as I can, but even when there is the standard space there, the bottles stay carbed.

John, how long do you think your bottles stay carbed this way?

[BlackDuck]

If the beer is fully carbed before you bottle it, it will stay carbed for a very long time. As long as the cap is tightly secured and there is no other way for the CO2 to vent out of the bottle.

[John Sand]

I bottle as full as I can, but even when there is the standard space there, the bottles stay carbed.

John, how long do you think your bottles stay carbed this way?

Years.

[Hayzer]

I bottle as full as I can, but even when there is the standard space there, the bottles stay carbed.

John, how long do you think your bottles stay carbed this way?

Years.

Well then why even carb for four weeks in a bottle? That's crazy talk. I discovered a while new way to deer more beer faster. This is much more gooder!. Thanks guys. No more waiting around for my beer.

[Kealia]

FYI - you don't have to fill the bottles 100% full. And notice that pro brewers don't do this either. Fill to about 1-inch from the top. Place cap on top, hold with finger, invert the bottle to cause the beer to foam, when the foam pushes the cap up, cap it down.
The foam pushes out any oxygen and effectively purges the bottles.

[Hayzer]

FYI - you don't have to fill the bottles 100% full. And notice that pro brewers don't do this either. Fill to about 1-inch from the top. Place cap on top, hold with finger, invert the bottle to cause the beer to foam, when the foam pushes the cap up, cap it down.
The foam pushes out any oxygen and effectively purges the bottles.

GREAT idea! That is exactly what I will do. Thank you for the help.

[FedoraDave]

Wow, great info! I've kind of wondered this myself, as I much prefer kegging, but still want to have bottles available to share with friends. I'll have to give this a try. I'm going to assume it works just as well whether using bombers or 12-oz. longnecks.

[bpgreen]

I haven't bottled from a keg in a long time. When I did, I used a Blichman beer gun.

But I really like the idea of using the foam to push out the oxygen. Low tech, inexpensive, effective