Oops, Forgot to Bleed the Keg

[Gymrat]

That said, when you bottled you simply put your beer in the bottle and capped. Kegging is no different. But you can get as anal about it as you want when you keg. The only time I think it really matters is if you want to age the beer a year or two in the keg.

[D_Rabbit]

Also, if I read this correctly. The CO2 is heavier and would settle on top of the beer pushing the oxygen higher in the keg and off of the beer until it was purged. I'm no science guy but I believe this is accurate. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Inkleg]

Also, if I read this correctly. The CO2 is heavier and would settle on top of the beer pushing the oxygen higher in the keg and off of the beer until it was purged. I'm no science guy but I believe this is accurate. Correct me if I am wrong.

Correct, you're wrong. If that were true we would be breathing large amounts of CO2 right now.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Should be good! I rigged up a 3/8 gas hose that hooks up to the auto-siphon with a liquid ball lock. Star-San, CO2 and push all the sanitizer out the hose rig to sanitize the hose and ball lock. Connect to auto-siphon, pull vent and fill thru the liquid dip tube from the bottom in a full CO2 environment. As it fills from the bottom it is pushing the residual CO2 thru the vent.

[D_Rabbit]

Also, if I read this correctly. The CO2 is heavier and would settle on top of the beer pushing the oxygen higher in the keg and off of the beer until it was purged. I'm no science guy but I believe this is accurate. Correct me if I am wrong.

Correct, you're wrong. If that were true we would be breathing large amounts of CO2 right now.

From what I have read on this.... multiple science sites..... the reason CO2 doesn't just float to the surface to the ground and kill us all is because of the air currents. The air currents are able to keep the CO2 and O2 levels mixed adequately for us so we don't all just fall over and die. Isn't mother nature kind! There isn't a huge difference in the density of the 2 which allows them to mix well with the assistance of the wind.

From what I have also read, grain in large grain silos where CO2 can chemically build up, the CO2 sinks more to the bottom. A worker who walks directly into the bottom of the silo may find that he has too much CO2/not enough oxygen and can't breath properly. From the Penn State agricultural website:
"Like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide is heavier than air so the highest concentration of gas is typically located at the silage surface, which is the area where a person will be going if they need to enter the silo for any reason."

To me this seems like an adequate comparison to a keg of beer with oxygen slightly at the top. Either way the minimal amount of O2 in the keg after initially kegging isn't enough to really oxygenate the beer. Most likely it will just blend in with the CO2 being pushed through the beer and nothing noticeable will appear.

[Kealia]

I'm no brainiac either but this has always been my undertstanding:
- CO2 is heavier than Oxygen if you believe the internet (44 grams per mole - a certain number of molecules - versus 32 grams per mole).
- In a closed environment (keg, bottle, etc.) the CO2 does create a "blanket" on top of the beer since it is heavier and will sink to the lowest air space possible (in relation to the oxygen)

So, if you don't purge your keg, but still hook it up to CO2, that incoming CO2 will still displace the oxygen that is 'touching' the beer.

In this particular instance, you could still purge the keg now if you wanted peace of mind.

[Knightmare]

Despite what these so-called experts say , your beer is most definitely ruined. Please send it to me promptly for proper disposal.

[mashani]

Sure send me beer too. Since you clearly ruined it.

But honestly - how long do you keggers keep beer in your kegs?

You get slight oxiginization when bottling too. If you leave it in the bottles for 8 months to 2 years maybe you start to notice it. (in some beers that are supposed to get that old it's actually desirable).

But if your kicking your kegs in 4 months I don't see any reason to spend even 5 seconds worrying about it. Anything in the headspace should be displaced by CO2 anyways... ???

[Beer-lord]

My kegs last me from 4-8 weeks with some as long as 3 months but I try to kill them in under 2 months.
I notice a range of changes from 'still a bit green' to 'perfect' to 'ready to kick'. If they start tasting like the flavors aren't as good, I then start some blending of beers. That's been fun.

[Inkleg]

But honestly - how long do you keggers keep beer in your kegs?

Welllllllllll, anywhere from 1-12 months for me. Depending on......well lots of factors. Right now my oldest is Sue Smoked Porter that was kegged in April.
I still have 3 bottles of Big Fuzzy RIS that were bottled after 10 months in the keg having been brewed May of 2014. Had a chance to do a side by side of Big Fuzzy RIS 2014 and 2015 (brewed in May), heck we loved them both.

[BlackDuck]

In this particular instance, you could still purge the keg now if you wanted peace of mind.

After I realized I did this, I did get out of bed, went down into the basement and purged the keg. So, by the sounds of all your expert advice, it sounds like my beer will be just fine!!!

[BlackDuck]

Anything in the headspace should be displaced by CO2 anyways... ???

OK...let me throw this out there, just to further this fun conversation. Since it's in a keg, which is a sealed evironment, you're saying that the oxygen would be displaced by the CO2....but where does it go? If it's been displaced and can't get out of the keg, does it get displaced back into suspension along with the CO2 that's being put into the keg? Things that make me go Hhhmmmm.....

[Kealia]

But honestly - how long do you keggers keep beer in your kegs?

On average I'm going to say that mine are in the keg for 2 months. But I've gone up to 6 months without issue, too (never gone longer).

For all the reasons stated I don't worry much about oxygen in my kegs but with Chris still being relatively new to kegging it isn't surprising for him to have concerns and questions the same way we all did when we first started brewing/bottling/batch priming, etc.

[Whamolagan]

Also, if I read this correctly. The CO2 is heavier and would settle on top of the beer pushing the oxygen higher in the keg and off of the beer until it was purged. I'm no science guy but I believe this is accurate. Correct me if I am wrong.

Correct, you're wrong. If that were true we would be breathing large amounts of CO2 right now.

If there were no wind

[Kealia]

Anything in the headspace should be displaced by CO2 anyways... ???

OK...let me throw this out there, just to further this fun conversation. Since it's in a keg, which is a sealed evironment, you're saying that the oxygen would be displaced by the CO2....but where does it go? If it's been displaced and can't get out of the keg, does it get displaced back into suspension along with the CO2 that's being put into the keg? Things that make me go Hhhmmmm.....

Going back to the weight, it should get pushed to the top of the keg since it's lighter than the CO2 and beer. That's why it gets pushed put of the vent when you pull it.

I'm sure somebody smarter than me can explain this at a more granular, even molecular,level.