Re tap a keg??

[Baja Big Dog]

Cant think of a better place to ask an alcohol related question!!

Can a keg be re-tapped?? Full size keg....

In my finer days of drinking we never had to worry about re-tapping, only running out!!

 

[SBjet]

Sort of. We used to pump it up, then untap it. Then re-tap it the next day. Once you tap it, you have a limited amount of time before it goes flat.

Inventors:
Devise a keg for boating that doesn't get all shook up and foamy.

 

[Chipster27]

Here's my take, and I don't profess to be an expert.

The gas in beer is CO2, it's actually a by product of the fermentation process. When you buy a keg it should only have CO2 in it. As such the keg does not go flat.

If you tap it with a true system using CO2 as the gas then you should be able to tap and re-tap the keg as you wish, since you are not introducing a foreign gas.

When you tap the keg with a hand pump you are pumping in O2, or oxygen. The mixture of O2 and CO2 is what causes a keg to go flat. So if you tap it with a hand pump, then your keg is probably good for a day or so.

I have a 3 tap keg-o-rator and a 2 tap jockey box. I leave my kegs tapped for weeks with no noticeable degradation of the beer (although I'm sure it's happening). I also use my jockey box and tap kegs, then un-tap them and re-tap them days later and the keg is still good.

Sorry for the long explanation, but that's my understanding and the physics behind why the two methods provide different results.

 

[Lavey5150]

Is anyone else thirsty now...........

 

[Mandelon]

It depends on the age. I think Chip is pretty much right though. A basic liquor store air pumping tap will get the old beer out of the keg but it will be flat. Get a CO2 tank powered tap and it will replenish the original C02, and taste better...probably still not great though.

I had a kegerator for a while, and the mini kegs I used could be retapped. But just like punany...fresher is better! :skull :champagne:

 

[cruzer]

Some beers pressurize with Nitrogen but, we don't need to go there.

 

[Chipster27]

Some beers pressurize with Nitrogen but, we don't need to go there.

I believe Boddingtons is Nitrogen.

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

i like beer.

 

[Chipster27]

i like beer.

I like Hooters :thumbsup :boobeyes:

 

[RVRKID]

I like Beer with Hooters, or is it Hooters with Beer either way I like them both!!:boobeyes::beer

 

[charlyox]

:boobeyes::thumbsup

 

[Baja Big Dog]

This is on a C02 system, but we can use nitrogen ...