Back on July 17th, I decided to brew a beer with some figs. We have a large fig tree and it was loaded. So I took a Farmhouse Ale recipe and modified it to include 2 lbs of figs for a 2.5 gallon batch.
Everything went as planned. 2 weeks in the fermenter and then to the keg. I had a bit extra, so I was able to fill two bottles as well. I carbonated naturally with sucrose as I usually do. I also had a taste and it was pretty good.
Two weeks after kegging, I sampled one of the bottles. Very god, just a bit more sediment at the bottom than usual. I chilled the keg and tapped it on Friday. I got one good glass and then the entire system plugged up.
When I looked at the beer lines I could see big globs of something. So I pulled the keg out of the keezer and siphoned as much as I could into bottles and sealed them. I them took apart the keg system and cleaned out all of the goop.
Theory: When I prepared the figs for the wort, I probably heated them too much and liberated the pectin. I am guessing that when the keg cooled, lots of suspended pectin droplets consolidated into larger particles.
The good: Beer tastes good with just a slight fig taste.
The bad: Globules plugged up the whole system.
Does anyone else have any theories or suggestions for next time?
Everything went as planned. 2 weeks in the fermenter and then to the keg. I had a bit extra, so I was able to fill two bottles as well. I carbonated naturally with sucrose as I usually do. I also had a taste and it was pretty good.
Two weeks after kegging, I sampled one of the bottles. Very god, just a bit more sediment at the bottom than usual. I chilled the keg and tapped it on Friday. I got one good glass and then the entire system plugged up.
When I looked at the beer lines I could see big globs of something. So I pulled the keg out of the keezer and siphoned as much as I could into bottles and sealed them. I them took apart the keg system and cleaned out all of the goop.
Theory: When I prepared the figs for the wort, I probably heated them too much and liberated the pectin. I am guessing that when the keg cooled, lots of suspended pectin droplets consolidated into larger particles.
The good: Beer tastes good with just a slight fig taste.
The bad: Globules plugged up the whole system.
Does anyone else have any theories or suggestions for next time?
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