diff --git a/lib/bcoin/writer.js b/lib/bcoin/writer.js
index a59ce125..92e06e7b 100644
--- a/lib/bcoin/writer.js
+++ b/lib/bcoin/writer.js
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ function BufferWriter(options) {
   this.written = 0;
 }
 
-BufferWriter.prototype.render = function render() {
+BufferWriter.prototype.render = function render(keep) {
   var data = new Buffer(this.written);
   var off = 0;
   var i, item;
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ BufferWriter.prototype.render = function render() {
     }
   }
 
+  if (keep !== true)
+    this.destroy();
+
   return data;
 };