I get my first corny keg kit today or tomorrow. However, my Freezer is being delivered with an electric range, so it doesn't arrive until the 13th!
and my temp controller is being shipped right now.
Question: I have an amber ale in secondary about a week. (two weeks in primary) It should be ready before the 13th. So If i were to throw it in my keg at room temp, put the pressure at about 12 PSI and wait it out to cold crash a week or more later when the freezer arrives, would this work?
Seems like the timing could be just about right. But i have never kegged before, so I really don't know for sure.
it wont harm anything to do it that way, but bear in mind, carbonation occurs more readily and easily when your beer is cold. do not forget to purge the air from your keg when you fill it. meaning, charge it with co2, then purge and repeat 3 times, then after your final purge, hit it with 30 psi, then reduce your regulator to 12psi for storage. once you get your keezer to the temp you want, take the gas off, and stabilize your keg temp, then carbonate properly.
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I'd keep it at room temperature, but put it at 30 psi (or check a carbonation table to ensure the correct volume of co2 for the temperature of your room). When your kegerator is set up, pull the pressure relief valve on the keg, put the keg in the kegerator and hook it back up at 12 psi. When chilled, drink it. Should be within an hour or two.
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Or just keg it and prime. In two weeks it will be ready to chill and serve.
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I would prefer not to prime... that is part of the reason i am getting the corny set up so I can force carb.
Also wouldn't i then need to cut the dip tube a bit shorter at the bottom?
I would rather just test it, clean it, then sanatize it with star san and get this process a rolling by this weekend.
The LHBS owner told me he thinks because my garage 55F on average i should do two weeks at 15 psi in there, then tranfer to the keezer when it is set up and ready. Should work out just fine.
You can definitely carbonate and even serve at or close to room temperature. My basement stays around 60F, and I carbed and served many kegs of beer without a refrigerator.
Yooper's advice is accurate: The solubility of CO2 in beer decreases as pressure rises. To carbonate properly, you'll have to pressurize to 30 PSI or more. Serving without massive foaming will require either VERY long beer lines, or blowing down the pressure to 2-5 PSI for serving. As the keg empties, you end up venting more and more CO2 to atmosphere every time you blow the keg down, so you end up using a lot of gas.
My solution was to keg and carb at cellar temperature, then dispense to growler or a 2l plastic bottle that I could put in the upstairs fridge for serving from. At least, that was my solution until I broke down and bought a fridge on Craigslist.
Edited to add: Even if you carb at room temp and chill before serving, you'll still need to carb at 30 PSI or so.
Example: Suppose you have a nice IPA that you want to carb at 2.5 volumes of CO2. If you carb at 70F, you'll need 29 PSI (per beersmith's carbonation tool). If you carbonate the beer at 15 PSI, you'll only get about 1.65 volumes of CO2. If you carb at 15 PSI at room temperature, then chill, you'll still only have 1.65 volumes in the keg, and your beer will be somewhat undercarbonated.
kegging at room temp?
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