Creep City Brews

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I'm about to keg my beer in five gallon soda kegs. I have a CO2 tank and also priming sugar. I've heard of two different types of carbonating. One with priming sugar and also with the use of CO2. Is there anything different when using priming sugar to prime soda kegs than there is with doing the same with bottles?

And most importantly, how do I carbonate with a CO2 tank? Do I hook it up and put the keg under a high pressure (30 psi?) for a few days? Thanks.

PT Ray

Recipes 

You have the gist of it. If you use priming sugar I have read to use 1/2 cup sugar instead of the normal 3/4 for bottles. Some kegs will require you to apply some co2 pressure before the lid will seal. So put some gas to it and if it leaks increase the pressure until it seals. Many, including myslef just apply gas to it. The pressure it based on temp. and how much gas you want in your beer, but 30psi would be in the ballpark. The process can be sped up by shaking the keg with live pressure to add some suds in about 15 minutes. I prefer just to leave live pressure on it in the fridge for about a week. This allows the yeast to settle and pack. I have pretty clear beer until it gets near the bottom.

david_42

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If you chose to use priming sugar, use about 1/2 the amount you would use for bottles. I use CO2 mostly. 5 psi and 40F.

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Beermaker

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I prefer the CO2 to the sugar. Seems to be less trub or yeast bodies on the bottom, and less comes out in the first few glasses. Just my .02.

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El Pistolero

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Here's a primer on kegging just for reference.

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woodstone

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I believe you should be using 1/3 cup of priming sugar for a 5G corny. I use this and 8psi and have had no issues. A bit more here, a bit less there, who's counting.

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dbenzmaine

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I'm a friend of Creep City's. Thanks for all the tips everyone. We're going to force carbonate most of the kegs in this round with the CO2 but try a couple with priming sugar just for the sake of experimentation. Creep City is in Maine, but this particular round of brews is being made in Brooklyn.

bikebryan

Recipes 

Just a quick note about priming a corny: You need to use CO2 from a tank regardless. The lids on the kegs don't seal well until the tank has a little pressure in it, and the pressure buildup you get from priming is so slow it will just leak right out and not pressurize anything, let alone carbonate your beer. So you'll wait a couple of weeks, hook it up, and pour a glass of flat beer.

Since you need to pressurize with a CO2 tank before, and need the CO2 tank to push the beer after, why even bother with priming in the first place? All it does is give you more sediment in the keg!