Will the beer absorb all the CO2 if you only gas it once?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

davekippen

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
1,256
Reaction score
172
Location
Grand Ledge
Fairly new brewer, brand new kegger!

Couldnt find a direct answer to this: I am going to rack my first brew into a keg soon. I want to let it sit at room temp for a few more weeks. Can I hit it with gas once and then tuck it away? Will the beer absorb the CO2 and depressurize? In my mind it wont, but someone tell me its OK! The other part of me thinks it needs to be on gas until the beer has absorbed all it can at a given pressure?
 
You need to have a steady supply of gas and at room temperature you would need around 30psi. If you just gas it once it will absorb and then sit there flat. Other option would be to add sugar to prime and let it carb naturally like a giant bottle....so you have an answer. :D
 
You just need to hit it with enough to set seal and you can store it off the gas.
 
Fairly new brewer, brand new kegger!

Couldnt find a direct answer to this: I am going to rack my first brew into a keg soon. I want to let it sit at room temp for a few more weeks. Can I hit it with gas once and then tuck it away? Will the beer absorb the CO2 and depressurize? In my mind it wont, but someone tell me its OK! The other part of me thinks it needs to be on gas until the beer has absorbed all it can at a given pressure?

It will quickly absorb that tiny amount of gas, and result in little to no pressure in the headspace. As long as your kegs seal well, and there won't be any temperature fluctuations where you store it, it shouldn't be a problem though.
 
In effect you'll be keg conditioning at warm temps with CO2 simply used to purge the oxygen. You could do the same by filling the keg with CO2 before racking. It is heavier than air will sit in there until pushed up by the rising level of beer. Seal and let it sit in there. Your keg would then be a secondary fermenter. Then when ready chill and apply pressure to carbonate.
 
That other part is right. If you want full carbonation, you are probably aiming at more than 2 volumes of CO2. Think of it this way, the volume of CO2 you want in your beer is more than twice the volume of the keg itself under normal atmospheric pressure. There's just not enough headspace to force that much CO2 into the keg without putting it under really high pressure. High enough that it is not worth the risk.

That said, you can easily hit it with gas once and tuck it away. Unless the seal on the keg is old, then it should keep just fine, even as it absorbs some of the CO2 and reaches equilibrium. I might just keep an eye on the keg after a couple days just to make sure the seal holds. As for how much to hit it with, I'm not really sure how much.
 
Fairly new brewer, brand new kegger!

Couldnt find a direct answer to this: I am going to rack my first brew into a keg soon. I want to let it sit at room temp for a few more weeks. Can I hit it with gas once and then tuck it away? Will the beer absorb the CO2 and depressurize? In my mind it wont, but someone tell me its OK! The other part of me thinks it needs to be on gas until the beer has absorbed all it can at a given pressure?

I condition all my beers like this. First I crank up the co2 to around 40 and fill the keg for 15 secs. You should hear it start to bubble. Then I pull the release valve a few times in short burst to let out the oxygen. Lastly I will fill it again with co2 for another 15 secs. This leaves a layer of co2 resting above the liquid sealing your keg. I also recommend using keg lub on all the o rings to insure there are no leaks. Check for the first few days by pushing on lid to make sure it is sealed like another poster said. When your ready to carb the beer bring the to serving temp. When it is cold attach the co2 and set it to 12 psi and let it sit for a week in the fridge. Your beer will then be carbonated.
 
Thanks gang. I am not looking to have the beer carbed and ready to drink, I just want to have it sit for a while before it goes in the fridge.

I did just rack it and hit it with about 30 psi. Purged a few times. I think my blow off has a small leak! I can hear a tiny hiss. What now!!
 
Fix it BEFORE you hook it up to co2 to carb or you'll lose it all!!! I have heard tell that you can put keg lube on the seals to fix leaks, but can't say for sure. I use a spray bottle of star san to detect leaks.
 
I can't see how that damn release valve comes apart to lube it! I love learning new things but damn its frustrating sometimes!
 
Thanks gang. I am not looking to have the beer carbed and ready to drink, I just want to have it sit for a while before it goes in the fridge.

I did just rack it and hit it with about 30 psi. Purged a few times. I think my blow off has a small leak! I can hear a tiny hiss. What now!!

I would get keg lube and put it on the main seal. I had the same issue and tried to find the leak with soapy water and did not see anything. A little on the o rings and it was fixed. I also thought it was coming from the valve and used the keg lube as a last effort. I have had a lager in the keg for over 3 months and the keg is perfectly sealed. Good Luck
 
Like Wilsojos said - get that keg leak free. I lost a 5# tank of CO2 once from a seal leak on a corny.... :mad:
 
I can't see how that damn release valve comes apart to lube it! I love learning new things but damn its frustrating sometimes!

The release valve is not what needs to be lubed. The first timr I kegged a beer I lost 5lbs of co2 in a week. Then another after I returned the regulator and got a new one. I heard and felt the valve leaking and spent a while trying to take it off without any luck. Long story short...I got keg lube and put it on the large o ring on the lid. Problem fixed...by the sounds of it seems you have the same problem I did.
 
I love learning from you guys. Will hit LHBS tomorrow for keg lube and get the main seal lubed. Thanks for all the advice!!
 
I did hit all the seals with soapy water and could not see it, but I could hear it. I have it on gas at a very low pressure until tomorrow when I can get some lube
 
I ALWAYS hit my keg with 50 psi of gas.

Unhook gas and store.

I always do mine cold, but warm would be ok.

I imagine that when you cooled it, you would need to wait 24 hours or so for more co2 to absorb, then hit it with 14 psi or so to finalize and serve.
 
Two things:
Don't leave the gas on until after the keg is fixed. Even at low pressure you could lose the whole tank.

Remember when you're done conditioning and ready to carb the beer to drink to purge the gas before you set to serving pressure. There is a really good thread started by BobbyM that explains the science of co2 absorption when kegging.

To save you some time since the thread is really long, here's the short version. There are two basic methods, boost/burst carb or set and forget. Set and forget is the most reliable and scientific. After purging the gas, you just set to your serving pressure and leave it set for 3 weeks. Boost is less scientific and somewhat risky, but a lot of folks, including myself, have good success. My method is I set my chilled keg at 30 psi for 24 hours, turn the gas off, purge and then set to serving pressure. I normally get good beer in one week.

If you have any questions of what serving pressure to use you can search for the chart that shows serving pressure based on beer style and temperature.
 
Back
Top