Quick question about natural carbination in a keg....

So I've decided that I want to go the route of letting my beer naturally carbonate in the keg at room temperature by using priming sugar. I would prefer not to force carbonate. My beer has been in the primary for 3 weeks. I think it would be best to let it condition in the keg at room temperature for another 2-3 weeks rather than putting the keg in the cold under co2 using the "set it and forget it" method. My question is this....

.....after the conditioning period is over and I'm ready to hook up the keg to the co2 do I set the psi at the normal level that I would have if I had decided to carb by the "set it and forget it" method (like around 9psi for an IPA)? Or, do I want to set the psi low to around 1-2 psi since the keg is already carbonated? I read a few dozen threads and I think I've only confused myself more...

hey richard, I carbonate my beer the same way but since I dont have enough space in my fridge, I transfer the carbonated beer from my 5g keg to my 3g keg using a jumper. Then I stick my 3g keg in the fridge, purge it, hook up the gas, set it to about 12 psi, and start pullin pints.

so once you are sure enough time has passed to carbonate/condition the beer, just purge it and then throw it in the fridge with the gas set to serving pressure and you should be fine.

OK, a couple of things. Here's what I do. Everyone has their own way, but this works for me. After primary, I put it in secondary for at least a month. I rack it from secondary to the keg with ~1/3 to 1/2 cup dextrose, depending on style, dissolved in 3/4 cup of wort. If I'm going into a corny keg, I put about 20 psi on the liquid out side and lift on the bale to make sure its seated and leave the 20 psi of CO2 on it. I disconnect the keg and let it sit at room temp (~70-72F) for 1 month. I put it in the fridge overnight with the CO2 hooked up normally and set at 9-12psi. The next day, I pull a glass to see if I need to bleed off some CO2. Usually, after the first 2 glasses, everything is fine.
You can cut out the secondary and some people cut times on the other steps. However, if you don't secondary, you'll end up with more sediment in your keg which will eventually end up in your glass. Finally, if you have the correct brew schedule, the time between your first keg and the second one will be the only time you have to wait. In other words, time it so your next batch is ready before the current one runs out. Luck - Dwain

Not really a hijack since it's related to the OP's subject...

I wonder if you even need to dissolve your priming sugar in water if you're naturally carbing in a keg. Just pour it in and rack onto it. The yeast'll find it either way, won't it?

ChshreCat said:

I wonder if you even need to dissolve your priming sugar in water if you're naturally carbing in a keg. Just pour it in and rack onto it. The yeast'll find it either way, won't it?

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Oh silly kitty, of course you want to boil up the sugar. You don't want to plug your tube with sugar residue do you?

Nurmey said:

Oh silly kitty, of course you want to boil up the sugar. You don't want to plug your tube with sugar residue do you?

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Oh... that happened to me once. Hadda go to a urologist to get it checked out... :fro:

Everyone freaks about infection, so I sanitize my measuring cup and dissolve the dextrose in some of the wort. That way, I don't have to boil water. I guess the dextrose could be contaminated, but I've never had a problem. - Dwain

Richard-SSV said:

So I've decided that I want to go the route of letting my beer naturally carbonate in the keg at room temperature by using priming sugar. I would prefer not to force carbonate. My beer has been in the primary for 3 weeks. I think it would be best to let it condition in the keg at room temperature for another 2-3 weeks rather than putting the keg in the cold under co2 using the "set it and forget it" method. My question is this....

.....after the conditioning period is over and I'm ready to hook up the keg to the co2 do I set the psi at the normal level that I would have if I had decided to carb by the "set it and forget it" method (like around 9psi for an IPA)? Or, do I want to set the psi low to around 1-2 psi since the keg is already carbonated? I read a few dozen threads and I think I've only confused myself more...

Click to expand...

If one is carbonationg naturally in a corny, one of these is really handy: https://morebeer.com/view_product/16771//Adjustable_Pressure_Relief_Valve Then set your pressure to dispense as normal when you hook up. No sugar is needed, just set the pressure you desire and let it be.

I tempt the fates.

I prime my kegs with 1/3 cup of table sugar right into the bottom at racking, and no gas. I've never had a keg fail to seal (although I rebuild them pretty regularly). A keg often sits a month or more, as my pipeline is currently longer than my consumption. usually, a few days after priming, I burp the relief valve, just to make sure the keg really is sealed.

Once I'm ready to serve, 24 hours in the keg fridge cools the keg off, and then I hook it to the gas at dispensing pressure, and start pulling pints.

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. They all helped a lot!