First Time Kegging Question...To chill before or after

OK I have the keg setup complete.

5 gal corny
2 ball locks
8' 3/16 blue bev line
8' 5/16 gas line
picnice tap
two gauge reg
5# AL CO2 tank

Here is my question

The fridge is at 40 degrees. The beer is at 68 degrees. Is it better to keg, then purge the airspace with CO2 then put in the fridge to chill to 40 THEN purge CO2 and add CO2 acording to the carb chart (16psi) and sit it for 3 days and enjoy.

Or should I add the CO2 that would be needed for 68 degree beer (over 30psi)then forget it for three days and lower the pressure to serving (15psi?) and enjoy


It seems to me chill first then force carb, but I thought I would get everyones thoughts. What pressure do you guys uses to serve??

If I force carb at 16 and serve at 15 that seems pretty balanced. Am I even close or have I lost too many brain cells.

I need a beer

Thanks Guys

I purge at room temperature, then put it in the kegger at serving pressure & wait. (But I have four taps) I doubt either way is better, but forcing at room temperature then putting it in the kegger risks back-flow into the gas lines. If all of your gas lines have check valves, not a problem.

Like David, I purge at room temp, but my beers are crash cooled to 39 before kegging, so they are chilled already, so I put them on gas right away in the keezer.

Thanks guys.

Can you explain crash cooling. I will cool to 40 then put it on gas right away then. What is your opinion on where to start with the serving pressure

Thanks again,

PS I took all the kegging equipment to work last night. It worked flawlessly, no leaks on any of the lids, the new reg is sweet, beer and gas lines were great.

Two Dog's Brewing said:

Thanks guys.

Can you explain crash cooling. I will cool to 40 then put it on gas right away then. What is your opinion on where to start with the serving pressure .

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After my beers are done fermenting, I drop the temp in my chest freezer to 39 degrees for a couple of days. It helps drop the yeast out of suspension and the cake firms up real nice in my buckets. That way when I rack to my kegs, I get very little yeast & trub out of the spigots plus my beer is ready to carb.

I carb at 12 PSI over a week period. No rush, I then dispense it at the same pressure in my kegerator.

OK Guys I soaked the keg and all the goodies taken apart in PBW over night. I started with real hot tap water.

I racked the SNPA clone into the sanitized keg. I added C02 a few times to purge the airspace. I have like 4 #'s on it just so the lid stays tight. I am gonna chill it down to 40 over the next 12 hours or so. Then I am going purge it and add the CO2 at 14PSI.

I think I will shake the crap out of it. Or should I go in with the gas on the liquid side.

I think I will add 14PSI and forget it for a week........if I can be patient

The sample I drank tonight was VERY good. I poured a SNPA and my clone side by side. The color was spot on.

Two Dog's Brewing said:

OK Guys I soaked the keg and all the goodies taken apart in PBW over night. I started with real hot tap water.

I racked the SNPA clone into the sanitized keg. I added C02 a few times to purge the airspace. I have like 4 #'s on it just so the lid stays tight. I am gonna chill it down to 40 over the next 12 hours or so. Then I am going purge it and add the CO2 at 14PSI.

I think I will shake the crap out of it. Or should I go in with the gas on the liquid side.

I think I will add 14PSI and forget it for a week........if I can be patient

The sample I drank tonight was VERY good. I poured a SNPA and my clone side by side. The color was spot on.

Click to expand...

Don't switch the QD's (gas on liquid side). It will fit on, but it's a real PITA to get it off. the two posts are different sizes.

Just conect it up to the gas line and let it sit. It will carb, and if you just kegged it, your beer needs some time to mature anyway. In fact, it will taste WAY better months from now than it does currently. I know it's hard to wait, but it's a crucial part of brewing.

You reall only need to purge the headspace once, and it sounds like you've already done it. I place my kegs in the keezer and connect to gas at serving pressure (about 15 psi for me, but you may need to play with it a little to balance your serving line pressure drop and your desired CO2 volume)immediately after racking to the keg, and wait. It usually takes 5-7 days to fully carb, but the beer is still green anyway, and constantly adjusting th regulator is a PITA too.

Good Luck!

8 feet of beer line seems kind of long to me. Make sure that you have your lines balanced, otherwise you're going to get a lot of foaming off the tap.

8 feet is what I bought. I figure if I need 7 feet I can cut it down. I didnt want to get 6 feet and then not have enough

I dont have the gas hooked up now. I will crank it up to 15 PSI in the morning and forget it till next weekend

Well its hooked up to 14PSI. Everything looks great............now I wait till next weekend

Thanks for everyones help.

Its nice to have everyone to bounce ideas off of

8 feet is only long if you're running a tower (the added height makes the additional length unnecessary). In any case, no one can really tell you how much you need. Maybe you like your beer a bit warmer and highly carbonated so your pressure is set to 18 PSI. That's gonna require a lot of beerline to balance.

14psi seems a little high to me. I run my kegger at 39F and 10 psi is usually good.