Question about kegging

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lhommedieu

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I plan to keg my beer and keep it for about 4 weeks at 35 - 40 degrees. It's been in the primary for 3 weeks. If I need to take it out of the fridge for a day or two, and keep it in the garage, will temperature fluctuations effect the taste of the beer? Temperatures are predicted to be in the high '40's during the day, and the low 40's at night.

Best,

Steve
 
No you will be fine. Temp control is very critical in the first part of fermentation. That is where most off flavors come from..
 
40's are fine. You obviously don't want to freeze it and you wouldn't want to leave it out there if it were 90.
 
Thanks for your replies, guys. A few more questions, if you don't mind: does anyone keg their beer after primary fermentation and add some CO2 to fill up the head space to prevent oxidation - but keep their beer at the recommended temperature for secondary fermentation? If you did your primary at 65 degrees for example you would store your keg at the same temperature. This would allow you to free up your fridge space, if like me you're using corny kegs for the first time.

By the same token, though, just keeping the beer in the primary is essentially the same thing, right?

What about aging a primary too long, i.e. off-flavors from the sediment on the bottom? This would seem to be mitigated by leaving the sludge behind when you transfer to a keg.

I thought I saw this somewhere on one of those corny keg "how to" videos but just wanted to make sure.

At the rate that I drink beer I'll probably go through a corny keg every 1-2 months (I guess I'll have to build my tolerance - or my wife's) - but I don't want to have start brewing when I find out my keg's almost finished.

I don't have a keezer yet but I thought that kegging/storing in this manner could be a nice intermediate solution in case I wanted to have a beer kegged on hand that I could put in the fridge and carbonate a few days before I thought I needed it. Making a keezer would be a lot easier in the long run though...
 
I never secondary. Here's what I do. Beer in the fermenter for 2-4 weeks. Keg it. Let it sit for another couple weeks at room temp (70 ish). In the winter, I'll then bring it onto the porch to chill for another week or so or until my kegerator is ready for it. In the summer, I'll just go from a few weeks conditioning at room temp straight to the kegerator. I guess my point is, I go straight from primary to keg. Then let it condition in the keg until I think it's ready.
 
That sounds a lot like what I am thinking. Just to clarify: when you keg it, then it's ok to put just enough CO2 in the keg (maybe you'd purge once or twice) to replace the oxygen?
 
lhommedieu said:
That sounds a lot like what I am thinking. Just to clarify: when you keg it, then it's ok to put just enough CO2 in the keg (maybe you'd purge once or twice) to replace the oxygen?

Yes. I pump my regulator to 30 psi and with the lid not clamped but sitting in place hit the keg with gas. This "sets" the lids. I then clamp it disconnect the gas and purge. Then hit with gas and purge 2 more times. I usually purge 3x total.
 
Yeah I purge it a few times but honestly I don't think it's really necessary. I do it just to be "safe".
 
Sorry to sound like a newb but could you clarify this part for me: "...with the lid not clamped but sitting in place hit the keg with gas. This "sets" the lids..."

I am new to kegging and have visions of a geyser of beer hitting my ceiling, lol...
 
Basically, you place the lid correctly as if you were to clamp it down but don't clamp it. Hold it by the clamp so that it is set. Turn on the gas so that the upward pressure against it pushes it to the top. Then once it's in place, clamp it down. Make sense?
 
Yeah the CO2 is filling the head space, meaning it will push down on the beer and up on the lid. Just make sure your keg fittings are tight and secure (i.e. the posts).
 
Update: Thanks again for your help. I just kegged my first home brew. I had some trouble getting the lid to seal, so I went back and hit the keg with 30 psi and it sealed up fine. (Next time I'll try keg lube and putting dimes under the legs, etc.) I dialed it down to 15 psi as I'm going to store it for 3 more weeks. It's in the fridge now at 35 degrees.

Questions: Once the beer is fully carbonated, can I detach the CO2 tank and then use it again when I'm ready to dispense beer? And - how do I make sure that I don't over-carbonate the beer?

Best,

Steve
 
Yes. Once it is fully carbonated... it's carbonated. You can detach the CO2 input and reconnect it to serve. Think commercial kegs. Same thing.
 
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