Question: Carbing in a Keg with Bottling Sugar...

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jwheelz

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I'm going to Carb using Bottling Sugar in my Keg. I've searched many threads on this web-site and am unclear on 1 detail.

I've read to use half of what I would for bottling. My question is do I mix half the sugar in the normal amount of water I usually use, boil it, cool it down and then dump it in?

Or, do I use Half the sugar and half the water, boil, cool and dump?

Or maybe I can skip that step of pre-boiling the sugar and water before cooling and dumping into my Keg, and just dump the sugar straight into my Beer?

Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.
 
As I understand it, what you are trying to do is put the sugar in suspension, and mix thoroughly. I would say it wouldn't really matter to reduce the amount of water you boil, and it wouldn't hurt either, so long as it is enough to dissolve the sugar in adequately. I wouldn't toss raw sugar in, as it may have a hard time suspending in the wort and mixing adequately at a cooler temperature. It is a dissacharide, but boiling in water does nothing that I am aware of to invert the glucose and fructose, while the acidity of wort normally would. The yeast will work a bit harder and invert it themselves, but you want it to be evenly distributed throughout the beer, and suspended well, I would think.

Although in a Keg situation, the yeast would still attack the non-suspended sugar just as eagerly, and then cause carbonation in the entirity of the keg. So perhaps it is not so important, now I just relish in my own ignorance.

Though you'd prolly be better off to wait for someone who is smarter than I.
 
I use about 2 ounces of sugar, give or take, and one cup of water. Boil for fifteen minutes then add to my keg. I rack my beer over the sugar and then purge my headspace in the keg. I then roll the leg a bit to mix the sugar in. Make sure you purge the oxygen first before you roll!
 
I wouldn't worry too much about cooling the solution after boiling. A cup or so of boiling water in 5 gallons of cold beer will barely change the temperature at all. Sure, the first yeasties to hit the hot solution will get cooked, but there'll be plenty more to back 'em up.

Also, be sure to leave a little bit of pressure in the keg after purging the headspace. A lot of kegs don't like to seal without 5 psi or so in 'em, so If you just pull the blow off valve after purging, all your waiting for the natural conditioning will be for naught.
 
Okay, so I'f I boil half the amount of Sugar in with the normal amount of water I use, then dump that into my Keg, Siphon in my beer, blast it w/30 PSI to set the lid and leave it alone for a couple months I should have good Carbination when I'm ready to drink it in June? (Making 5 Kegs for the National Home Brewers Conference in Seattle this year!)

Thanks for the responses.
 
Don't forget to purge the headspace, not just seat the lid. I put 30PSI on it, then vent. Repeat twice, then you should be good.

The first pint or two will pour cloudy.
 
It will only take 3 or 4 weeks to carb. After it's carbed throw the keg in you fridge and condition it.
 
Don't forget to purge the headspace, not just seat the lid. I put 30PSI on it, then vent. Repeat twice, then you should be good.

The first pint or two will pour cloudy.

Can the beer then be bottled after a couple weeks? and drank from the bottle without the usual pour 90% into a glass and ditch the gunk on the bottom down the sink?

will the setiment only be in the first bit poured from the keg?
 
If you pull the first few pints through the keg you should. The sediment will collect in the dip of the keg by the dip tube and come up into your pint.

You may still have some sediment but not nearly as much if you straight bottled.
 

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