keg conditioning?

I just got my first corny keg. Filled it with a blonde ale, primed with 8 tablespoons of dme, hit it with co2 to seal the lid, place it in a closet @ 68F for three weeks and put it in the fridge. Beer is completely flat. The keg had a good seal. Any ideas ? I have some bigger beers that I want to keg but I don't want to screw them up. I don't have a regulator or tank yet so I am using the little 16 gram co2 injector.

mw20 said:

I just got my first corny keg. Filled it with a blonde ale, primed with 8 tablespoons of dme, hit it with co2 to seal the lid, place it in a closet @ 68F for three weeks and put it in the fridge. Beer is completely flat. The keg had a good seal. Any ideas ? I have some bigger beers that I want to keg but I don't want to screw them up. I don't have a regulator or tank yet so I am using the little 16 gram co2 injector.

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8 tablespoons of DME? I don't know how much that is, but I would have used at least 3/4 cup or so.

Usually, people say to use 1/2 the amount of priming sugars that you would use to prime for bottling. I use 4-5 ounces of corn sugar for priming, or 1.25 cups of DME. I have no idea how much DME that would be in cups or ounces, but it doesn't sound like much at all.

How did you decide on 8 tablespoons?

YooperBrew said:

8 tablespoons of DME? I don't know how much that is ...

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8 tbsp = half a cup

Why prime if you have CO2?

Purge, 30 psi overnight chilled, 12 psi for a few more days. If you are in a hurry, search the site for quick carbing. I have carbed chilled beer at 30 psi, shaking and such for 'bout an hour, and it's ready.

A4J said:

8 tbsp = half a cup

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That seems pretty light. I'd either add more dissolved DME and keep it at room temperature, or keep it at room temperature alot longer with only adding 1/2 cup DME. I wouldn't expect that to carb up very quickly. When I primed at room temperature with corn sugar, I added the whole amount, thinking that if it was overcarbed, I could just release some pressure.

If you don't have a co2 tank and regulator, you may want to consider priming at the "regular" bottling amount.

The 8 tablespoons of dme came from the advice of my LHBS owner. I'm thinking about force carbing the next batch. Do you pressurize and put it in the fridge or let in condition for a while @ fermentation temps?

8 Tables spoons is not enough you need more DME then corn sugar so I have used 190 grams of Corn sugar in a keg and it worked great. So you would need aound that of DME

beer smith says you need 180 grams of DME or .40 lbs

Force carbing-

Chill @ 30PSI, disconnect, agitate and chill @ 30PSI, repeat. Takes 2-3 days

or

Chill @ 10-12PSI, disconnect, agitate and chill @ 10/12PSI, repeat. About a week

mw20 said:

The 8 tablespoons of dme came from the advice of my LHBS owner. I'm thinking about force carbing the next batch. Do you pressurize and put it in the fridge or let in condition for a while @ fermentation temps?

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You'll need a co2 tank and regulator to force carb. Generally, I put some co2 on it just to seal the lid, and the chill it. (Cold beer absorbs co2 much better than warm beer). Then I put it on 12 psi for a week or two. I occasionally do a quick carb- I put it on 30 psi for two-three days, then purge and reset it at 12 psi. It'll be carbed up in about three days that way. I'm not a shaker of the keg- but that does work!

If you want to prime the keg, that works just fine. Next time, use 3 ounces of corn sugar, or 3/4 cup of DME. It'll take about 3-4 weeks to carb up at room temperature using DME.

I guess my real question is do I lose anything (taste wise) from force carbing. Last year I kinda rushed some batches to serving temperature and had some off flavors. After reading a bunch it sounds like I need to bottle or keg condition in the upper 60's to let the yeast clean everything up. Also, I have a few paintball co2 tanks. I have found the regulators needed for these, but, is there any risk from oil contamination? Are there different grades of co2? Thanks for all the replies!

All CO2 is the same. The flavor changes as you go from flat (AKA real) to carbonated, but it doesn't matter where the CO2 comes from.

There is no oil in commercial CO2.

mw20 said:

I guess my real question is do I lose anything (taste wise) from force carbing. Last year I kinda rushed some batches to serving temperature and had some off flavors. After reading a bunch it sounds like I need to bottle or keg condition in the upper 60's to let the yeast clean everything up. Also, I have a few paintball co2 tanks. I have found the regulators needed for these, but, is there any risk from oil contamination? Are there different grades of co2? Thanks for all the replies!

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This is why many people go with the slow carb (10-12 PSI for a few days). I am really happy with my method- 30PSI for a day, disconnect and roll, 30 PSI for a day to two days, bleed, 10PSI (serving pressure) for awhile, bleed, and serve/test. Either way, as posted before, CO2 is CO2. Biggest thing is keeping it cold to help the CO2 dissipate.

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to try force carbing my next batch. I've already got paintball tanks so I will use them for now, just need to get regulator and paintball tank adapter.

I have a question that I think he kind of did too that wasnt addressed.

It is said/known that, when bottle conditioning at or about 68F, the yeast will clean the beer up a bit. Well, now that I have switched to kegging, I usually let the beer sit in the primary for anywhere from 12 days to a few weeks depending on the gravity of beer and where it is at. After that, I bring the temp down to about 40 for 24-48 hours and crash out a lot of the yeast. Then I keg it, purge 3 times, and put it int he kegerator at 10psi for 2 weeks before serving.

Would I benefit any if I kegged, purged, hit with about 30psi... and then let sit at room temp for a week or so to let it condition? Or is there any technique other than chilling/carbing that will improve my brew.

Thanks.

If you secondary for awhile, I go long on mine, I'd stick with your method. The cold crashing before you keg (as long as you don't stir up the sediment) will make a clearer beer.

Personally, I do just one long fermentation in corny. I have 'sure screens' which are stainless steel screens on the dip tubes (northernbrewer). After about 5 weeks, or longer, I bleed brew into a sanitized keg. I then proceed with force carbing. Since I use the screens, I am hesitant to cold crash, for fear of clogging them (could always siphon then). Through experimentation though, I am happy with my method. After cold crashing and siphoning, I loose beer. So far my beer is just as clear as before when I crashed/siphoned, but I don't loose as much beer. Works for me.

mw20 said:

I guess my real question is do I lose anything (taste wise) from force carbing. Last year I kinda rushed some batches to serving temperature and had some off flavors. After reading a bunch it sounds like I need to bottle or keg condition in the upper 60's to let the yeast clean everything up. Also, I have a few paintball co2 tanks. I have found the regulators needed for these, but, is there any risk from oil contamination? Are there different grades of co2? Thanks for all the replies!

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If you got off flavors, there is a chance you didn't let the beer age enough. A lot can change in the 3+ weeks that most recipies call for aging. I had several ales that I had sitting in the garage ~57* aging and then transfered to kegs a week ago where it went down into the 30s. The taste from when I started aging to now is amazing and I can't wait to make more of at least two of the three recipies I did.

According to the owner of a LHBS here (also has his own microbrew with 4 -31 barrel tanks) the cold crashing and carbonation will clean the beer up. Don't worry about trying to use the yeast with priming sugar to do that.