carbonation (non-forced)

am brewing draught beer in corny kegs (19Ltr) in Queensland (Australia) & would like to try natural carbonation, do I add half sugar to fermentor & half to keg? I know i have to burp keg. Do i put keg down for 4-6 weeks? & how long till i have to refridgerate keg? Have a dual tap kegerator but we like 2 different beers & would like to have backups that could be chilled down within 24 hrs. if u take the time to answer all help will be appreciated - thanks
kegwench

Just think of your keg as a bottling bucket. You will add your priming sugar directly to the keg. Place it near where you normally condition bottles, and it'll be carbonated in 3-4 weeks. You will still need to hook it up to CO2 though when you dispense, otherwise it'll go flat.

I've stored kegs for a few months before refridgerating. It's just a giant beer bottle basically. Treat it the same way. I don't see any reason why a keg with good seals couldn't keep a naturally conditioned beer good for over a year.

Hi Suthrncomfrt 1884 - thanks for ur help, when bottling the excess left in the 23 Ltr fermenter (as only 19 goes into keg) i add 1/2 tspn priming sugar to a 375ml stubbie bottle, so do i just work out how many of these fit in a 19Ltr keg & add priming sugar to the keg accordingly? also, will this make the beer stronger? if so i could just put less sugar into the fermenter. i know u have to dispense beer with co2 but thanks for telling me anyway. cheers - kegwench

I would suggest adding 3/4's cup of corn sugar to the keg. This is the typical amount to add to a full batch depending on how carbonated you want it. It will not add anything to the beer because corn sugar/priming sugar is a non-fermentable sugar.

You only want to use half the amount of priming sugar you would with bottling when natural carbing a keg.

Also, you need to give the keg a shot of CO2 to seal it up then you put it aside for a few weeks.

It's a pretty easy process. Boil up around 2.5 ounces of dextrose in water, pour it in the keg. Rack you beer into the keg, close, hit with about 12 psi of CO2 to seat the lid and set it aside to carbonate.

Nurmey said:

You only want to use half the amount of priming sugar you would with bottling when natural carbing a keg.

Also, you need to give the keg a shot of CO2 to seal it up then you put it aside for a few weeks.

It's a pretty easy process. Boil up around 2.5 ounces of dextrose in water, pour it in the keg. Rack you beer into the keg, close, hit with about 12 psi of CO2 to seat the lid and set it aside to carbonate.

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Really? Why only half. I've never done it, I was just assuming you'd treat it like a giant bottle.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

Really? Why only half. I've never done it, I was just assuming you'd treat it like a giant bottle.

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It is, really. But half the priming sugar usually used for bottling is sufficient. It has to do with headspace, etc, but it won't be overcarbed or undercarbed if you use 1/2 of what you would when bottling.

I was thinking about natural carbing my next batch (force carbed my first two kegs), and I was wondering if it changes the flavor profiles... The only reason I ask is that it seems as though what I've bottled is smoother than what I've kegged. Any thoughts?

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

It will not add anything to the beer because corn sugar/priming sugar is a non-fermentable sugar.

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Actually corn sugar / priming sugar is a very fermentable sugar, which is exactly why it works. If it were a non-fermentable it would simply add to the sweetness of the beer.

phrogpilot73 said:

I was thinking about natural carbing my next batch (force carbed my first two kegs), and I was wondering if it changes the flavor profiles... The only reason I ask is that it seems as though what I've bottled is smoother than what I've kegged. Any thoughts?

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it should change nothing, other than what it adds in alcohol content, which is very low (something like .02% ABV).

kegged beer can seem harsher if its freshly carb'd. the carbonic acid adds a bite that'll subside after a little time (days).

question though: is your keg'd beer served at exactly the same temperature as the bottled beer? (and the same style?)

you'd have to keg half and bottle half and then keep all other variables the same, to really gauge this.