First kegging: success so far!

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Jubilee

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Corney kegged my IIPA today. Waaaay easier and more convenient than bottles. Ordered the double keg setup from midwest supplies...a word of advice: disassemble it, clean it, and replace all the seals. Both my kegs' seals reeked of sweet soda syrup.

Force carbing at 30psi for 24 hrs, then stepping down to 10psi for a few days...we'll see how long I can hold off "taste testing". ;)

:ban:
 
it's hard holding off for the first time. it tastes way different than bottling, too. my brother is an extract brewer/bottler, and when he comes over, the kegs get tapped (i have 9, and 3 always on tap). :mug:
 
it's hard holding off for the first time. it tastes way different than bottling, too. my brother is an extract brewer/bottler, and when he comes over, the kegs get tapped (i have 9, and 3 always on tap). :mug:

Tastes different, as in "better"? I hope so. Used irish moss the first time this brew, didn't rack to a secondary, but cold cleared it in the fridge for 4 days before kegging today. Trying to avoid that "home brewey" yeasty taste.
 
BETTER, all caps needed :D most keggers don't secondary, as it's unnecessary. what you did is cold-crashing; makes it clearer and crisper. welcome to the world of kegging; you'll never go back to bottling. i only bottle a few every now and then for portability
 
BETTER, all caps needed :D most keggers don't secondary, as it's unnecessary. what you did is cold-crashing; makes it clearer and crisper. welcome to the world of kegging; you'll never go back to bottling. i only bottle a few every now and then for portability

i used to do the same, i have since bought a growler and im in love. put the growler in the freezer, fill with keg beer head to the party and enjoy. i cant explain what kegging and a good growler will do for your brewing:ban:
 
I just kegged my first batch too! Soo much better than bottling! However, I could not keep my mitts off the beer and have been sampling every day since. I am considering it "research" so I can learn my system and its carbonation levels at each day.
 
if you put it into a 40 degree fridge, it'll take about a week to carb. after 4 days, it tastes good. after a week, it's beer :D
 
Corney kegged my IIPA today. Waaaay easier and more convenient than bottles. Ordered the double keg setup from midwest supplies...a word of advice: disassemble it, clean it, and replace all the seals. Both my kegs' seals reeked of sweet soda syrup.

Force carbing at 30psi for 24 hrs, then stepping down to 10psi for a few days...we'll see how long I can hold off "taste testing". ;)

:ban:

Kegging and bottling both have their upsides.

Hope the batch turns out well! Don't forget to purge your keg and turn the gas down for your first pour.
 
Ahh, okay I got it..."cold crashing" is the correct term. I'm learning something new each day! Similar to what the bigger brewers call a "bright tank" I'm guessing?

Very glad to hear I'm taking a step in the right direction! Would like to wait to taste until Friday, but it'll probably be earlier. Research, right? :cross:
 
kegging is wonderful, but keep one little thing in mind--i don't know the name, but the little nipple things inside the larger keg nipple (someone, please help me with names) can get unseated and loose pressure. especially with used kegs. it's not a big deal, but when you clean and pressurize your kegs keep an eye on that. if they leak, remove the valve and reseat the interior portion.

oh, and i will never, *ever* bottle again :D
 
I have 2 friends that used to homebrew and they bottled. They have both been amazed at how much better my beer is. I am sure the 4 weeks in primary and cold crashing and transferring to a clean keg help.

But for me carbing with Co2 as opposed to sugar just makes a cleaner crisper beer. 3 weeks ago while in Oregon I had a friends homebrew bottled beer and I could imediately taste a huge difference. I had an IPA, a Summer Ale and a Stout and they all had it. I call it "bottle taste" sugar carbed beers taste more "yeasty" to me and it appears to others. Not bad, still bettter than most store bought. But using Co2 seems to kick it up a notch to me. You get more of the flavor without the yeastiness.
 
I find the idea that there is a taste benefit to kegging somewhat ridiculous.

I also pity those who never find out how much some of their beers could improve with time in the bottle.
 
I find the idea that there is a taste benefit to kegging somewhat ridiculous.

I also pity those who never find out how much some of their beers could improve with time in the bottle.

I am definitely not experienced enough to comment on the taste differences...I've only bottled two batches of 3 total. The time lag between batches has been HUGE (years) because I find the labor associated with bottling tedious and annoying. I thoroughly enjoyed my kegging experience and look forward to doing it again VERY soon. To each their own, I say....and I too have had excellent bottle carbed brews! :mug:

EDIT: one more thing I recently learned. Just re-read some great instructions here on force carbing. I initially attached my gas to the "out" valve because I thought I read bubbling the CO2 up through the brew would facilitate carbing faster. Turned out I mis-read that part, went to switch to the "in" valve, and got a little beer sprayed in my face! It did taste good though...
 
I guess just not having to use sugar to carb is the taste benefit not the keg itself. I have had bottled homebrew that has aged months and I can still taste the taste I am talking about. For me beer in primary 3 or 4 weeks, keg, cold crash, carb, transfer to new keg, so 5 or 6 weeks total time and I don't taste the taste I taste in homebrew bottles.

I find the idea that there is a taste benefit to kegging somewhat ridiculous.

I also pity those who never find out how much some of their beers could improve with time in the bottle.
 
I find the idea that there is a taste benefit to kegging somewhat ridiculous.

I also pity those who never find out how much some of their beers could improve with time in the bottle.

I totally agree. I do both and I prefer the taste of a well-conditioned bottle versus a keg. I used to split batches where half was bottled and half was kegged, and the bottled beer always smoothed out better. I'm currently doing slow force-carbonation with the keg in order to improve overall carbonation and taste.

But yes, being able to drink a fully carbonated beer in two days (after conditioning in primary or secondary) without the hassle of bottles is pretty awesome.
 
First taste after approx 26 hrs @ 30psi. WOW!

Vented then cranked back up to 10psi, poured my first glass of delicious IIPA homebrew. Going to leave at 10psi for the duration now.

Faint carbonation, good taste (16 oz of hops in this one), beautiful light caramel color, decent head. No idea on ABV because my OG reading was off...drew off the top of the carboy without mixing.

10oz gives a good mellow buzz, so I'm thinking around 7% based on "experience".

This brew is so clean and crisp, I am now a fan of cold-crashing and kegging. So happy right now! :ban:

Will report again on Fri or Sat.
 
Is that enough to generate the proper volumes of CO2 for that style at your storage temperature, or are you just ball-parking it?

Glad the IIPA turned out well!

Yep, 38F @ 10psi = 2.4 vol of CO2.

Thanks for asking though...you made me double check the carb chart, which is never a bad idea for a newbie like me!
 
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