Keg storage?

Can you store your homebrew in the corney kegs?, if so for how long? Does it need to be carbonated first? or can I just leave it in the keg. I am about to ramp up production for the summer. I am new to the kegging way......

Thanks
TONY

Sure.

Just hit it with gas to seal the lid, purge oxygen with CO2 and store away. It's just a big bottle in the end.

You can carbonate or not. I like to get ~some~ carbonation in the beer just so I don't have to force carb or wait 2 weeks when I'm ready to drink it. I hit it with 30 lbs of gas and shake that in about three times prior to storing (purge oxygen first before doing this though).

What he said...

I have 2 on tap, 8 in the keezer and 5-6 more waiting in line...plus 6 cases conditioning and 5 more batches to keg/bottle...

Does this sound about right? Can I put it in the keg, purge the oxygen and then store?, will it carbonate naturally in the keg or do I still have to force carbonate later? or do I force carbonate to get the proper carbonation, then pull off the co2 and then store it for a later time.

Thanks for all the info.
Tony

brewbrain...what do you mean by three times with thirty lbs of pressure

if your going that route, you need to seal with 30psi, bleed off the excess preasure and bring up to carbonation preasure depending on whatever temp your at. Then store. Obviously make sure you sanitize first. And yes, your probably going to want to leave it on gas for a few days while its absorbing co2 but once it becomes saturated you can disconect and store for whenever

tcMonk said:

brewbrain...what do you mean by three times with thirty lbs of pressure

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I purge Oxygen, then hit it with 30 lbs of CO2, roll the keg back and forth so the beer absorbs the CO2, hit it again with 30 lbs of pressure, roll the keg again, do another shot with 30 lbs, roll the keg back and forth again, and then finally hit it with 30 lbs again and store the keg.

I find if I do this I get carbed up pretty quickly when it's time to serve the keg.

Since I have finally managed to outproduce consumption , I have started naturally carbing by boiling about 3 oz of priming sugar in water, adding that when I rack the keg, and then purge the oxygen of the top and store. I just put the first keg that I have done that to on the tap, and it was perfectly carbed on the first pull. Gotta plan on a few weeks before drinking after racking though, otherwise you will have to force carb.

As far storing beer in the keg, I've even pulled kegs out of the kegerator, left them carbed and stored them half full until I feel like that particular beer again.

BrewBrain said:

I purge Oxygen, then hit it with 30 lbs of CO2, roll the keg back and forth so the beer absorbs the CO2, hit it again with 30 lbs of pressure, roll the keg again, do another shot with 30 lbs, roll the keg back and forth again, and then finally hit it with 30 lbs again and store the keg.

I find if I do this I get carbed up pretty quickly when it's time to serve the keg.

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do you ever find this is overcarbed? Someone once told me to do something along those lines in order to carb quickly but i was always afraid i would overcarbonate...

scinerd3000 said:

do you ever find this is overcarbed? Someone once told me to do something along those lines in order to carb quickly but i was always afraid i would overcarbonate...

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I've only done it twice, but so far so good. It comes out about right for me.

30PSI at room temperature for a few days is sufficient, then just store it somewhere until you need it. If it's over-carbonated it's easy to fix, just release the CO2, shake the keg, release again, shake once more then try it. If it's under-carbonated, just gas it up to 30PSI again and leave for a day or so.

How long can wheat beers age in the keg at room temperature before they go bad? Say 70-75*F, and the beer is high ABV, about 7.8%?

Thanks for all the replies.

homebrewer_99 said:

What he said...

I have 2 on tap, 8 in the keezer and 5-6 more waiting in line...plus 6 cases conditioning and 5 more batches to keg/bottle...

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Sorry to revive this old thread but I really like your method of having 5-6 kegs waiting in line. So how long have you found that you can successfully store kegged beer at temps of 66-68 F provide the O2 has been vented and the keg properly sealed? We are having a baby in late October and I would like to fill all of my kegs by then but I cannot store them all in my keezer. Would 4-6 months be a reasonable expectation for the amount of time to store 5-6% ABV beers in a keg at 66-68 F?

BrewBrain said:

I purge Oxygen, then hit it with 30 lbs of CO2, roll the keg back and forth so the beer absorbs the CO2, hit it again with 30 lbs of pressure, roll the keg again, do another shot with 30 lbs, roll the keg back and forth again, and then finally hit it with 30 lbs again and store the keg.

I find if I do this I get carbed up pretty quickly when it's time to serve the keg.

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When you say "hit with 30#" does that essentially mean have the gas connector disconnected, turn it up to 30, put it on the keg, leave on like a couple seconds, and then remove gas connect...?

Ideally I'd like to be able to store kegs for future use, much like a commercial keg you can buy at the store. For example, when I tap a keg, would love to have one ready to put in and not wait the week I normally do. I generally don't do the shake method. I attach to CO2 after conditioning and let sit at 12-14psi for a week and its generally good to go.

natefrog255 said:

When you say "hit with 30#" does that essentially mean have the gas connector disconnected, turn it up to 30, put it on the keg, leave on like a couple seconds, and then remove gas connect...?



Ideally I'd like to be able to store kegs for future use, much like a commercial keg you can buy at the store. For example, when I tap a keg, would love to have one ready to put in and not wait the week I normally do. I generally don't do the shake method. I attach to CO2 after conditioning and let sit at 12-14psi for a week and its generally good to go.

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Yes, that's what hitting it means. Attach gas connector, turn regulator to 30psi, and wait until it stops making noise.

But if you've already got carbonated kegs then you're good. Just leave the keg somewhere and check it periodically (by topping it off at your 10or 12 psi) to ensure it's not leaking. The 30psi thing is usually what you do any time you open the lid to make sure the lid re-seats well, but if the beer is being stored carbonated that's not necessary.

Iowabeerguy said:

Since I have finally managed to outproduce consumption , I have started naturally carbing by boiling about 3 oz of priming sugar in water, adding that when I rack the keg, and then purge the oxygen of the top and store. I just put the first keg that I have done that to on the tap, and it was perfectly carbed on the first pull. Gotta plan on a few weeks before drinking after racking though, otherwise you will have to force carb.

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This is exactly what I do if I do not have an empty keg in the keezer. I try to stay a couple of kegs ahead so this method works great.

tdbc2011 said:

This is exactly what I do if I do not have an empty keg in the keezer. I try to stay a couple of kegs ahead so this method works great.

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Oh this is good too. I could just prime it like a bottle and let sit. Is there a shelf life before I would need to hook up to CO2? Or as long as no leak in keg, would I be good for the normal timeframe (e.g. 6-9 months) for fresh taste? Assuming this is a cream ale/blonde ale, or maybe red ale that isn't high gravity.

dcbw said:

Yes, that's what hitting it means. Attach gas connector, turn regulator to 30psi, and wait until it stops making noise.

But if you've already got carbonated kegs then you're good. Just leave the keg somewhere and check it periodically (by topping it off at your 10or 12 psi) to ensure it's not leaking. The 30psi thing is usually what you do any time you open the lid to make sure the lid re-seats well, but if the beer is being stored carbonated that's not necessary.

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Thanks! I never thought of carbonating it ahead of time with like priming sugar. That would probably be best.

natefrog255 said:

Oh this is good too. I could just prime it like a bottle and let sit. Is there a shelf life before I would need to hook up to CO2? Or as long as no leak in keg, would I be good for the normal timeframe (e.g. 6-9 months) for fresh taste? Assuming this is a cream ale/blonde ale, or maybe red ale that isn't high gravity.

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I had a pressure gauge that worked great, but it dropped and I have not replaced it yet. After two weeks I will depress the gas post quickly if gas escapes then I know it is still sealed.

Mine is usually no more that 3 months before I tap it. I have 7 taps so I do have a few high gravity beers that take 6-9 months to finish.