Backup Keg

I have two batches in bottles and a third sitting in the primary. a month now. I just got my keg system up and running and was wondering if I could force carb one keg and leave it on reserve and ready to go with another keg in the kegerator. I only have a one tap system and want to make sure they both hold their carbonation. The one that is going in the keg is more of a lawnmower beer that I'd like to have on standby for company. Considering that I won't use it often will it remain carbed correctly even if off gas for some time?

From what I've seen/read (I'm not kegging beer yet) once the keg is carbonated, you can pull it off the gas and leave it that way for an extended period...

Personally, I would use the 2 week carbonation method, on CO2, for the brews so that you know they're at the right level. Once carbonated, you can change them as you wish, just make sure to adjust the pressure used to push the brew, if you carbonated them to different levels. If you're going to carbonate them the same, then that won't matter so much. If the kegerator has room for both kegs at the same time, I would leave them both in there. You could even use a manifold/splitter to give both kegs gas so that you don't need to worry there. Just flush/clean the beer line when switching between kegs... You might not need to do that, but it won't hurt to have clean connections when changing which keg it's pulling from...

I will honestly tell you that I do not know for sure; however, if the gas isn't escaping (i.e. vent or airlock) then it should still stay carbonated for a little while.
Thing is, if you connect the CO2 while the beer is getting cold that should help recarb it if any gas was lost.

Right?

It needs time to carb at cool temps first to absorb the co2 and become balanced. If you hit it with 12 psi and take it off line, some of that will absorb into the beer and the keg will equalize at a much lower psi than 12.

As long as the kegs are holding pressure 100% it will stay carbonated. Just think of it like a 2 litre of soda. It's carbed until you release the pressure. Just make certain you dont have any leaks, even a tiny one would result in flat beer eventually.

I have taken kegs out of town for a party before and after several days it was carbed just fine. Keep in mind that it takes a while to chill the beer back to the right temp in a kegerator. I'd recommend putting the keg in the fridge at least 24 hours to two days before you expect to use it. Carbonation is based on temperature, so you'll need it to be chilled to the ambient temp of your kegerator before you pour to make sure you're at the proper volume of CO2.

Thanks for your help. I was planning on leaving the extra keg in the kegerator to keep the temps constant. Now I just need to make more beer. boy this is an addictive hobby..

Brew-b-que said:

Now I just need to make more beer. boy this is an addictive hobby..

Click to expand...

It doesn't take long to realize that... I have one brew fermenting (started last week) and am looking at brewing again on Monday. I'm trying to get into a steady/stable 2 week brewing rotation. That way, come brew day, I'm either brewing, bottling, or both... It's a good way to get a stable pipeline going, AND give your brews the time they need to become great. :rockin:

I take my kegs in and out of my kegerator all the time and I never mess with the CO2. Sometimes I bring them in the house and sometimes I just leave them outside on my lanai. After a few weeks, I'll just toss it back in and cool it down. At that point, I usually wait until the keg has cooled thoroughly before I connect to the gas line. It's funny but some of my beers seem to have benefitted from the weeks spent at room temp - they actually improved. Not sure why or if you will have the same experience.