how long to leave until kegging

[cookie1980]

hi i have just got my cornelius kegs and wanted to ask a few noobish questions.

i normally leave my brew in fermintation for 3 weeks then bottle and leave for another 3 weeks.
So this time, after fermintation do i just syphon beer into keg and leave for a few weeks or straight into fridge and force carb, also i only have enough room for 1 keg so is it possible to store the beer in the keg, if so how long ect.. thanks

 

[paraordnance]

You can store beer in kegs for a year if seal is good and its carbed. You can move it from fermenter to keg as soon as you think its done, put in fridge, carb it and enjoy!

 

[cookie1980]

can i still carb in even tho its not in fridge, and when my other one is empty just place in fridge and then serve?

 

[Yooper]

can i still carb in even tho its not in fridge, and when my other one is empty just place in fridge and then serve?

Yes, of course! If you have a second c02 tank, you can force carb it.

If not, you can add priming sugar (about 1/2 of the amount you would for bottling) and let it sit at room temperature until the keg in the kegerator is empty.

I'd give the newly filled keg a shot of co2 to ensure the lid is sealed properly (I have a couple of kegs that just will NOT seal without a shot of co2) and purge it and do it again to remove any oxygen that is in the keg. Give it a final shot and set it aside to carb up!

 

[brettwasbtd]

You can store beer in kegs for a year if seal is good and its carbed. You can move it from fermenter to keg as soon as you think its done, put in fridge, carb it and enjoy!

Having proper sanitation, a keg can be store for a long time. How long? Well it will vary with the sanitation, style of beer, and temperature the beer is kept at. A Russian Imperial Stout would probably fair far better than say a bitter, kept in a pressurized keg at room temperature, all else equal.

can i still carb in even tho its not in fridge, and when my other one is empty just place in fridge and then serve?

Yes, you would add priming sugar to the keg and leave it at room temperature for the normal time and then place it the fridge when it is ready to be served. the first pint or so will pull some yeast.

 

[cookie1980]

thank you for quick replys.. can i not just run two kegs of same bottle with a simple y conector, set it at say 12 psi leave at room temp. then place in fridge when ready?

or can i just store the flat beer in the keg and carb when i need to

 

[paraordnance]

thank you for quick replys.. can i not just run two kegs of same bottle with a simple y conector, set it at say 12 psi leave at room temp. then place in fridge when ready?

or can i just store the flat beer in the keg and carb when i need to

12 psi is not enough to carb your beer at room temp. Look up for a chart CO2 pressure vs temperature. I never force carbed keg at room temp myself but I did with priming sugar.

 

[Cape Brewing]

thank you for quick replys.. can i not just run two kegs of same bottle with a simple y conector, set it at say 12 psi leave at room temp. then place in fridge when ready?

or can i just store the flat beer in the keg and carb when i need to

yes you can.... and a keg will carb at 12 psi at room temp, it'll just take a long time (probably close to two weeks).

You can store a flat beer but I wouldn't. If the keg is properly sanitized, you risk isn't that significant but at the same time, I would always be leary about oxygen headspace. At the very least, I would purge it quickly with CO2, 1) to rid the keg of oxygen and 2) to put at least SOME pressure on it so the corny keg lid seals properly.

Is you leave a flat keg will it go funky?? Not necessarily but I think purging and sealing the keg properly is worth the effort.

I force carb all of my kegs under a pretty standard routine.... 30-35 PSI, shake the hell out of the keg and leave it for 36-48 hours. Release the pressure and re-pressurize to 12 psi and you're golden.

 

[Yooper]

yes you can.... and a keg will carb at 12 psi at room temp, it'll just take a long time (probably close to two weeks).

I beg to differ here with the Cape. A keg will NOT carb up at 12 psi at room temperature. It's definitely temperature dependent. It can sit at 12 psi for YEARS and never get above 1.3 volumes of c02 at 70 degrees.

But, in a 40 degree fridge it'll be 2.47 volumes of c02 at 12 psi in a very short period of time- less than a week.

To get 2.47 volumes at 68 degrees would require a psi of over 30 psi for the same time period.

Here's a chart: http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/ForceCarbonation.html

 

[Cape Brewing]

Hmmm... maybe my basement is just cooler than I thought it was as I've done it a bunch of times.

either that... or when I finally toss it on tap at 12 PSI, maybe that drop it temp for serving and the constant 12 PSI it then has from being connected gooses it the last bit.

I never brew less than 10 gallons so I typically force carb one corny at 30-35 for a short period of time so I can get it on tap and then just hit the others with 12 PSI and let em sit. When the first keg kicks (usually fairly quickly), I toss the second on and I've never poured flat beer from those kegs.