Kegging for the first time

[southsidebrewingco]

Hi all,
This week I am about to finally attempt to keg my first brew and I had a few questions. I have 10 gallons of a nut brown ale and would like to attempt to keg two different ways if its possible.
1. Keg 5 gallons and carb it at 20 psi for 4 days (fridge at 38 degrees) then set my serving pressure and taste.
2. Keg the second 5 gallons and add 2 ounces of corn sugar, hit it with co2 and purge the air. Store at about 70 degrees. Can I let this carb and then after 2 weeks hook it up to the co2 and serve it as normal?? I am curious as to the taste difference between the two and want to set my standard how I will carb my beer in the future. Again thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Rusty2089]

Yep, after keg conditioning, you can use your CO2 to push the beer and maintain pressure.

When you use the CO2 to purge, it might be worth using it to seal the hatch as well.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Natural conditioning vs. force-carbing has long been debated among the snobiest of beer snobs. Tasted side by side, I feel the force-carbed beer had smaller bubbles in your mouth, if that makes any sense. Other than that, my only preference for one over the other is convenience.

During the winter months I will hook a keg up to my spare CO2 in the garage for a few days (set it and forget it) before serving. I will natural carb if I am in no hurry or if the beer in question needs to age for a bit longer and I need it out of the fermenter to make room for the new recruits.