JLeather
Well-Known Member
I have enough stuff to start kegging this weekend, except my new kitchen fridge delivery was delayed so I don't have my kegerator yet (I'm getting the old kitchen fridge for a kegerator). I do have CO2, kegs, a DIY keg washer, and a beer that needs to come out of the fermenter because I've already dry hopped it. I have two main questions now, more I'm sure later when I start building the kegerator. Question one is about sanitizing and purging. I see some people saying they fill the keg with StarSan and push it out with CO2 to purge the keg before filling. Even with a stock dip tube wouldn't that leave several ounces of StarSan in the bottom? I know it's "food safe" but I still don't want several ounces of it in my beer. Is it not ok to sanitize the keg and dump it via the lid and just burp the keg a few times after filling to evacuate the oxygen?
Second question is about storage. Let's assume I'll be another week or more getting the fridge ready. I would like to go ahead and properly force-carb the beer, which at the ~65°F in my basement would be about 25 psi of CO2 (APA, ~2.3 vols). I understand the beer itself will be fine at room temperature for several weeks under pressure, but when I put it in the fridge how do I keep the proper carbonation as it cools? Do I just set the regulator in the fridge to the new pressure (~13 psi) and it will sort itself out over a few days, or do I need to burp as it chills to let excess pressure out?
Second question is about storage. Let's assume I'll be another week or more getting the fridge ready. I would like to go ahead and properly force-carb the beer, which at the ~65°F in my basement would be about 25 psi of CO2 (APA, ~2.3 vols). I understand the beer itself will be fine at room temperature for several weeks under pressure, but when I put it in the fridge how do I keep the proper carbonation as it cools? Do I just set the regulator in the fridge to the new pressure (~13 psi) and it will sort itself out over a few days, or do I need to burp as it chills to let excess pressure out?