Newbie Kegging Question

Hi,

I'm new to kegging. I've purchased all the equipment (co2 tank, 3 gal corny etc.) and plan to take my first keg on the road (fishing trip) and will be using a keg charger for dispensing (in 2 weeks).

I currently don't have a dedicated beer fridge but have a wine cellar that's steady @14 deg celcius (57 deg f). I'm trying to figure out what pressure i should dial in in order to carbonate a pilsner at that temperature (12psi?)

Given that i will be putting the keg on ice for dispensing should I be compensating the PSI somehow to offset the temperature difference?

Any advice would be helpful!

Thx,

Jumba

 

I think this chart might help you: http://www.northernbrewer.com/instructions/co2.htm

You'll have to crank it up while it's warm but then it will overcarb when you cool it if you don't adjust the pressure. It can get kind of dicey keeping a proper carb level when the temp of your keg is constantly changing, but this may give you a feel for where you should be.

By the way, welcome to the forums. Good to have you. Where are you hailing from?

 

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I'm a fellow Canadian from Montreal.

I guess what's confusing me is if I should carbonate based on the temperature that it will be served at (on ice) or on the temp of cellar.

Will overcarbing always lead to excessive foaming? I'm sure this thing will be a fiasco since it will be my first keg and i'll be using a keg charger so I'll have no idea what the dispensing pressure is at any given time. Pray for me...

Cheers,

Jumba

 

You need to figure out how many volumes of CO2 you need. If you carb at higher temperatures, you need a higher pressure to introduce the volume into the beer. When you cool the keg you vent your headspace and then set your regulator for the new pressure. This should keep your carbonation constant.

For example, if you wanted to carb your Pilsner to 2.5 volumes (I think that's around what a Pilsner needs) at 57ºF, you would have to put it on at 21psi for a week or so. When you cool the keg down to about 40ºF you would have the same volume at only 12psi. Purge the headspace and put your regulator on at 12 psi just as you cool the keg.

BTW, you should put your location in your profile so we Canucks can recognize each other. There are starting to be quite a few of us here.