"bottle conditioning" kegs

[thrstyunderwater]

I have a lot of beer going right now, a lot of me at least. 9 batches. It's a pain in the butt to get C02 tanks refilled around here.

From the research I've done one can condition kegs with sugar. My normal rate is 1 ounce of sugar per gallon of wort (cane sugar). I've read to use less sugar, any thoughts as to why? I can let out extra C02 need be.

Anyway, just add the dissolved sugar to the wort in the keg, close, add C02 to seal, and wait? Is that it? At what pressure should I seal the keggle?

I understand the first few beers will be a little yeasty. I age my beer normally for a month before kegging or bottling so it's normally pretty clear. Inputs?

 

[JoshuaW]

Kind of like when you cold crash, the yeast will drop out of suspension to the bottom of the keg, which is where the tube is, so the first few pints will take up that yeast. Other than that, it should be fairly clear.

 

[nebben]

5oz for a 5G keg is a bit much. I've done 4oz before and it was still more carbonated than I would have liked. I would go with about 3oz and see if you need more or less at that point. Part of the problem with having too much carbonation is that when you are serving, you might see a lot more foam than beer, resulting in very slow pours.

You hit it right on the head about how to do it though. It isn't really any different than a large bottle. Sealing the lid is important, so hit it with whatever pressure you need to (my kegs vary- some seal right away and others need 20lbs+ pressure) and keep it within a good temperature range for the yeast that is in it to ferment out the priming sugar.

 

[ryan_george]

I've only primed a keg once (did it at about the rate you're saying) and I found it was extremely over-carbed. I just added the dissolved sugar to the keg and sealed it up (didn't apply any extra head pressure).
I've never bothered to retry it, I've always just had great luck with CO2 from the tank...
Perhaps you could rig up some sort of pressure relief valve at 20-30 psi (assuming you condition at room temp and want ~2-3 volumes of CO2) so that you vent out excess CO2 and prevent over-carbing.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

When a keg is overcarbed can't you just let c02 out the top till it's at the carbonation you want? I realize this is a waste of time and c02, but if we're talking ounces of sugar then we're talking fraction's of pennies.

 

[check]

a spunding valve would allow you to set a target pressure, and maintain that. E.G. you could prime with enough sugar for 20 psi, set the spunding valve for 15psi, and you'd be set. This is one example:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/spunding-valve-idea-295190/

Just google spunding valve, and there are lots of informative links.

Beer smith has a calculator that will calculate the amount of dextrose needed for keg priming specifically. It looks like it figures half the sugar compared to bottling.

 

[Yooper]

When a keg is overcarbed can't you just let c02 out the top till it's at the carbonation you want? I realize this is a waste of time and c02, but if we're talking ounces of sugar then we're talking fraction's of pennies.

Sure, but then you have to mess around with it until it's carbed right.

Use 1/2 of the priming sugar you would with bottling, and you'll be all set. In a 5 gallon volume in a 5 gallon keg, 2-2.5 ounces is perfect.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

Why half of what one uses when they bottle condition?

 

[solbes]

I've done 2.5 and 3 oz in a 5 gallon corny. Never quite enough carbonation for me, but YMMV. Of course it's easy to put it on 15 psi for a day or two to compensate. I will try 3.5 oz in my next primed keg.

Less headspace in 5 gallon corny than the cumulutive head space of ~50 bottles. So less sugar is needed to drive the CO2 into solution.

 

[solbes]

Double post, sorry

 

[TopherM]

Why half of what one uses when they bottle condition?

Headspace...a 5 gallon keg with almost 5 gallons of beer in it has a fraction of the headspace as 50 bottles. Less headspace means that the beer starts to dissolve into solution at lower pressures, so you need less pressure to get the same level of carbonation.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

Less headspace in 5 gallon corny than the cumulutive head space of ~50 bottles. So less sugar is needed to drive the CO2 into solution.

I was wondering about that.....I'll try 3 ounces and see what I think. I only have a 4 tap kegerator so I've got a lot to play with. 3 ounces of sugar sure is cheap.