Can I Get This Carbonated for Party on Nov 7th?

[Jiffster]

Ok Folks,
Don’t flame me here for asking this but…… I am going to a party on November 7th and I would love to bring some of my recent batch with me. Here’s the stats:

Brewed Amber Ale on 10/17 - 5 gallon batch -6.6# LME with 2# steeped grains. (OG 1.055 – Measured 1.048 – Likely due to not mixing 1.25 gallons of top off water well enough with wort)
Yeast starter and fermentation chamber – controlled temp 65 F.
Very active and aggressive krausen first few days.

FG reading on 10/25 at 1.016

Going to take reading again on 10/27 – If stable, starting cool down for cold crash on 10/27.
If so, adding gelatin on 10/28 – continue cold crash until 10/31.

At this point my plan was to then bottle and condition. I then thought how cool it would be to take this to a friends party on 11/7.

I’m preparing to start kegging and this would give me a good excuse to pick one up and start.

Would 1 week be enough to carbonate this brew in a keg?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, in a keg it can easily be carbed up in a week or less.

 

[m00ps]

ive found the fastest way to carb something (without risk of over carbonation) is to use a bit of both the "set and forget" and "burst carb" methods

Once you have your filled purged keg, hook it up to the gas at 30-35psi and rock it back and forth on its foot until you stop hearing CO2 go into the beer. You can either leave it at this pressure at room temp or stick it in the fridge. Once you put it in the fridge, you should vent it and lower to serving pressure. You could leave it at +30psi overnight for faster results but I would be sure to vent it in the morning or risk overcarbing

 

[Jiffster]

That's good news. Now I just have to pick up a keg, CO2, regulator and learn how to use it!

 

[m00ps]

oh boy, be sure you have a spray bottle of starsan (or soapy water) to diagnose any gas leaks. That was my #1 issue when I first got set-up.

I would say if you can get it kegged, hooked up to gas, and cold by halloween, youll be golden.

 

[Yooper]

i would NOT rock or shake. In a week, you have plenty of time to not risk overcarbonation or having sediment in the beer.

Set it in the kegerator at 30 psi for 36 hours if the beer is warm, 24 hours if cold. Then purge and reset at 12 psi. It should be good in 3 days.

What I would do since this beer is young is on the day of the party, I'd "jump" to another keg and leave the sediment behind.

I'd pour a pint (to get rid of the sludge settled out), and then use two black disconnects and some beerline to make a "jumper cable" and transfer the carbed clear beer to a new keg. That means that there will be no sediment stirred up when the keg is moved to the party.

How are you serving the keg at the party? You can take a c02 tank and beer line and a picnic tap, or those co2 chargers. Either would work well.

 

[cubbies]

I've used the rock/shaking method before and probably will in the future, but Yooper is right. If you have several days to work with, blast it for a while (I usually do 24 hours) vent the pressure, re-attach at 12 for a few days and it will absolutely be ready.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the sediment. If you are steadfast with your brewing methods, you shouldn't have much sediment to deal with. Just pull the first pint for yourself and the rest will be clear as day.

 

[Jiffster]

Hope I'm not rushing things. Little concerned with moving the keg and then making sure it's cooled and carbonated after moving.

I don't have a keezer yet so I'm not sure this will fit in my mini fridge fermentation chamber. I'll have to measure when I get home.

Eventually I want to get a beer gun after I get set up with my keezer and Greg system.

Hell, maybe I should pick up another mini fridge just got a couple kegs until I can get my keezer built.

Patience? I want it all now! [emoji12]

 

[Yooper]

Hope I'm not rushing things. Little concerned with moving the keg and then making sure it's cooled and carbonated after moving.

I don't have a keezer yet so I'm not sure this will fit in my mini fridge fermentation chamber. I'll have to measure when I get home.

Eventually I want to get a beer gun after I get set up with my keezer and Greg system.

Hell, maybe I should pick up another mini fridge just got a couple kegs until I can get my keezer built.

Patience? I want it all now! [emoji12]

If you don't have a fridge for the keg, then I would NOT attempt to get this ready in a week. No way. It needs to get cold and carbed up. Warm beer foams crazy like, and would only cause problems trying to carb it up warm and serve it cold with ice.

 

[Subdivisions]

OOPS.

See next post

 

[Subdivisions]

Set it in the kegerator at 30 psi for 36 hours if the beer is warm, 24 hours if cold. Then purge and reset at 12 psi. It should be good in 3 days.

This^^^^^^^

Works every time and is reliable. Shaking the keg is for when you need it tomorrow. In that case I wouldn't serve it. It's not a good representation of your beer that early.

 

[casualbrewer]

Could carb it warm and serve through a jockey box.....

 

[BMBC]

I do it the same way Yooper describes with one exception. If it's warm I don't put it on the gas for the first 12 hours. After 12 hours in the fridge I put it on 30 psi for 24 hours then down to serving pressure. I have drinkable beer in 3 days, pretty dang good beer in a week, and perfect beer in two weeks.