First All-Grain Ruined After Kegging - Please Help

[gmcardle]

1) No - all you're doing is expelling headpressure in the form of CO2, then refilling it with CO2 at a lower pressure. This will not harm your beer.

2) Just pull the darn ring until it's purged. You're making way too much fuss over "how fast do I purge" - just pull the ring and purge whatever pressure is there, and you're done. It's not rocket surgery.

3) That cardboardy thing sounds like possible oxidation, so I'd look at how well you purged when you first transferred to the keg, and anywhere that there was any splashing going on when you transferred. Other than that, an IPA doesn't need to be left any amount of time - get it carbed, enjoy. Generally, as with in bottles, the longer it sits, the more some of the aromas will fade, but if the keg is properly pressurized with CO2 and purged of genera atmospheric air, it should last longer than in bottles. (And, in theory, I guess you MIGHT expell a little bit of aroma with repeated purges - but the compounds that create that aroma are still there in your beer, so this is VERY unlikely)

Cheers stratslinger, many thanks for those answers, really appreciate all your help as you've put my mind to rest.

It's St Patrick's Day here tomorrow so gonna relax now and enjoy some homebrew!

BTW how long have you been brewing?

 

[Dixon9717]

Once property carbonated however you choose use one of these instead of a picnic tap with a serving pressure of 2-4lbs
IMO much better then a picnic tap. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458164528.044043.jpg

 

[CamG]

Well there has been a ton of great advice in this thread. As I am new to using Kegs as well I have learned lots from your question.

One thing I thought I would mention. If you decide to use a higher psi to force carb (30 psi as mentioned) you might want to make sure your manifold has a check valve in it. If it doesn't I would recommend putting one on your gas disconnect. When adjusting the psi pressure its easy to forget to purge the keg before lowering your regulator. They are not very expensive and can save you so much trouble.

I hope you get things worked out,
Good Luck,

Cam

 

[gmcardle]

Once property carbonated however you choose use one of these instead of a picnic tap with a serving pressure of 2-4lbs
IMO much better then a picnic tap. View attachment 344848

Good call, have just purchased two of these taps on Amazon and plan on building a kegerator bar!

 

[cwmagui]

Once again, any calculator that starts out assuming 3 psi per foot equivalent resistance for 3/16" ID tubing is wrong out of the box.
And, sadly, 99% of purported calculators get that wrong, but here's the one that gets it right.

http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

Comes complete with an education...

Cheers!

The cited calculator includes the flow rate. As I have always poured by opening the faucet all of the way, the calculations work out about the same as mine. Any time I partially open my tap I get foamy beer. This seems to back up what your calculator says. Slower pours need longer lines.

Learn something new every day.

 

[gmcardle]

OK so I changed my beer lines as suggested in recent posts on this thread along with purchasing two adjustable chrome kegging beer tap faucets (see earlier photo) plus setting my CO2 to approx 8psi for 4-6 days and it has made a massive different guys!

Thanks all on this thread for all your support, I've learned so much!