First time kegging: carbing, travel, and chilling questions

[redzeker]

I have read about the basics of how to carb a keg, I have an additional question about traveling with a carbed keg and then chilling it. I was hoping for some insight and suggestions.

This is my first time and my understanding is that you:
1.) Rack into the keg, seat and latch the lid
2.) Set the regulator to 30psi or so, open up the CO2 tank (this seals the lid?) and check for leaks
3.) Let out some air using the PRV on the keg, and repeat #2 a couple of times (this replaces the oxygen in the keg with CO2?)
4.) Carb using your method of choice (set and forget or burst)

Assuming that's all right, my question is how best to proceed. I will be taking this keg out of town and it'll be about 36 hours between the time I leave and the time it's enjoyed. I have a friend with a kegerator that I can use the chill the beer now - and then keep it in ice for the 36 hours until enjoyment - or I can carb it at room temp and then travel with it in ice for those 36 hours.

Is there any compelling reason to carb it at room temp now and keep it that temp until I travel with it? It seems to me that chilling it now - and doing my best to keep it chilled - is the best option, but I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

 

[Konadog]

Is there any compelling reason to carb it at room temp now and keep it that temp until I travel with it? It seems to me that chilling it now - and doing my best to keep it chilled - is the best option, but I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

If you carb at room temp, it may be under carbed once you chill it to serving temp as cold liquid will absorb more gas than warm. If it's no big deal, I would chill and carb, do your best to keep it cool during transportation.

 

[hawkbox]

I'd suggest carbing through the liquid line initially while the beer is cold. That will carb it fastest, leave it fairly pressurized when you take it away. You probably don't need to keep it cool while transporting it but you will want to chill it and let it settle when you get there, then pressurize to the normal level (10ish PSI). I force carbed a keg in march and left it sitting in my garage for 3 months after that before using it. Was nicely carbonated and tasted fine.

 

[day_trippr]

Let's back up a little bit. A properly carbonated keg of beer is not going to change the level of carbonation with temperature. That's fixed - 2.5 volumes of CO2 is 2.5 volumes of CO2 at any temperature inside the keg as long as it isn't vented along the way.

So, referring to our favorite carbonation table, if one plugs their beer temperature into the Y-axis, scans across that row to the desired level of carbonation, then runs up that column, one would arrive at the corresponding CO2 pressure to achieve that carbonation level.

You could carb 38°F beer to 2.5 volumes using 11 psi; or hit the same carbonation level with 65°F beer using ~29 psi. If using the latter combination, once the carb level has been achieved, if the gas is shut off and the beer is chilled to 38°F, it'll still be sitting at 2.5 volumes.

Going the other way (why?) wouldn't change anything - as long as the keg wasn't vented. Yes, raising the temperature will cause CO2 to break-out of solution, but the CO2 is still trapped in the keg, so once it's chilled back down again the CO2 will eventually be re-absorbed per the table and you're right back where you started.

Wrt the OP's scenario, if there's any compelling reason to chill earlier than later, it's to avoid that "re-absorption" time. I often take a keg with me down to northern Jersey on trips to visit my oldest son's family, and it's definitely easiest to fully carb the keg cold and transport it cold. I use a kitchen size trash bin filled with ice, wrapped in a sleeping bag and stood up in the back of my Durango, and it's ready to pour upon arrival...

Cheers!

 

[glugglug]

I might suggest that if you’ve let it sit and it has settled a bit, I’d pull a pint or 2 before you travel with it, just to get what’s settled out of the keg. Is there any way you can put some ice around the keg in your vehicle? Maybe in a plastic garbage can.