First Time Kegging - Check Plan Please

[Truckman]

Hey all. I just brewed an extract milk stout for a friend of mine, and we're going to keg it tomorrow. This will be my first time kegging a brew. I've done a bunch of reading around here and through google. I think I've come up with a pretty good plan of attack for tomorrow, but I'd just like to get some confirmation or to see if I need to make changes.

He has a sanke keg, not sure if that really makes a difference as far as pressures and time goes (I don't think so but just throwing it out there).

1. Pressurize the keg to 30 psi, keep it connected to the CO2, and at the same temperature that it fermented at for 2-3 days.

2. Disconnect from CO2 and purge

3. Place in fridge (38 degrees), hook back up to CO2 at 8 psi.

4. Should be good to go in 3-4 more days, no?

Seems pretty cut and dry, am I missing anything?

 

[Natdavis777]

CO2 dissolves better in a cold solution, so I would advise against the pressurizing @ fermentation temps. I just think it would be more difficult to get a certain CO2 vol carbing it both warm and cold. Taking some variables out, here is my process.

1. Transfer to keg
2. Attach gas and purge a few times with CO2 to get all o2 out of keg
3. Chill beer (if not already chilled from cold crash or lagering)
*If beer needs chilled, you dont need the CO2 on while it is chilling, just disconnect the gas port/coupler
4. Once beer is cold, usually 24 hours later for convenience, hook up the gas @ 25psi
5. Check beer in 24 hours. If at desired carbonation, you are done. If its not carbed enough for style or just in general, let it ride and check it ever few hours.

This process might/will get critcism from others, but it takes out a lot of variables and I can get a fast carb and get my beers where I want them in a short amount of time. I use this on both sankey and corney kegs.

 

[jmadway]

CO2 dissolves better in a cold solution, so I would advise against the pressurizing @ fermentation temps. I just think it would be more difficult to get a certain CO2 vol carbing it both warm and cold. Taking some variables out, here is my process.



1. Transfer to keg

2. Attach gas and purge a few times with CO2 to get all o2 out of keg

3. Chill beer (if not already chilled from cold crash or lagering)

*If beer needs chilled, you dont need the CO2 on while it is chilling, just disconnect the gas port/coupler

4. Once beer is cold, usually 24 hours later for convenience, hook up the gas @ 25psi

5. Check beer in 24 hours. If at desired carbonation, you are done. If its not carbed enough for style or just in general, let it ride and check it ever few hours.



This process might/will get critcism from others, but it takes out a lot of variables and I can get a fast carb and get my beers where I want them in a short amount of time. I use this on both sankey and corney kegs.

I would agree with this process. The only thing I do differently is I go 30psi for 24 hours. It's usually a bit under carbonated at this point, but 12 more hours at 10-12psi will get me pretty close to where I want to be (depending on style).

Lots of folks on here do a set and forget 10-12psi for a week or so. I find this to simply be a waste of time unless you don't want to drink your beer for a week. I've never over-carbed with a 24-hour 30psi force carbonation.

 

[Truckman]

OK, thank you both for your replies. Sounds good, I'll follow your plan.

 

[smithabusa]

I go to 30 psi still at room temp, purge, shake with co2 on for a good 100 count, put in kegerator, leave at 30 psi till it's perfect, usually 1-2.5 days. I drink it a few hours after putting it in and its decent, and gets better with time.

When I'm in a hurry will shake it for another 100 count once it's cold. This past weekend I had a hefeweizen already at 38 in the ferm chamber,.shook it for a good 200 count at 30 psi, and later that day served it and it was perfect.

 

[stevehardt]

I wanted to mention that a lot of us "set it and forget it". Unless you want to drink it quickly, just leave it at the appropriate pressure for that stykes for a couple of weeks. Very low maintenance, and it gives the beer more time to condition

 

[Truckman]

Thanks guys for your input!

Transferred the beer to the keg this morning, purged it a few times, and now it's sitting in the fridge to chill. I told my buddy to hook it back up tomorrow and get it to 30 psi for 24 hours.

Sample tasted great! ABV a little low (6.04%, based on 1070 Original SG and 1024 SG today), but after consulting with a buddy of mine I realize what I did wrong that may have caused it... Wasn't really aiming for a high ABV beer anyway, so no big deal really.

 

[Natdavis777]

Awesome! Looks like it will still turn out well.

 

[Nivekt]

Everyone seems to have a different method. I did a lot of research before settling on this method:

-Transfer beer to keg
-Attach CO2 at 5psi and bleed off O2 in keg.
-Disconnect CO2 line and let beer chill in fridge for 12 hours.
-Hook up CO2 to keg to 30 psi
-Lay keg on floor and rock back and forth for 15 minutes
-Disconnect gas and put keg back in fridge for 12 hours
-Bleed off CO2 in keg and hook gas line up at 5psi
-Serve beer at 5-8psi for the next two days
-After that you can bump up to 10-12psi serving pressure if you wish.

I prefer a slower pour so I usually dont go above 8 psi serving pressure anyway.

Enjoy!