First Time Kegging

[Mexibilly]

So I recently acquired 2 ball lock corny kegs and a C02 tank, regulators and hoses with ~60psi.
I have 5 gallons ready to keg/bottle this weekend.
I'm soaking the kegs now, will clean over he next day or two and sanitize.
Is kegging as simple as ~10 psi for 3 weeks then start enjoying?
I've looked, and have multiple kegging instructions open on my phone.
I'd prefer to be drinking in a week or so.
I admit I haven't done my due diligence investigating, and I hope for someone with experience to help guide me through the 5 gallon kegging process.
Any detailed reference from fermentor to glass would get me started...

 

[seagondollar]

So simple. There are many ways to carb. Bsically just rack into a sanitized keg like normal. Personally, i do about 15psi and try it at 4 to 5 days. Your beer really doesnt develop until 2 weeks, so 12 psi or so for a few weeks is ideal. Of course if your really impatient, like me somtimes, 30-40 psi for 24 hours and your on your way. Youll learn what works for you over time.

 

[lumpher]

Read about roll-carbing the keg. You can chill it overnight, hook the co2 up at 30 psi, roll it for 3 minutes, and drink it. I've done it for years, and it works great.

 

[ol-hazza]

It can kind of be that simple, but not really and yes you can easily be drinking in a week (or tomorrow).

I'm going to run you through some tips that I picked up when I started kegging not too long ago.

1. Check for leaks. Squirty bottle with soapy water in it, squirt it one every join, gauge, open/closing, post, lid, splice, disconnect, nut and bolt on the system. Then check again.

2. Clear the beer by cold crashing before kegging. If you use gelatin use it in the fermenter as it creates wee jelly balls if you use it in your keg for the first 3-4 pints (I did kinda start to like beer jelly a lil bit).

3. 14 psi @ 41° gives a good carbonation on my system, and pours nicely with 18' of 1/4" line coiled on top of my keg.

4. don't use 1/4' line because you need 18' of it.

5. I rapid force carbonate my keg. This method involves me sitting with a keg across my knee, I bump the pressure up to 35ish psi until it stops bubbling. Turn off the gas (on the regulator) and shake it until it the pressure drops to 14psi. Repeat until the pressure will not drop with shaking (usually 3-4 times). Chuck it in the keezer, pour a pint (dont judge me), leave overnight with regulator set to desired carb pressure (14 for me). So far the slight overpressure that was not absorbed by shaking has been absorbed by the beer overnight. Trying to purge it just pisses froth over the top of the keg. This is all done at cold crash temps.

6. use this chart

 

[sputnam]

i've been kegging for a year and a half now and done some experimentint (i haven't tried the 5 minute force carb yet though) When I first started (being under the belief that it took 6 - 8 weeks to make beer) I would rack to keg after 2 weeks with priming sugar and let them sit at room temp for 2 - 6 weeks..it worked and was fine. But now that I have been shown the light, I rack to keg at around 9 or 10 days hit it with 40 psi for a day and a half, drop back to serving temp and usually good to go after a day or two.

 

[Natdavis777]

I like to chill the beer in the keg and then hook up to 30psi for 23-36 hours. Then dial down to 12psi for serving. I like this method as it carbs the beer up adequately in less than 48 hrs, and the process limits variables. This way, your results are easily repeatable.

I have nothing against rolling kegs, I just find it (and as others have posted) easy to overcarb. Then you have to deal with the hassle of degassing, which eats up more of your time.

I will agree though that while the beer is drinkable after a few days on gas, the taste improves after a week or so.

 

[bobeer]

I think I've been kegging for a year and half or so now. I always cold crash for a full day, then rack the beer into the keg, and force carb at around 20 psi. The cold beer will absorb the c02 better and faster. I then roll the keg on its side for about 10 minutes then pour a half pint or so. The beer will condition over time, about 4-7 days I'd say, but different beers will age out at different times. IPA's you can pretty much drink the same day you force carb it. Same with pale ales, hefes, and other beers you're supposed to drink super fresh. Once the carbonation is where you want it you can back off the gas a little bit.

You can also put more hops in the keg, or fruit, tea, whatever you want. It's another cool aspect of kegging.

as far a changing the beer lines go... I have a beer line for darker beers and one for hoppy beers. I don't really use any cleaning agents other than just hot water. I change the lines out maybe every 5-10 beers or so. I get the line for about 80 cents a foot and I use 5 foot lines so it's pretty cheap. Cheaper than buying line cleaner and wasting gas to push it all through. There are many methods on this though... this is just what works for me. If you search for keg cleaning or line cleaning you'll find other methods that might work better for you.

Kegging is awesome. There's nothing more satisfying that pulling a pint of homebrew YOU made off of your draft system. I love it.

 

[Yooper]

It can kind of be that simple, but not really and yes you can easily be drinking in a week (or tomorrow).

I'm going to run you through some tips that I picked up when I started kegging not too long ago.

1. Check for leaks. Squirty bottle with soapy water in it, squirt it one every join, gauge, open/closing, post, lid, splice, disconnect, nut and bolt on the system. Then check again.

2. Clear the beer by cold crashing before kegging. If you use gelatin use it in the fermenter as it creates wee jelly balls if you use it in your keg for the first 3-4 pints (I did kinda start to like beer jelly a lil bit).

3. 14 psi @ 41° gives a good carbonation on my system, and pours nicely with 18' of 1/4" line coiled on top of my keg.

4. don't use 1/4' line because you need 18' of it.

5. I rapid force carbonate my keg. This method involves me sitting with a keg across my knee, I bump the pressure up to 35ish psi until it stops bubbling. Turn off the gas (on the regulator) and shake it until it the pressure drops to 14psi. Repeat until the pressure will not drop with shaking (usually 3-4 times). Chuck it in the keezer, pour a pint (dont judge me), leave overnight with regulator set to desired carb pressure (14 for me). So far the slight overpressure that was not absorbed by shaking has been absorbed by the beer overnight. Trying to purge it just pisses froth over the top of the keg. This is all done at cold crash temps.

6. use this chart

Good tips! I use 10-12' of 3/16" tubing and it works very well for almost all of my beer styles. It's not long enough for soda or champagne like carbonation, though.

I like to chill the beer in the keg and then hook up to 30psi for 23-36 hours. Then dial down to 12psi for serving. I like this method as it carbs the beer up adequately in less than 48 hrs, and the process limits variables. This way, your results are easily repeatable.

I have nothing against rolling kegs, I just find it (and as others have posted) easy to overcarb. Then you have to deal with the hassle of degassing, which eats up more of your time.

I will agree though that while the beer is drinkable after a few days on gas, the taste improves after a week or so.

I do something similar. I don't cold crash, so I keg my beer at fermentation temperature (usually about 65/66). Then I put it in the kegerator at 30 psi for 36 hours- no shaking/rolling, etc. (That suspends sediment and makes the beer foamy and maybe overcarbed, plus can inhibit later head and foam retention in the beer).

Then, after 36 hours, purge and reset to 12 psi. Pour a couple of ounces off (it will have some sludge), and then try it. By hour 48 it'll be pretty good. It'll be pretty clear, without sediment, and well on its way to carbonation. By the next day, it should be great.

I just did this on Monday with two kegs. I am taking one keg to a friend's house tomorrow for the weekend. It's carbed up nicely, and it's clear and my friends will love it.

 

[AnOldUR]

I am taking one keg to a friend's house tomorrow for the weekend. It's carbed up nicely, and it's clear and my friends will love it.

Never been able to master this. Perfectly clear beer at home is always cloudy from transporting it. If I arrive early enough, by late in the day it starts to clear. Just about the time the keg kicks.

hmmm . . . be serving a couple of kegs at my daughters house next weekend. Might try to set up the night before and hope the kids don't drink it all by morning. :cross:

 

[Yooper]

Never been able to master this. Perfectly clear beer at home is always cloudy from transporting it. If I arrive early enough, by late in the day it starts to clear. Just about the time the keg kicks.

hmmm . . . be serving a couple of kegs at my daughters house next weekend. Might try to set up the night before and hope the kids don't drink it all by morning. :cross:

I "jump" it to a new keg.

What I'm going to do this afternoon is this:

Without moving the keg (this is crucial!), hook up my "jumper cable". It's a 6' beer line with two black QDs (out to out). First, flood the receiving keg with c02. Purge a bit, but leave gas in there. Purge the original keg, and put only about 2-3 psi on it, just enough to push it. Put one black QD on my "new" keg, and one on my original keg. Pull the pressure relief valve on the receiving keg, and the beer will flow. Pull the PRV a couple of times as the flow continues. Then, when done, the new keg on 12 psi to make sure there are no leaks plus to keep it carbed.

That's it. If you do this with clear beer, the sediment that gets stirred up during the trip is very minimal and takes only about 15 minutes to settle.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I "jump" it to a new keg.

My experience exactly. The first time I transported a keg of brilliantly clear beer, it was mud by the time I reached my destination.

I jump keg to keg by connecting two picnic taps together, a short length of gas tubing slides right on to the picnic taps, open both taps with high pressure on the full keg and continue to vent the empty keg til full.

 

[Mexibilly]

I like to chill the beer in the keg and then hook up to 30psi for 23-36 hours. Then dial down to 12psi for serving. I like this method as it carbs the beer up adequately in less than 48 hrs, and the process limits variables. This way, your results are easily repeatable.

I have nothing against rolling kegs, I just find it (and as others have posted) easy to overcarb. Then you have to deal with the hassle of degassing, which eats up more of your time.

I will agree though that while the beer is drinkable after a few days on gas, the taste improves after a week or so.

Going this route. Thank you.
The co2 tank is currently sitting at 55-60psi. Can I expect that to last through this batch?
The guy I purchased this equipment from assured me that was enough.

 

[Yooper]

Going this route. Thank you.
The co2 tank is currently sitting at 55-60psi. Can I expect that to last through this batch?
The guy I purchased this equipment from assured me that was enough.

you mean 600?

If you want to see how much gas you have, you'd have to weigh the tank without a regulator attached. Then, subtract the tare weight stamped on the side to find out how many pounds of c02 you have left.

C02 is a liquid, dispensed as a gas, and like a propane tank, those high pressure gauges are useless for telling you how much you have left. If you put your tank in the fridge, the needle will drop. It will stay in the same place until about 10 seconds before the gas is actually all gone! It's not like a fuel gauge at all.

I joke that the best way to use the high pressure regulator is by covering it with duct tape- but that's really about the size of it. It's only useful if it reads empty, and you know you'll need a fill in the next day or so.

 

[Mexibilly]

Thank you

 

[Mexibilly]

you mean 600?

If you want to see how much gas you have, you'd have to weigh the tank without a regulator attached. Then, subtract the tare weight stamped on the side to find out how many pounds of c02 you have left.

C02 is a liquid, dispensed as a gas, and like a propane tank, those high pressure gauges are useless for telling you how much you have left. If you put your tank in the fridge, the needle will drop. It will stay in the same place until about 10 seconds before the gas is actually all gone! It's not like a fuel gauge at all.

I joke that the best way to use the high pressure regulator is by covering it with duct tape- but that's really about the size of it. It's only useful if it reads empty, and you know you'll need a fill in the next day or so.

Thank you. I have ~1.1 lbs in my tank. Think that'll carb and serve a 5gal IPA?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes 1, likely not 2. You will learn why some like to have a spare CO2 tank, it allows filling on your schedule, not its schedule

 

[Mexibilly]

Yes 1, likely not 2. You will learn why some like to have a spare CO2 tank, it allows filling on your schedule, not its schedule

Thanks dude. My mentor, back to back home brewer of the year 2014 & 2015, just said the same thing.
Keg is soaked to remove nastiness and oxi clean soaking now.
I've seen 2.5 gallons of star san pressurized and turn it upside down etc to sanitize.
Can I not just be thorough with contact and sanitize like I would anything else?
That's my plan at this point...

 

[sheephrdr]

I use the same carb method as yooper, (used to rock keg for 15 mins) the only alteration to yooper is I add my gelitan once I keg. as it cools and carbs over the next couple days its crystal clear on pint #3 I mean crystal.

 

[wilserbrewer]

.

I've seen 2.5 gallons of star san pressurized and turn it upside down etc to sanitize.

...

2 1/2 gallons is more than plenty, I find it easier and much lighter to just mix a couple quarts of star San and give the keg a shake to make sure it hits all the inside, star San has very quick contact time, just wet is fine, no need to soak.

 

[Natdavis777]

2 1/2 gallons is more than plenty, I find it easier and much lighter to just mix a couple quarts of star San and give the keg a shake to make sure it hits all the inside, star San has very quick contact time, just wet is fine, no need to soak.

That is what I do. Ill fill with some star san solution, roll the keg on the floor back and forth to make sure it contacts everything welll, then pour some out of the picnic tap to hit the diptube. When it comes time to keg, I will use that existing solution to sanitize my racking cane, etc.

 

[Natdavis777]

Thanks dude. My mentor, back to back home brewer of the year 2014 & 2015, just said the same thing.
Keg is soaked to remove nastiness and oxi clean soaking now.
I've seen 2.5 gallons of star san pressurized and turn it upside down etc to sanitize.
Can I not just be thorough with contact and sanitize like I would anything else?
That's my plan at this point...

Was he the homebrewer of the year from the Brewers Cup? (I think that guy has won quite a few times)

 

[wilserbrewer]

.

I've seen 2.5 gallons of star san pressurized and turn it upside down etc to sanitize.

...

2 1/2 gallons is more than plenty, I find it easier and much lighter to just mix a couple quarts of star San and give the keg a shake to make sure it hits all the inside, star San has very quick contact time, just wet is fine, no need to soak.

 

[govner1]

So simple. There are many ways to carb. Bsically just rack into a sanitized keg like normal. Personally, i do about 15psi and try it at 4 to 5 days. Your beer really doesnt develop until 2 weeks, so 12 psi or so for a few weeks is ideal. Of course if your really impatient, like me somtimes, 30-40 psi for 24 hours and your on your way. Youll learn what works for you over time.

.^***The first part of this. Cold crash @ 35°F for ad a anc connect the CO2 @ 10-15 psi for 5-7 days. Enjoy!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Fiiiiine...I'll throw my $0.02 in the ring...

When I first started kegging, I filled a keg up to it's fill point with water. I then dumped that water into my bottling bucket. I sharpied a line at the water line "Keg Line".

Now whenever the beer is ready to come out of its fermenter, I rack it into the bottling bucket. I bottle beers down to the "Keg Line"....BTW I also have notes on all my fermenting buckets that tell me about how many bottles I can get in addition to filling the keg... helps to tell me how many bottles to sanitize. To carb the bottles I used to use carbonation drops, but now I use 3/4 tsp. of corn sugar in each bottle to do the job...much cheaper, same result.

I put the newly filled keg on gas and purge the oxygen. Five or six pulls on the release valve should do it. Then I take it off the gas and put the keg in the fridge overnight. The next day I put the gas back on, turn it up to 25 psi, lay the keg on its side (gas post side up) with the gas hose in hand held above the keg (this prevents beer from flowing into the gas line). Now it's time to roll. I roll the keg back and forth with my foot for two and and a half minutes. No more, no less <---important!! Stand the bad boy back up, turn the gas down to ~8 and relieve the keg pressure. Be careful of this step...beer might spray. Give it at least 15 minutes and hook the beer line up and pull off about a half pint and dump it. This gets rid of the yuks that settled to the bottom.

You are now carbed and ready to go.

For beers that need to age after they are kegged, I have an auxiliary 20# CO2 tank in the garage I'll hook it up to at the appropriate pressure for the ambient temp and forget about it for a few weeks.

Bee tee dubs, I only clean my kegs once every three or four uses (ideally). When they kick I rinse the sediment out with hot water and pressurize to about 8 psi. When it's time to fill, I rinse them again then half fill with sanitizer (from the bottling bucket) for a few minutes then turn upside down in the sink to sanitize the top half. A full cleaning of the keg requires hot water, OxyClean, and about an hour.



&#8593;Seriously the longest half-sober post I've ever done&#8593;

 

[Mexibilly]

2 1/2 gallons is more than plenty, I find it easier and much lighter to just mix a couple quarts of star San and give the keg a shake to make sure it hits all the inside, star San has very quick contact time, just wet is fine, no need to soak.

That's what I was getting at. Thanks

 

[Mexibilly]

Was he the homebrewer of the year from the Brewers Cup? (I think that guy has won quite a few times)

Tim Palmer. Foam Blowers of Indiana. FBI. Indiana state fair home brewing competition

 

[Yooper]

I "jump" it to a new keg.

What I'm going to do this afternoon is this:

Without moving the keg (this is crucial!), hook up my "jumper cable". It's a 6' beer line with two black QDs (out to out). First, flood the receiving keg with c02. Purge a bit, but leave gas in there. Purge the original keg, and put only about 2-3 psi on it, just enough to push it. Put one black QD on my "new" keg, and one on my original keg. Pull the pressure relief valve on the receiving keg, and the beer will flow. Pull the PRV a couple of times as the flow continues. Then, when done, the new keg on 12 psi to make sure there are no leaks plus to keep it carbed.

That's it. If you do this with clear beer, the sediment that gets stirred up during the trip is very minimal and takes only about 15 minutes to settle.

I just want to mention that we kicked this keg yesterday. It was super clear, poured well and great tasting, even after a bumpy three hour journey in my Jeep. It really is the ticket for taking a keg of beer someplace without any issues.

 

[Mexibilly]

you mean 600?

If you want to see how much gas you have, you'd have to weigh the tank without a regulator attached. Then, subtract the tare weight stamped on the side to find out how many pounds of c02 you have left.

C02 is a liquid, dispensed as a gas, and like a propane tank, those high pressure gauges are useless for telling you how much you have left. If you put your tank in the fridge, the needle will drop. It will stay in the same place until about 10 seconds before the gas is actually all gone! It's not like a fuel gauge at all.

I joke that the best way to use the high pressure regulator is by covering it with duct tape- but that's really about the size of it. It's only useful if it reads empty, and you know you'll need a fill in the next day or so.

Chilled over night at 55.
Put it on at 30psi just now. Very slight apparent leak at out quick connect. That seems to have stopped after pressurization. The main lid seal seems to have squeezed it's way out of the connection just a little. No leaks, but a tiny bit of seal has migrated through the mating surfaces. I'm gonna let it go until Wednesday, when I dial it down to 12psi.
Should I purge? Maybe pour half a pint of foam to release extra pressure then serve? I'm totally stoked to offer my buddies a Homebrew on tap, even if it's in the garage...

 

[m00ps]

I always purge it once I stick it into the kegerator to make sure nothing gets overcarbed. Usually my kegs have been sitting at 32psi room temp for about 2 weeks so they are pretty close to being well carbed. You should get some keg lube to troubleshoot any leaks around the posts or keg lids. It works wonders

 

[Natdavis777]

Tim Palmer. Foam Blowers of Indiana. FBI. Indiana state fair home brewing competition

That's the guy