Force Carbing in Mini Keg Question

[nyrmc23]

I have the KegSmith mini keg. I wanted to force carbonate my Pumpkin Beer I brewed over two weeks ago. Should I wait to keg it until I'm ready to actually drink it and force carbonate it then, or if I'm in no rush should I add priming sugar (22G of sugar for 1 gallon per the recipe) and let it ferment like I would in the bottle, thus not forcing anything?

My other question is can I put the beer into the keg now and then force carb it when i'm ready?

Also, any tips on force carbing a mini keg?

 

[doug293cz]

Keg it now, and either naturally carbonate with priming sugar, or force carbonate with the set and forget method (set the regulator pressure per the carbonation level you want at the temperature you will be storing/serving the beer.) In either case you should purge the keg headspace after filling (unless using a pre-purged keg and closed transfer) using multiple pressurize and vent cycles. 6 or more purge cycles should be adequate for a pumpkin beer (not too hoppy) if it will be kept cold until consumed. For very hoppy beers (sensitive to oxidation), or if you are sensitive to oxidation off flavors, then more aggressive purging should be done.

Brew on

 

[nyrmc23]

Keg it now, and either naturally carbonate with priming sugar, or force carbonate with the set and forget method (set the regulator pressure per the carbonation level you want at the temperature you will be storing/serving the beer.) In either case you should purge the keg headspace after filling (unless using a pre-purged keg and closed transfer) using multiple pressurize and vent cycles. 6 or more purge cycles should be adequate for a pumpkin beer (not too hoppy) if it will be kept cold until consumed. For very hoppy beers (sensitive to oxidation), or if you are sensitive to oxidation off flavors, then more aggressive purging should be done.

Brew on

This is my first time kegging with this (I just use it to bring to breweries). What would you recommend I set a pumpkin beer at in terms of the pressure?

 

[jseyfert3]

This is my first time kegging with this (I just use it to bring to breweries). What would you recommend I set a pumpkin beer at in terms of the pressure?

The amount of CO2 dissolved depends on both the pressure and temp. More pressure, more dissolves. Colder temps, more dissolves. Because of this carbonation levels are not referred to by pressure but by "volumes."

Volumes referres to the volume of CO2, if it were at atmospheric pressure, that is dissolved in the beer. In other words, for a 12 oz beer carbed at 2 volumes there is 24 oz (volume, not weight) of CO2 dissolved in the beer, or enough to fill two 12 oz beer bottles with CO2 at atmospheric pressure.

Most ales are carbed at around 2.5 volumes, so at 38 °F that means a pressure of 11 psi. Use a chart like this or a carbing calculator to figure out pressure for your desired carbonation in volumes at your desired serving temp. Force Carbonation Chart - Kegerators.com

Also, the easiest way to carb is the set and forget. After purging the headspace, set the pressure based on the chart and chill the beer. Leave connected to the CO2 at that pressure indefinitely. It will take 2-3 weeks to fully carbonate with this method, so start when the beer is ready to keg, not when you're ready to drink. This time can be sped up by other methods if needed, but set and forget is the easiest.

 

[doug293cz]

This is my first time kegging with this (I just use it to bring to breweries). What would you recommend I set a pumpkin beer at in terms of the pressure?

A good place to start would be 2.4 Volumes. The CO2 pressure to get 2.4 volumes depends on the temperature of the beer. The chart below shows how volumes of carbonation depends on pressure and temp.

Brew on