Getting started kegging

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insnekamkze86

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Hello there i am brewing a irish stout and was wanting to start kegging my beer instead of having to bottle it. I know i need a keg for the homebrew and all the equipment needed to keg it. But my question is what goes into kegging the beer vs bottling it?
Like how to carbonate the beer via CO2 or by forced carbonated.
Stuff like that, i a noob still on this homebrewing art but im tring to get my act on track and do stuff the right way such as kegging my own homebrew.
 
I think you mean the same thing on force carbonation and carbonation by CO2. Technically bottle conditioning is still carbonating by CO2.

Kegging is simple once you figure out the parameters involved. Unless you get elaborate with individual regulators you are most likely going to have a single pressure to your tap lines. This pressure will result in a force carbonation in your keg. At varying temperatures (colder absorbs more) you get more CO2 dissolved into the beer which results in a more lively carbonation. My reference charts online all seem to be dead, many books have reference charts on styles. You'll want to seek out the CO2 recommendations for an Irish Stout at the recommended serving temperature (or whatever temp you are keeping the beer at).

Some people will say roll the keg, I prefer to wait and let it happen. Usually it takes about 3-4 days depending on pressures, temps, etc. Once that happens you have beer with the appropriate level of carbonation.

The next trick is making sure that beer comes out of the tap properly. In order to preserve the beer and get a great pour you will need to balance your lines. Every material has a different resistance it adds to flowing beer. Too much resistance and your beer will pour very slow, too little and it will fly out causing massive foaming. I think this is the real key and if you will run multiple taps from a single pressure you have to work this into the equation. I'm not real experienced on dealing with that issue so hopefully someone else can chime in.
 
okay thank you i have heard some people just putting the beer into a keg when its done fermenting or when they goto bottle it they just put into a keg and went from there.
I dont know how they carbonated it i just know they put it into a keg and had beer coming out of the tap not to soon later.
 
You will need a refrigerator of some sort to keep the kegs cold. I would recommend a dual regulator so you can dispense at one pressure and carb at another pressure.

Remember though your beers will likely take 6 weeks for them to taste really good just like when you bottle. You will need several kegs. Once you get the process down then it becomes real easy.
 
You can put priming sugar in the kegs when filling them (about half the normal amount) and leave them at room temperature for 3-4 weeks before putting them in the fridge and hook them up. Just like a big bottle - that way they are already aged, carbonated and ready to drink as soon as they are chilled down. Your bottled CO2 also lasts twice as long that way. I do all of mine this way.
 
+1 on dual body regulator. I naturally carb, and secondary my beer in a corny keg now, then just toss it in the fridge a week before I am going to start drinking it.
 
okay thanks couldnt i add the priming sugar to the batch of beer when its done fermenting then put that into the keg? Just wondering.
 
Yes, it's the same thing. Either way it's mixed with the beer in the keg but if you mix it in the fermenting vessel you will probably stir up sediment and cloud the beer back up.

What I do is mix the priming sugar with a cup or two of water, boil for a couple of minutes and let it cool down a bit. Dump that mixture into the keg and then rack the finished beer right on top of it. Seal the keg and purge it a couple of times with CO2, roll it on the floor a few times to mix it up and then park it for 3 weeks outside the keezer, ready to take the place of the next keg that blows empty.
 
if you buy from keg connection they send you a 2 page 'how to' on kegging, i followed that and have been fine, its really easy to do , dont sweat it ..
 

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