holding legged beer under CO2 but not refrigerated

[faithie999]

autocorrect didn't like "Kegged" beer and I didn't notice the autocorrection before posting

I have a spare corny keg but the kegerator is full right now. can I rack a batch from secondary to the spare keg and put under CO2 for a while before there is room in the kegerator? I have a spot in my basement that is about 60F. how long can I do that for?
thanks!

 

[bleme]

You sure can! In fact, if you know it is going to be a couple weeks, you can prime the keg and naturally carbonate. The active yeast will help scavenge the O2 picked up during transfer and give you an even better product.

If you can't bulk prime, you should probably give it a zap of gas every few days. Otherwise, the CO2 in the headspace that is keeping a good seal on the lid will absorb into the beer and you might get a leak.

 

[Drunken Draftsman]

I've done this for several months with no issues. FWIW I made room in my keezer for a day to give it decent pressure before I took it off CO2.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]can I rack a batch from secondary to the spare keg and put under CO2 for a while before there is room in the kegerator? I have a spot in my basement that is about 60F. how long can I do that for?
thanks!

Certainly you can do that, using "chart pressure", obtained from our favorite carbonation table. Applying your 60°F on the Y-axis, scan across that row to the carbonation level you desire, expressed as "Volumes Of CO2", where 2.4-2.5 is roughly typical for most ales, then run up that column to find the CO2 pressure to use.

As for time, it'll take a bit over a couple of weeks on "chart pressure" at any temperature for a full five gallon cornelius-style keg to reach equilibrium. Once that point it reached one can disconnect the gas entirely and treat the keg as a big bottle - as long as the keg is tight there's no need to keep it on CO2...

Cheers!

 

[Drunken Draftsman]

Certainly you can do that, using "chart pressure", obtained from our favorite carbonation table. Applying your 60°F on the Y-axis, scan across that row to the carbonation level you desire, expressed as "Volumes Of CO2", where 2.4-2.5 is roughly typical for most ales, then run up that column to find the CO2 pressure to use.

As for time, it'll take a bit over a couple of weeks on "chart pressure" at any temperature for a full five gallon cornelius-style keg to reach equilibrium. Once that point it reached one can disconnect the gas entirely and treat the keg as a big bottle - as long as the keg is tight there's no need to keep it on CO2...

Cheers!

Is there any benefit to fully carbing instead of just purging the keg and leaving your beer at a low pressure? I realize you'd have to wait for it to carb when you eventually put it in the keezer, but is there any reason to keep it at serving pressure the whole time?

 

[Bobby_M]

If I have no fridge space for a newly filled keg, I usually put 60 psi on the keg and roll in back and forth on the floor for about 2 full minutes. This ensures that the lid will stay seated well since that pressure will drop to about 6psi once it fully dissolves.

 

[day_trippr]

Is there any benefit to fully carbing instead of just purging the keg and leaving your beer at a low pressure? I realize you'd have to wait for it to carb when you eventually put it in the keezer, but is there any reason to keep it at serving pressure the whole time?

There is no such thing as "serving pressure".

There is "chart pressure" which certainly should dictate regulator settings once a beer has reached the desired carbonation level - through whatever method used - "natural carbonation", spunding, "set and forget", "burst carbonation", or "rock and roll"/"shake and bake".

"Serving pressure" must conform to "chart pressure", otherwise the actual carbonation level will not remain as desired. If one has to use a CO2 pressure lower than "chart pressure" to dispense beer with anything resembling a quality pour, the system isn't tuned properly...

Cheers!

 

[Bobby_M]

There is no such thing as "serving pressure".

There is "chart pressure" which certainly should dictate regulator settings once a beer has reached the desired carbonation level - through whatever method used - "natural carbonation", spunding, "set and forget", "burst carbonation", or "rock and roll"/"shake and bake".

"Serving pressure" must conform to "chart pressure", otherwise the actual carbonation level will not remain as desired. If one has to use a CO2 pressure lower than "chart pressure" to dispense beer with anything resembling a quality pour, the system isn't tuned properly...

Cheers!

I agree with everything you wrote there but I think the OP just meant "do I need to keep the keg on gas?" but just chose words poorly.

 

[day_trippr]

lol! That happens, sorry if I was floggin' the doggie.
But the whole "serving pressure" thing makes my teeth ache and I'd like the notion to be consigned to the dustbin of misconceptions

Cheers!

 

[Jayjay1976]

lol! That happens, sorry if I was floggin' the doggie.
But the whole "serving pressure" thing makes my teeth ache and I'd like the notion to be consigned to the dustbin of misconceptions

Cheers!

^^This guy, amiright?

 

[day_trippr]

That's me. And amiwrong?

Cheers!

 

[Jayjay1976]

That's me. And amiwrong?

Cheers!

That's you, floggin' newbs since 2011.

 

[day_trippr]

Of all people to make that statement...

Cheers!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey that wasn't criticism!