How Long To Keg?

[Dan2539]

I just finished my secondary fermentation of a amber waves ale (my first brew). The hydrometer reading is right where it should be for final gravity according to the recipe. I am fortunate enough to have acquired quite a few corny kegs and have therefore decided to go with a kegging rather than a bottling process. The recipe kit I'm using assumes that you are bottling and priming. I chose to skip the addition of priming sugars as this will just make my beer have more sugars to dissolve and leave my yeast with more byproducts of fermentation to break down. Will this change the final outcome of my beer? The kit also calls for a two week period prior to drinking the beer after bottling. Without the priming sugars to be fermented and with my beer being forced carbonated, will I still have to let my beer sit around two weeks in my keg before it can be properly matured and enjoyed?

 

[SporkD2]

You only want to add priming sugar when your bottling.

I usually hook up my co2 into my keg and leave it for 2 weeks minimum. If you force carbonate however you can get there much faster. By force carbonating your also giving up clarity because all that yeast and stuff wont cold crash.

Two weeks sitting on gas and you'll have a great perfectly carbed beer

 

[rwinzing]

You can force carb the beer and be drinking it in a couple of days but I agree with SporkD2 if you can stand it wait it out.

 

[CDbrews]

I agree with the other two, two weeks on gas makes for an excellent beer

 

[khiddy]

You only want to add priming sugar when your bottling.

Actually, you CAN use priming sugar when kegging, but many (most?) choose to do the force-carbing method. However, if you have the time, naturally carbonating in a keg can have the added benefit of a smoother beer, because it adds two-to-three weeks of conditioning before you drink the beer, which almost always helps a homebrew.

If you choose to go the natural carbonation route, the standard is to use 1/2 to 1/3 less priming sugar (dextrose, DME, or honey are all acceptable). Put the priming sugar in the keg, rack the beer on top of it, seal the keg and seat the lid with a blast of CO2, flush the oxygen, then set the keg aside for 2-3 weeks at 65-70F.

To serve, chill the keg for 24-48 hours, and apply 6-8PSI to push the beer out of the keg. The first pint or two will be a bit cloudy from the dregs of the carbonation process (as well as settled proteins and yeast that would've been in the keg no matter what the carbonation process). Enjoy your naturally carbonated beer.

And now I leave this editorial & educational moment aside, and return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[Dan2539]

You only want to add priming sugar when your bottling.

I usually hook up my co2 into my keg and leave it for 2 weeks minimum. If you force carbonate however you can get there much faster. By force carbonating your also giving up clarity because all that yeast and stuff wont cold crash.

Two weeks sitting on gas and you'll have a great perfectly carbed beer

Should my beer then be stored at room temperature (as recommended for the bottling methods) or be stored at a colder temperature? I only have a limited knowledge of what cold crashing entails so forgive me if I am wrong, but couldn’t I just ice my keg down now, boost my co2 input (which should allow C02 to enter solution easier) and still have all the suspended particles drop to the bottom of the keg for flushing to achieve that clarity in two to three days?

Was hoping to possibly have the brew ready to drink by Thanksgiving Eve, but that might be rushing it too much. Thanks everyone for such quick response. This place if awesome for a noob who needs help!

 

[mitch171]

You could have it ready by then by putting the PSI high and shaking the hell out of it. The preferred method is to set and forget. But if you need it sooner you can have it ready by tomorrow.

 

[Tiako]

I thought it only took about a week to carb it with co2?

 

[jezter6]

You can easily force carb this by Thanksgiving Eve. Do some reading on various ways, but I've heard people hooking it up to the gas and rocking it so that the co2 dissolves into solution.

As for the cloudy - once you put it in your kegerator, it will "cold crash" and that first pint or two might have some yeasties in it. Just call that angel's share and pour one for your dead homies and the rest will be perfectly fine will eventually clear nicely once all the yeasties have dropped and been sucked up the tube.

I think it's something like cold + 30psi + shaking. Just gotta be VERY careful as it's easy to overcarb a beer this way.

Do some searching and reading and you will find the answer somewhere in here.

 

[malkore]

just because its kegged and carbed doesn't mean its at peak drinking age. its still going to taste green after being in primary for a week and then getting kegged.

it may taste fine...it may taste a bit green. every beer is different.

 

[Shoemaker]

I wouldn't recommend shaking the keg and carbing. I tried to do this my first time kegging and the results were not good. Everyone has their opinion on how to keg, but I found the best method for me is to set your tank to 29 psi and let it sit for 3-4 days.

 

[mitch171]

Sure time still heals all wounds, but if it needs to be drank on Thanksgiving eve it doesn't really matter how it will taste 3 weeks from now.

 

[Dan2539]

Just call that angel's share and pour one for your dead homies

Rofl... Thanks everyone for the advice. Hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving.

 

[SevenFields]

You only want to add priming sugar when your bottling.

I usually hook up my co2 into my keg and leave it for 2 weeks minimum. If you force carbonate however you can get there much faster. By force carbonating your also giving up clarity because all that yeast and stuff wont cold crash.

Two weeks sitting on gas and you'll have a great perfectly carbed beer

What Psi do you set it at for 2 weeks?

 

[khiddy]

At the serving PSI. Check this chart for your target PSI.