How should i keg condition?

[sparky2284]

i have a 5 gallon batch ready to be kegged tomorrow. check all my reading and everything. i just want to know how i can condition my keg. Do i transfer to keg from carboy and hit with X amount of co2 and then let it sit back in 65 degree temperature, then force carb when ready? or Do i transfer, get it cold, force carb then condition? Thanks in advance

 

[natural]

I'm no expert but from what I understand it depends how you want to carbonate it. It's best to force carb if the beer is cold, i'd imagine if you're just carbing it for a week that you can transfer to your keg, set your psi to desired amount and put it in the fridge/wait.

But! I am not 100% either so i'm excited to hear others posts. My kegs come in thursday.

 

[brokebucket]

I think the preferred way would be to cold crash in fermenter, then transfer to keg and start carbing. This way you leave almost everything behind in the fermenter but clear beer.

If you cant do that, just transfer to keg and cool, carb up after cold. Just know that your first pour will be mud as you pick up all the sediment that settled out.

 

[sparky2284]

I'm no expert but from what I understand it depends how you want to carbonate it. It's best to force carb if the beer is cold, i'd imagine if you're just carbing it for a week that you can transfer to your keg, set your psi to desired amount and put it in the fridge/wait.

But! I am not 100% either so i'm excited to hear others posts. My kegs come in thursday.

Yes I know, I was talking about conditioning, not force carbing

 

[sparky2284]

I think the preferred way would be to cold crash in fermenter, then transfer to keg and start carbing. This way you leave almost everything behind in the fermenter but clear beer.



If you cant do that, just transfer to keg and cool, carb up after cold. Just know that your first pour will be mud as you pick up all the sediment that settled out.

I know how to carb, I was wondering about conditioning

 

[day_trippr]

"Conditioning" is a rather nebulous term that can mean a lot of things. It could mean aging, it could mean brightening, it could mean carbing...

If you want to age out some character, warmer temperatures will make that happen quicker. You can still carbonate at the same time, you just need higher CO2 pressure.

If you want to brighten, that happens fastest when cold. Again, you can carbonate at the same time, just use the appropriate CO2 pressure for the beer temperature and desired volumes of CO2...

Cheers!

 

[LLBeanJ]

I don't carb it up until it's on tap and ready to drink. If I'm conditioning, I transfer to the keg, hit it with 30 PSI CO2 to seal the lid, purge and add CO2 a few times, then let it sit in the basement until I am ready to tap it.

 

[sparky2284]

"Conditioning" is a rather nebulous term that can mean a lot of things. It could mean aging, it could mean brightening, it could mean carbing...



If you want to age out some character, warmer temperatures will make that happen quicker. You can still carbonate at the same time, you just need higher CO2 pressure.



If you want to brighten, that happens fastest when cold. Again, you can carbonate at the same time, just use the appropriate CO2 pressure for the beer temperature and desired volumes of CO2...



Cheers!

Thank you. So basically if to carb at 65 degrees to get 2.2 volumes I would need to set around 22 PSI rather than at 40 degrees for 2.2 volumes and set it at 9 PSI?

 

[sparky2284]

I don't carb it up until it's on tap and ready to drink. If I'm conditioning, I transfer to the keg, hit it with 30 PSI CO2 to seal the lid, purge and add CO2 a few times, then let it sit in the basement until I am ready to tap it.

Makes sense, never have any trouble with over carb?

 

[RonPopeil]

Thank you. So basically if to carb at 65 degrees to get 2.2 volumes I would need to set around 22 PSI rather than at 40 degrees for 2.2 volumes and set it at 9 PSI?

why do you want to carb warm?

Pretty pictures

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

i condition in the kegerator generally. rack to keg and hook it up to 10psi for a week and then switch it to the service line (dual regulator).

hoppy beers like to be drank 2 weeks after being chilled. some beers like a few months. some like to stay warm until it's time to carb. belgians for example. i bulk age belgians and big beers in kegs by just letting them hang out in the brew closet. hit them with some gas every once in a while.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Makes sense, never have any trouble with over carb?

No. One shot at 30 PSI at room temp won't even come close to enough CO2 to carb it properly, let alone over carb it. My kegs are in the fridge and chillin' before I put it on constant CO2 to carb.

 

[day_trippr]

Thank you. So basically if to carb at 65 degrees to get 2.2 volumes I would need to set around 22 PSI rather than at 40 degrees for 2.2 volumes and set it at 9 PSI?

Exactly so, as this keg force carbonation calculator shows...

Cheers!

 

[sparky2284]

Exactly so, as this keg force carbonation calculator shows...



Cheers!

Do I purge when I'm done carbing then let it condition? Or do I leave the same pressure inside?

 

[Stauffbier]

If you just want to condition it at room temp all you have to do is hit it with a few lbs. of co2, purge it a few times, then leave it with anywhere from 5-30lbs. of pressure at room temp for however long you want to condition it. Then when you're done conditioning stick it in the fridge, hit it with your serving pressure, give it a few days to get to the proper volumes of co2, then start drinking it...

 

[sparky2284]

If you just want to condition it at room temp all you have to do is hit it with a few lbs. of co2, purge it a few times, then leave it with anywhere from 5-30lbs. of pressure at room temp for however long you want to condition it. Then when you're done conditioning stick it in the fridge, hit it with your serving pressure, give it a few days to get to the proper volumes of co2, then start drinking it...

I already carbonated at room temperature. Can I purge it and then just leave it for how ever at room temperature?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Don't purge if it's already carbonated. Just let it be.

 

[Stauffbier]

Yeah, if it's carbed just let it condition. You can condition a keg with flat beer or carbed beer.

 

[Wingnutt73]

check this forum bierMuncher made a nice easy to follow table. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/confused-about-kegging-carbonation-53428/

 

[Stauffbier]

check this forum bierMuncher made a nice easy to follow table. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/confused-about-kegging-carbonation-53428/

That's a great thread, but as the OP mentioned he already knows how to carb a keg. He wants to "condition" his already carbed keg at room temp. Basically meaning he wants to cellar the keg for a while before serving off of it to benefit from the aging.

 

[sparky2284]

Yeah, if it's carbed just let it condition. You can condition a keg with flat beer or carbed beer.

Thanks! That's exactly what I did. I purged it then put about 15 psi to let it stay seal while conditioning. Thanks again