How soon after kegging can I drink the beer

[Chriso]

So, are you saying to hit the keg with 30PSI, then let the keg sit for a couple weeks at room temp?

That seals the lid, and partially carbonates the beer. When it's time for that beer to be served, you still have to chill the beer, and finish carbonating it to the desired vols.

 

[Judochop]

Ok, so I set my PSI to ~8.0 (trying to achieve 2.0 volumes @ 42 degrees), pumped it into my keg and rocked for about 15 minutes until the bubble sounds neared a stop. I read that this pretty much carbonates the beer as needed, but that it's best to let the beer sit a bit before serving, just to let things settle.

So, I put the keg and the CO2 tank back in the freezer (@42 degrees) and left the CO2 on the beer @ ~8.0 PSI.

Four hours later... with palpable anxiety, I go to serve myself my first-ever kegged brew, and the regulator is reading 20 PSI! Why did it do that? Shouldn't it stay where I set it?

What do I do now if I want to pour myself a pint?

 

[Chriso]

Um... try turning off your CO2 tank, disconnecting the QD from the keg, and venting the contents of the line (I use my thumb against the pin). Then let go, and turn the CO2 tank back on to see what the real pressure is. It's likely that the headspace in your beer has just gotten to a higher pressure than that from your regulator. There's a check valve most likely there to prevent the gas from going back into the reg.

If the reg pressure after venting is 8psi, then purge your keg headspace, and reconnect the gas line.

 

[Ekidon]

That seals the lid, and partially carbonates the beer. When it's time for that beer to be served, you still have to chill the beer, and finish carbonating it to the desired vols.

Thanks Chriso. How long do you recommend conditioning in the keg before drinking?

 

[Judochop]

It's likely that the headspace in your beer has just gotten to a higher pressure than that from your regulator. There's a check valve most likely there to prevent the gas from going back into the reg.

So maybe this is a dumb question, but does that mean that my beer has reached peak carbonation? ie. at the 2.0 volumes that I was aiming for?

If I were to carbonate by leaving the CO2 on the beer the moment after racking into the keg, is this the way to tell when carbonation is complete?

 

[kdwebsol]

I thought I read that you can set the keg (chilled) at 30 psi for about 30 hours. I have kegged my first beer and want to have it ready for a small get together and was going to try the 30/30. Plus I really want to use my new Kegerator

Will this work or will I need more time?

 

[Bobby_M]

There is a huge difference between when the beer is ready to drink from an aging perspective and when it's carbonated. Bottling helps to couple these two times, IOW forcing you to wait 3 weeks for carbonation. If the beer is only 2 weeks old and fully carbed, it's going to be pretty disappointing.

No, kegging is NOT a way of getting your beer drinkable faster.

 

[SILVER13ACK]

There is a huge difference between when the beer is ready to drink from an aging perspective and when it's carbonated. Bottling helps to couple these two times, IOW forcing you to wait 3 weeks for carbonation. If the beer is only 2 weeks old and fully carbed, it's going to be pretty disappointing.

No, kegging is NOT a way of getting your beer drinkable faster.

True Dat!

When I started drinking my first kegged beer, I was like...well, it's OK, and it was cloudy. After about 3 weeks of drinking it, my last 3-4 pints were crystal clear and it tasted better than ever.

I learned my lesson.