Brutus Brewer
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- Jul 12, 2006
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How soon after filling the keg with beer and attaching the CO2 will the beer be able to be drank?
What do you do for long term storage in the Keg? Anything special, or do you go right from the Secondary(or primary). Do you recommend carbonating with priming sugar if your not hurry and the Keg will be sitting for a while? I think I remember reading that you can carbonate a Keg "Naturally" with priming sugar then just purge and set at serving pressure when your ready to tap it. Any advantages/disadvantages?Well, the right answer is "it depends". If you force carb at high pressure and do some shaking of the keg with it already cold, it could be 30 minutes. I usually set my regulator for 30 psi or so for about 3 days, then purge and set at serving pressure (12 psi in my case). Others "set it and forget it"- put it at serving pressure for one to two weeks, and then wait.
So, I'm usually drinking my beer about three days after kegging.
The issue to me is that carbed up or not, green beer is still green beer. So, you could easily brew a batch and keg it and have it carbonated in a week. That doesn't mean it's "ready", though- it just means it's carbonated. I have two kegs next to the kegerator that are at least 6-8 weeks old, so they'll be pretty good as soon as I have an open tap.
What do you do for long term storage in the Keg? Anything special, or do you go right from the Secondary(or primary). Do you recommend carbonating with priming sugar if your not hurry and the Keg will be sitting for a while? I think I remember reading that you can carbonate a Keg "Naturally" with priming sugar then just purge and set at serving pressure when your ready to tap it. Any advantages/disadvantages?
prime a keg with sugar = way more sediment in the bottom that has to be removed in the first draws.
also means more sediment left behind so if you move the keg, it may be cloudy for days afterwards.
and, priming with sugar won't seal the lid so you still wanna hit the keg with 30psi to make sure it seals.
I personally only carb with CO2 in my kegs, no sugar. i'll hit it with 30psi for several days then let teh keg sit. then when I tap it, I chill it and put it at serving psi which usually finishes carbing it in a day or two.
this allows me to carb, but age at 'cellar' temperatures so the keg is actually closer to 'prime flavor' instead of being a little green.
I was just wondering, After you hit it with 30psi for several days. Do you cool it or leave it at room temp for that period of time?
Rando question: How long will a 5# CO2 tank last? Assumptions: 2 corny kegs connected to the tank. Beer will be consumed in 2-3 weeks from being carbed. Force carb will be done at serving temp.
I'm looking to see if buying a more robust CO2 tank right off the bat will be worth it in the long run.
Excellent, thanks! Looking at a 5# tank/2 keg setup on kegconnection.com ($209). If I understand the concept correctly, I will be forcing the same pressure across both kegs. Is this an issue if I keep both kegs at the same temp (ie, stored in the same fridge)? Will 2 different types of beers carb at different rates, and if so, is it just a matter of waiting on the 'other one?'
You don't need more gas, do you, just more pressure?
I think volume is your constant as pressure and temperature change according to
PV=nRT
Is this an issue if I keep both kegs at the same temp (ie, stored in the same fridge)? Will 2 different types of beers carb at different rates, and if so, is it just a matter of waiting on the 'other one?'
You don't need more gas, do you, just more pressure?
I think volume is your constant as pressure and temperature change according to
PV=nRT
Is it just a 'by feel' approach where at serving time folks slowly bleed the tank until the carb level is just right?
That one, right there. It's pretty much 'by feel'.
I try not to resort to blast-carbing unless I *really* need the keg ready within 24-48 hours. Otherwise, I dial it in and wait.
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.
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?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.
True Dat!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.
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