I have naturally carbed in the keg for two weeks at room temp. Now what?

[urg8rb8]

I finished naturally carbing in the keg and I'm wondering what my next step is. I tapped it out of curiosity and the beer comes out very very foamy (I expected this since I did this at room temperature).

Now I want to cool the beer down so I could start enjoying it! Do I just throw the keg without the CO2 tank in the fridge? Am I supposed to hook up the CO2 tank to the keg and set it to a certain PSI? Am I supposed to let the keg cool down first then hook up the CO2 tank when I'm ready to drink? I'm just not sure what to do after the keg has naturally carbed at room temperature for the appropriate amount of time.

PS. I'm new to kegging but I have been bottling for a while.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Setesh]

You can hook up the gas now and stick it in the fridge, just make sure to purge the keg first. You don't want the higher pressure in the keg to force beer back up your CO2 lines and into your regulator. Once it has chilled for a couple of days you can pour off the first couple of cloudy pints and then enjoy.

Alternatively just put it in the fridge to chill. After a couple of days you can purge it, then hook up the CO2. I don't see it making a difference either way.

 

[urg8rb8]

You can hook up the gas now and stick it in the fridge, just make sure to purge the keg first. You don't want the higher pressure in the keg to force beer back up your CO2 lines and into your regulator. Once it has chilled for a couple of days you can pour off the first couple of cloudy pints and then enjoy.

Alternatively just put it in the fridge to chill. After a couple of days you can purge it, then hook up the CO2. I don't see it making a difference either way.

Thanks for your reply! So by purging, I am letting out some of the CO2 that has built up in the keg so that the pressure goes down? How do I know if I have purged out enough? If I let the keg chill down in the fridge, the internal keg pressure will also goes down right (and the beer will absorb more of the CO2). Therefore I'm assuming I have to purge less after it has been chilled.

Dumb question: If I'm purging the keg from CO2, does that make the beer go flat again? If that's the case, then I see no point in natural carbonating in the keg if I"m just going to purge the CO2. Unless the purging doesn't make it go too flat.

Last question: When I hook the CO2 tank to the keg, I was planning to set the pressure to around 10 PSI or so. Do I always keep it at this pressure level whether I'm storing or service the beer?

I'm sorry for all the questions but I appreciate your help! I'm just to make sure I understand all of this.

 

[urg8rb8]

<sorry, double post>

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for your reply! So by purging, I am letting out some of the CO2 that has built up in the keg so that the pressure goes down? How do I know if I have purged out enough? If I let the keg chill down in the fridge, the internal keg pressure will also goes down right (and the beer will absorb more of the CO2). Therefore I'm assuming I have to purge less after it has been chilled.

You are doing that just to make sure that the keg pressure is less than the gas line pressure when you hook up the gas. You don't want beer backing up into and ruining your regulator.

Dumb question: If I'm purging the keg from CO2, does that make the beer go flat again? If that's the case, then I see no point in natural carbonating in the keg if I"m just going to purge the CO2. Unless the purging doesn't make it go too flat.

The purging will not make it go flat. You'd have to relieve the pressure, let it sit, relieve again and repeat that several times over a period of days to get it to go flat.

Last question: When I hook the CO2 tank to the keg, I was planning to set the pressure to around 10 PSI or so. Do I always keep it at this pressure level whether I'm storing or service the beer?

It depends on the temperature at which you are serving and the length of your beer lines. Please tell what those are so that we can help you get things balanced and dialed in.

 

[Setesh]

Thanks BigFloyd! We are getting ready for my daughters birthday party tomorrow so I just had a chance to sit back down, sorry for the delay, but BigFloyd had you covered!

As a general rule you purge until the pressure is all released. You aren't going to use a lot of CO2 represurizing a full keg as there really isn't much volume at the top of it to fill so no worries there. As far as I'm concerned there really isn't any benefit to naturally carbonating in the keg. You end up with more yeast in the bottom of the keg and it takes longer for the beer to clear. IMO attaching CO2 at serving pressure and waiting 2 weeks is the best approach for carbonating. It's less trouble and it gives you a clear beer faster.

 

[urg8rb8]

You are doing that just to make sure that the keg pressure is less than the gas line pressure when you hook up the gas. You don't want beer backing up into and ruining your regulator.



The purging will not make it go flat. You'd have to relieve the pressure, let it sit, relieve again and repeat that several times over a period of days to get it to go flat.



It depends on the temperature at which you are serving and the length of your beer lines. Please tell what those are so that we can help you get things balanced and dialed in.

Thanks again for your reply! All of this makes more sense now.

I have a 5 foot, 3/16 beer line. I plan to serve the beer in the upper 30s F. After naturally carbing in the keg, I chill it down for a couple of days, then purge all of the CO2 out. Then based on the beer line dimensions and serving temperature, what pressure do I set the gas to?

I also noticed when I put the CO2 tank in the fridge, it has lost significant pressure (based on the gauge). Do I have to factor in the temperature of the CO2 tank when applying gas pressure to the keg?

 

[urg8rb8]

Thanks BigFloyd! We are getting ready for my daughters birthday party tomorrow so I just had a chance to sit back down, sorry for the delay, but BigFloyd had you covered!

As a general rule you purge until the pressure is all released. You aren't going to use a lot of CO2 represurizing a full keg as there really isn't much volume at the top of it to fill so no worries there. As far as I'm concerned there really isn't any benefit to naturally carbonating in the keg. You end up with more yeast in the bottom of the keg and it takes longer for the beer to clear. IMO attaching CO2 at serving pressure and waiting 2 weeks is the best approach for carbonating. It's less trouble and it gives you a clear beer faster.

No worries about the delay! Your help is greatly appreciated! I'm not in a rush to get all of this done... just making sure I take my time to learn as I go.

 

[BigFloyd]

Don't worry about the tank pressure showing a drop. That happens to every one of us that puts the tank inside. It doesn't affect the pressure at which you run your kegs.

Upgrade your beer line to 12ft of 3/16". It will balance your system and you will be much, much happier with your pours. That length of line will allow you to set the reg to 12psi which will give you good pours and maintain a good carb level at your temps. You will be frustrated with the 5ft line. Been there, done that.