I Need some advise??

[Blackhawk13]

Hi everyone. Ive been a member for a while but this is my first post. I have been brewing beer and wine for about 4 years now with just the basic equipment which is fine with me. Couple questions. I am getting ready to go from bottling to kegging. My question is when going into the keg, do i just rack into the keg and turn on the Co2 or do i add the bottling sugar and let it sit for a few weeks? Or can I do either?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Remmy]

Why add sugar if you have CO2?

 

[Blackhawk13]

So i just rack into the keg and turn on the Co2? and that is it?

 

[philipCT]

You can do either. I like to carbonate the beer using CO2 because I feel it's more predictable, but I have a buddy who adds the appropriate priming sugar mix and just lets' it do it's thing.

If you're just going to use CO2, you can do a "set and forget" method at somewhere around 8-12psi for 6-10 days, or you can "burst carbonate" by setting to 30psi for 24 hours and then resetting to serving pressure (8-12psi depending on your setup) - this can be completed in 3-6 days.

Plenty of threads on that here on HBT.

Have fun!

 

[darylwoodman]

More or less, yes. I'd look on YouTube for some videos--there are plenty out there. Once the lid is on, you just turn on the CO2 and purge it a few times to push the O2 out. After a few "burps", you can either roll it or shake it to carb it quickly, or leave high pressure on it (28psi) for 48 hours to speed up the process, or just leave it a say 12psi for a few days and enjoy. I tend to do 28psi for 24 hours and then turn it down to 8 - 12psi depending on the brew.

 

[Blackhawk13]

Okay great. Thanks for the replies. Just starting the beer this weekend so I'll have time to research. Thanks again.

 

[soccerdad]

If you have 2 kegs and one tap - and keg 1 is hooked to the tap when you are filling keg 2 - then you can prime keg 2 with sugar, BUT prime it with HALF the sugar you would otherwise and vent the space once after a week or so to blow air but keep CO2.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Why add sugar if you have CO2?

Some say - myself included - there's a definite bubble difference between the two methods. CO2 bubbles are smaller and have a colder, sharper mouth feel, where 'natural carbed' beverages have bigger bubbles with warm kisses.

Depending on the brew and how soon I want to drink it determines how I carb.
Stouts I want to feel like to kids on prom night in my mouth. On the flippity-flip I want my lagers and pilsners to be a punch in the mouth from Edward scissor-hands.

Does anybody else pee on the side of the toilet because it's quieter?

GAWD this beer is good!!!