I'm trying something new

[redrocker652002]

I put my beer into my keg yesterday and stuck in my kegerator. I have dropped the temp to about 35 degrees or so. I am going to leave it like that for a day or two, then hook up my CO2 and carb at 10 to 12psi. I won't be able to drink any beer for a week or two anyway, so I might as well carb it that way this time and see what happens. This will be my first try ad "cold crashing". Usually, I hook up the CO2 at the same time I put the keg in and let it run that way. Am I doing this ok? Or did I screw up yet again. LOL.

 

[lumpher]

As long as you purged the oxygen from the keg, it'll be fine to be not carbonating while crashing. I've done that hundreds of times, sometimes for weeks.

 

[redrocker652002]

I thought I did. But when I went to put the CO2 on the keg I realized the valve on the In side was loose. I could hear the CO2 going thru the lines, so I hit it with a bit of soap and water and found the bubble. I tightened it up and it is sealed now, but I am hopeful that no air got in. I did a closed transfer and that seemed to go ok. I had a bit of an issue at the end where it seemed the liquid stopped going in, but I don't think any air got into it. I am seriously wondering if kegging is right for me. I just cannot seem to get it right. I might go back to just running a hose in and letting gravity do it's thing, we will see. Either way, it is in the fridge and I am going to give it a week or two and see how it goes. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. RR

 

[RCope]

There is no reason to not hook up the CO2 immediately, and one good reason to do it that way; Corny kegs are designed to hold pressure, not resist a vacuum...the cold crash will occur either way. Of course, if you pressurize the Corny with 5 psi or so prior to the temp drop, the point is moot.

 

[redrocker652002]

Cool. Thank you. So, next time, I will hook up the gas line right away but not really start to carb until a few days? I am always trying new stuff to get me to the finish line, if there is one. RR

 

[RCope]

Hooking up the gas line at serving pressure is the classic "low and slow" technique of carbonation. It'll take about two weeks at serving pressure (9-12 psi depending on your desired temp and carb level).