Is there a first time kegging tutorial around here?

[sparkyaber]

I searched and really did not see any thing in the sticky faq's (the three links I tried were no longer working).
I am ready to keg for the first time and came here to finish up learning about things, but now have more questions than before. Like what is this about short hoses, head space, etc.

Who can give me the quick one over on kegging. My system is one corny keg, on co2 tank, one regulator, a bunch of hose (not cut yet) both the post locks, and beer ready to be drank.

I would like to have this ready to drink by next weekend, which should not be a problem if I force carb?

One last thing, I am taking it away from the house to a fishing weekend, so what should I do to minimize stirring the pot so to speak and up setting the keg? How long should it sit in its final resting place before it is drinkable?

Thanks in advance.

 

[HenryHill]

-Cut the beer 6' long.
-Put beer in keg, install lid and close the retainer.
-Put keg in kegerator, hook up quick disconnects, apply 14 psi, and shoot star san at the fittings, pressure relief valve, and lid sealing area.
-Drink irresponsibly.
-Brew more.
-You'll need it.

Moving the keg or kegerator will stir up some trub, so give it a few hours, but it depends on how well you siphoned as to how much trub is there.

I would be leary of betting on not having a leak and having no back up CO2, if you are going where there are no beer stores, since this is a new gig for ya.

 

[eriktlupus]

kegging is easy really

1 determine how much you need from reg to cornie for gas in(can be anything)
2 set pressure on reg to @12psi and hook up to cornie
3 use around 6' of line to make a picnic tap dispensing line
4 place cornie in fride to carbonate for 5-7days
5 dispense and enjoy

 

[EdWort]

First I make sure my keg is clean and sanitized. If it is a used keg, I will soak it overnight with hot PBW and replace all the o-rings. I then rinse, reassemble, and pour in about a gallon of starsan. Replace the lid and pressurize. Connect a picnic tap and dispense enough starsan to fill the dip tube. I then place the corny on the side and roll it and then turn it up side down to coat the entire insides with star san. I do this a few times before draining back in the sanitizer bucket. I do pour some in my sink which sanitizes that too. Once drained, press on the poppet of the dip tub to vent it and let the starsan back in the keg. Stand it upside down in the sink to drain.

Next comes the purging of air. After draining, I reinstall the lid and connect to CO2 at about 12 psi (my carbing pressure). Using the valve on the regulator, I add some CO2, then turn off followed by pulling on the safety valve on the keg to vent it. I do this about 3 times, but do not vent it on the last time. I let the CO2 gather on the bottom of the keg while I get the fermenter ready to go.

I currently use plastic buckets with spigots as fermenters. They make racking to kegs very easy. I have a gray restaurant bus tray that I put on the floor to catch drips and I spray the spigot with starsan and wait 60 seconds. I then remove the airlock and open the valve to remove the yeast sitting it by pouring out a couple of ounces of beer. I then fill my hydrometer jar.

Next I vent my keg and the lid goes in the starsan bucket till the keg is full. I place the keg in the bus pan on the floor directly below the fermenter spigot. Next I take a 3 foot long piece of sanitized silicone hose and lower it into the keg and then connect the other end to the spigot. The keg will have a fog of CO2 in it which will prevent your beer from oxidizing. Open the spigot and let it rip.

Tilt the fermenter at the end to get all your beer in there, but make sure you NEVER fill over the GAS IN dip tube.

Pull the lid from the starsan bucket and install. Now connect the gas and purge the head space by turning on the gas. It will fill in a second, so turn it off and vent the keg. Do this 10 times and don't vent on the last time.

Place the keg in your fridge and connect to gas at 12 psi and wait a week. Patience pays off for force carbing in better tasting beer.

 

[JesseRC]

I would leave the line at 10', you can always cut it later if need be.

 

[sparkyaber]

Thanks for the quick replies. I was sure I was over thinking the whole process. I'm glad that you let me know about the length of the beer lines, I would have used much shorter lines. Now I did not mention the the line is 1/4" I.D. I assume this is ok because the barbed fitting are all 1/4".
About the carbing, I don't need to force carb? It should be ready in 8 days? I know it has aged enough, I brewed it 7 weeks ago.

 

[JesseRC]

Nope 1/4" is too big ID, You'd have to have substantialy longer lines to control the pour and reduce foam . It's gonna be to your benefit to just spend the 5 bucks and buy some 10-12 ft line of 3/16" ID.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

And read this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

 

[ruffdeezy]

This guy has good videos
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC7MDb0IuLs&feature=channel_page]YouTube - Kegging 1 of 4[/ame]

 

[Arkador]

+1 to the chris knight videos

there are a ton of other kegging videos on youtube. I watched ALOT of them, to see what different people do, and pick the method i liked.

 

[Cold_Steel]

How come no one uses the big kegs

 

[ChrisS68]

How come no one uses the big kegs

Do you mean the 15.5 gallon Sanke kegs? I Can think of a couple of reasons:

1. Cost. Cornies are relatively cheap and plentiful. Legitimately acquired Sanke kegs start at 70 bucks or so (just a guesstimate) while a cornie cost about a 3rd that much. But a 15.5 gallon keg hold three times as much beer you say? Well that brings us to...

2. Batch size. Most home brewers brew 5 gallon batches - a perfect size for a cornie.

3. Ease of use. Aside from their handy size, Cornies are easy to fill and easy to clean and maintain. Sankes, on the other hand, require specialized equipment to fill and clean or, at the very least, require more effort to do so. I believe some people around here use Sankes on occasion, but generally speaking, I believe Cornies are a lot more simple to use.

 

[sparkyaber]

Thanks for the video links, they were very thorough. Beer is kegged and sitting under pressure in my kegerator as I type.

 

[MikeG]

My piece of advice to add:

Grey = Gas (in), Black = Beer (out). Don't cross these up; it can be difficult to disconnect.

 

[EdWort]

My piece of advice to add:

Grey = Gas (in), Black = Beer (out). Don't cross these up; it can be difficult to disconnect.

To add to that, I got this idea at NHBC in Cinci last year.

Personally, I just mark the beer out side with yellow electrical tape. My instance of putting on the wrong ball lock connector had dropped 1000% and man, life is easier. Those puppies are a biatch if you put one on the wrong post.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

I swear, I learn something new on this site everyday. I also get less and less work done everyday.

I don't have anything else to add, just bookmarking this thread for future reference.

 

[sean_cummings]

I have a stupid question. Do you still need to add the priming sugar?
Thanks,

 

[flyfishnc]

I have a stupid question. Do you still need to add the priming sugar?
Thanks,

from what i understand, you can carbonate using priming sugar but it would take a few weeks (just like bottling). you could also carbonate using the force carbonation method. hit it with 30 psi for a few days, and you should be good. you'll want to drop that psi down quite a bit when you go to serve it though.

 

[Tripod]

Thank you all for this info. Thinking of switching to kegs myself and I found this thread while searching here!



-Tripod

 

[uabericm]

Thank you all for this info. Thinking of switching to kegs myself and I found this thread while searching here!

....x2.

I just came across a great deal on a CO2 tank, reg, and sanke keg, so now that I am switching to kegs, I wanted to thank everyone for their help.

 

[SumnerH]

Another first-timer question:
Aside from the actual kegging setup itself, what else do you recommend keeping around? Just the little maintenance stuff, tools, etc.

I've seen recommendations for:
Craftsman 11/16 x 7/8 in. Wrench, Ratcheting Box-End
14 mm open wrench
Keg lube
spare sets of O-rings

Are there any other little things that you find yourself needing or using?

 

[sparkyaber]

Just an update, I brought the beer up to the lake in a tall kitchen garbage container filled with ice and wrapped in a blanket held in place by bungee cords. Worked great to keep the beer ice cold.

I got there and was going to draw the first beer and nothing happened. I looked at the couplers and one was missing the spring, and I thought we were out the beer for the weekend. Upon closer inspection, I had put spring into the picnic tapper. (I was drunk when I put it together). Disaster averted.
Beer was wonderful, and all of the BMC light beer drinkers tried it, with a few even liking it.
Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[HBrew71]

Great thread! Starting to gather up things for Kegging. Thanks all!