Just ordered kegging equipment

[Morri896]

I'm about to start kegging, everything is on the way. How long does it take for a beer to not be green in a keg? For ales I usually do a month in primary, a couple weeks in the bottle at room temp, and a couple weeks at around 40F before I start drinking. Also does kegging change the flavor?

 

[McKnuckle]

Kegs are big stainless steel bottles. They don't change the flavor, and their characteristics w.r.t. conditioning are essentially the same as bottles. However, they offer options (usually with other equipment) that bottles can't, such as oxygen free transfers, fermentation under pressure, spunding, and so on. Look into floating dip tubes while you're at it.

For an old school ale fermentation, I usually spend 7 days in primary, then keg and refrigerate the beer, set gas to serving pressure, and wait 2 weeks to call it ready to drink. I'll taste it earlier of course. Around the 3 week mark, it is nearly always smoother and finer, with rough spots ironed out.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Am jealous... Would love to be able to keg one or two beers while the others bottle condition. What are you using? Mini fridge? Chest freezer? Prebuilt?

McKnuckle makes me want to keg.

 

[McKnuckle]

I converted a chest freezer to a keezer a few years back. Originally it had 6 taps, but as the only drinker in the house, and a disciplined one at that, it was way overkill. So I recently reduced it to 3 taps, and I only brew what are commonly referred to in the vernacular as "small" batches (everything is relative).

I brew 2 or 2.5 gallon batches that I keg. I save those for beers that I pretty much know will be winners, and which I always enjoy drinking. I also brew 1 gallon batches that go into 500mL flip-top bottles. Those are my trial efforts, or just styles I enjoy having only once in a while.

Fermenting in kegs is great too, and you can even serve from the fermenter if you want to try that. Hopefully OP will enjoy the new setup.

 

[Jag75]

Congrats on your keg set up ! You will love it no doubt. One little tip that works really well is force carbing. I've done this since I've been kegging and it's been flawless. Once you keg you set the psi to 30 . Burp it about 4 times . Let it sit at 30psi for 36hrs. Then lower psi to 12 . After another 24 hrs or so it's good to go. As Mcknuckle said you have options now that you'll be kegging. FWIW I always leave in my fermenter for 3 weeks . Is it done sooner then that , yes but I like to let it clean up and do its thing . Everyone has their own preferences that suit them . Find what works for you and brew away!

 

[Morri896]

I wound up ordering a prebuilt kegerator with two taps. I was originally gonna build one but ai don't want to go out. How is the flavor fermenting in the keg? I usually do 4 weeks because I'm out of town that long anyways and it's always worked out.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

I wound up ordering a prebuilt kegerator with two taps. I was originally gonna build one but ai don't want to go out. How is the flavor fermenting in the keg? I usually do 4 weeks because I'm out of town that long anyways and it's always worked out.

I'm planning for the future, I browsed kegerators today, a lot of the mini fridges have a small hump on the bottom housing electronics. Prebuilt kegerators eliminate this problem easily. I will decide whether to get a prebuilt kegerator or DIY a keezer, those are my two options I think.

 

[Jim R]

This mini refrigerator holds my SS Brewtech fermenter and will hold two 5 gal kegs for $180 at Home Depot. I use two 2.5 gal kegs so I can make smaller batches and also so they can fit in my portable cooler for travel. It is hard to find a mini refrigerator without a freezer compartment that takes up valuable space. This one works great with an Inkbird Temp controller and the price is right.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/nice-mini-refrigerator-for-180.675417/

 

[Morri896]

If I ever wind up wanting to have more than 2 kegs going I'm gonna wish I had gone diy. But for the time being it's perfect.

 

[Jag75]

If I ever wind up wanting to have more than 2 kegs going I'm gonna wish I had gone diy. But for the time being it's perfect.

I bought the 2 tap kegerator . Keg king . I've been very pleased. As you stated you will want one more beer on tap . I did as well. Not many times but there have been . For those times I use a picnic tap . Came with the line and QD . It does the job.

 

[bracconiere]

Find what works for you and brew away!

AMEN BROTHER!

 

[bracconiere]

on a serious note, normally i just set my kegs to 8psi ( i prefer light carbonation so i don't get bloated), and let them sit for a week or so....but if all my kegs are dry and i need one in a hurry i'll hit one with 30psi and do the shake quick carb method, and it'll be ready as soon as it's cold....depending on my mood, sometimes before....


edit: and if you're new to kegging check out my thread here, you'll grow up bragging about never losing a tank of co2!! (just trying to help)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/now-ill-know-when-i-have-a-leak.675923/

 

[Morri896]

Awesome tip. I have a bathroom scale I can borrow from time to time (when my wife's not looking), hopefully that's accurate enough.

 

[McKnuckle]

I doubt that a standard bathroom scale will be ideal. You really need digital precision and, ideally, measurement in grams. The weight changes are very subtle.

 

[Morri896]

I doubt that a standard bathroom scale will be ideal. You really need digital precision and, ideally, measurement in grams. The weight changes are very subtle.

I also have a digital kitchen scale, but I think it can only handle 20 or 30 lbs.