Keg Always on Co2?

[skitter]

Ok so this is what's kinda bugging me and I'm having a hard time understanding it.

If I take a new keg of beer, carbonate at 12psi for a week, suppose at that point it's fully carbonated. Is it OK to take it off the Co2? I'm asking because if I have 4-5 kegs and only 1 kegerator, how do I keep them sealed and aging without having to have them constantly hooked up?

Does Co2 only get used out of the bottle during initial carbonation (assuming no leaks) or does it use Co2 to maintain as well?

 

[Newsman]

I think that, unless you have a leak, CO2 is only used during initial carbing, so after it's carbonated, you should be safe to remove the CO2. Alternatively, you can get a multi-port gas manifold and carb everything at once.

 

[b-boy]

You need CO2 to serve the beer as well as to carbonate. Unless you have a leaky keg, once you carb them they will stay sealed and will age fine off the CO2. When you're ready to serve them, hook them back up to the CO2 in your kegerator.

 

[Doctor_M]

Ok so this is what's kinda bugging me and I'm having a hard time understanding it.

If I take a new keg of beer, carbonate at 12psi for a week, suppose at that point it's fully carbonated. Is it OK to take it off the Co2? I'm asking because if I have 4-5 kegs and only 1 kegerator, how do I keep them sealed and aging without having to have them constantly hooked up?

Does Co2 only get used out of the bottle during initial carbonation (assuming no leaks) or does it use Co2 to maintain as well?

Do non bottle conditioned beers have a continuous supply of co2? No they don't, assuming your keg is sealed and there are no leaks a keg can be looked at as just one giant bottle.

 

[skitter]

That answers my question thanks, wasn't sure as I hadnt heard of anybody doing it

 

[Bobby_M]

carbonate at 12psi for a week, suppose at that point it's fully carbonated.

At one week, it's not fully carbonated.

Is it OK to take it off the Co2?...Does Co2 only get used out of the bottle during initial carbonation (assuming no leaks) or does it use Co2 to maintain as well?

Yes, assuming full carbonation has been achieved, it can be left off the gas until you're ready to start dispensing again.

This is one reason people like to have a dual pressure regulator or a second tank. You can have your room temp beer (on deck) sitting at 27 psi or so and carbing up over the course of a couple weeks. When the current keg kicks, it's ready to go.

 

[skitter]

At one week, it's not fully carbonated.

This is why I said suppose, I do not know about the science behind carbonation yet, I am learning though and discovering what needs to be done.

I also have been tossing around the idea of carbonating the keg in the fridge for 2 weeks as I would a bottle, instead of yeast I would be using the Co2 to carb. That would condition my beer as well as carbonate without as much sediment. I can then put the beer directly into the bottles for consumption without sediment, which right now is the biggest hurdle in having people try my brew.