Kegged my first batch tonight!

[BeardedIdiot]

It's my first ever all-grain batch, a Cascade/2-row SMaSH pale ale, brewed on 11/17/2012, so exactly one month ago. I put it in the fridge at 40F Friday night to cold crash, and just transferred it into the keg (through the keg opening, with autosiphon, no splashing).

Going by this keg carbonation chart

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

I'm going for about 2.4 volumes of CO2 (11psi at 40F).

I hit the keg with 30psi and gently rocked back and forth on the ground for about 15 minutes, then put it in the fridge. I'll release the pressure tomorrow after work down to 11psi and leave it there. Hopefully it will be carbonated and ready to drink by the end of the week.

Unfortunately my only tap (a plastic party tap that I just got last Friday) broke while I was cleaning my kegs out, so I'm gonna have to pick up a new one before the end of the week.

I'm hoping to keg 3 more batches over the next week or so. Two more pale ales (a Galaxy/Vienna SMaSH, and a maltier SNPA clone) and a Left Hand Milk Stout clone that's a New Years Eve Bash Brew.

 

[Satisfaction]

Congrats on the first AG batch.. hope it turns out fantastic!

 

[BeardedIdiot]

Well it smelled wonderful, and the gravity sample on Friday tasted pretty good flat and warm, so I'm hoping it tastes even better chilled and carbonated! I can't wait to pull my first homebrew draft!

 

[WileECoyote]

Whooo Hoooo for your first kegging, hopefully many many more.

Congrats and Cheers

 

[BeardedIdiot]

Just kegged two more batches tonight! A Galaxy/Vienna SMaSH pale ale, and a maltier SNPA clone. Bot smelled and tasted fantastic. I added an ounce of Galaxy to the SMaSH keg as well to dry hop. I've got one more beer fermenting, and that's a Left Hand Milk Stout clone that I'll probably keg tomorrow.

I like kegging! Soooo much easier than bottling. And with my new 13 cubic foot freezer going to be delivered by Wednesday, I'll be building a keezer to serve them out of.

 

[604brewer]

Kegging will take your consumption to a whole new level

Better get brewing!!!

 

[BeardedIdiot]

I actually went and picked up my new 13 cubic foot freezer today instead of waiting for it to be delivered Wednesday. its sitting in the soon to be beer cave right now, staying colder than my thermometer can read. I've got an Ebay temperature controller on the way, which I'll wire up with an outlet to plug the freezer in to. I'm going to be ordering my taps and gas distributor tomorrow, I think. Probably going to go with 3 Perlick taps to start, with anything else on plastic party taps.

I'm gonna have to start a keezer build thread soon!