Kegged my first beer!

[Demaskee]

Exciting news! (for me at least)

I brewed BeercraftUSA's Rock Mountain Amber Ale a little over two weeks ago. The hydrometer read 1.051 on day one and 1.010 on the last two days. I haven't yet checked what that would make the alcohol content be.

Anyhow, did my best to move the bucket without disturbing the mix too much and was careful to minimize air getting into the siphon or splashing in the keg. I think I did pretty well although I did wind up sucking a few small chunks of stuff into the keg accidently.

The keg is now in the fridge under about 12 psi of CO2. I was curious if anyone had an idea how long it would take to be well carbonated at that PSI? The temp in the fridge is about 36 degress.

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone gave with this first batch! I'll be making my next batch next weekend when my mom and dad come down to visit.

 

[freisste]

No shaking or pressure adjustment, two weeks or so. If you shake it that time can be reduced a little. Also, you COULD crank up the pressure for a day and then turn it back down. Might take a couple days off the timeline.

Btw, roughly 5.5% ABV if I did the math right. I could check a calculator, but usually my mental math is pretty good.

 

[Demaskee]

Well that works out perfectly then! I may try and crank the pressure up a little, but I don't plan on doing any shaking.

Thanks for the alcohol reading. That is right around what the recipe said it would be as well. Can't wait to taste it with some bubbles!

 

[stpug]

Here's a carbonation chart that's pretty handy:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

BTW, 12psi at 36F is pretty high pressure for most beer styles. You'll likely want to bring that down several days before pouring a beer.

 

[Demaskee]

That's a handy little chart. I agree, I'll probably knock that down significantly before serving.

 

[freisste]

Also, how long is your beer line? Many kegerators come with 5' which by almost all accounts is not enough. I personally had a lot of foamy pours that I couldn't really control until I went to 10' lines.

There is a cool tool somewhere where you can input temperature, pressure, line material and diameter, vertical distance from keg to tap, etc. and it will tell you exactly how long to make the lines so the system will be "balanced." (You want beer line restriction to account for the pressure differential between ambient and keg pressure during the pour.) This would allow you to perfectly pour beers with different carbonation levels.

Feel free to look for it and do with it what you will. Personally, I could drink all my beers at the same carbonation level...not "to style" but certainly good enough for my tastes. As such, I didn't really pay attention to it and just went with 10ft lines and balanced via pressure. It is interesting, though.

(Forgive me if you already knew most of that. )

 

[mattttt25]

Any idea where we could find the tool you mention?

 

[freisste]

I'll do some looking. Not sure where I found it offhand.

 

[freisste]

I believe this is it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/beer-line-length-pressure-calculator-35369/

 

[kharper6]

I set it to 25 psi for 2.5-3 days and it is usually good to go.

Never had the patience to wait at 12 psi and my beer is always just carbonated enough.

congrats on your first beer!

 

[ledhead72486]

i set it to 25 psi for 2.5-3 days and it is usually good to go.

Never had the patience to wait at 12 psi and my beer is always just carbonated enough.

Congrats on your first beer!

+1!

 

[Demaskee]

Also, how long is your beer line? Many kegerators come with 5' which by almost all accounts is not enough. I personally had a lot of foamy pours that I couldn't really control until I went to 10' lines.

There is a cool tool somewhere where you can input temperature, pressure, line material and diameter, vertical distance from keg to tap, etc. and it will tell you exactly how long to make the lines so the system will be "balanced." (You want beer line restriction to account for the pressure differential between ambient and keg pressure during the pour.) This would allow you to perfectly pour beers with different carbonation levels.

Feel free to look for it and do with it what you will. Personally, I could drink all my beers at the same carbonation level...not "to style" but certainly good enough for my tastes. As such, I didn't really pay attention to it and just went with 10ft lines and balanced via pressure. It is interesting, though.

(Forgive me if you already knew most of that. )

Good stuff, I currently have about 6' lines going from tap to faucet. The only time I've had issues is in the first 2-3 pours off a new keg or when the glass is really cold that the beer is going into. I'll definitely keep the 10' line in mind if I start having problems.

Thanks!