Kegging. Did I miss anything?

[msmith92]

This will be the second time I've kegged and I want to Force Carb my British Bitter (this is the NB recipe).

I've cleaned the keg (soaked in oxy for 2 hours then ran it through the line) and sanitized (soaked and ran through the line).

I'll do the actual racking on Saturday.

Saturday:
1. Rack the beer into keg (making sure that the hose is on the bottom of keg).
2. Seal the keg. I put a bit of the lubricant on the lid gasket and then clamp down shut.
3. Next I open up the co2 tank and set the regulator to 20psi (higher / lower?).
4. I attach gas in and seal lid.
5. Pull the pin a bit and let out some of the oxygen. (repeat a couple of times).
6. Detach gas in (turn off co2 & turn regulator down) and put in Fridge over night to cool down. (not sure on this step?).

Sunday:
7. Turn on Co2 and set regulator back to 20psi and leave for 2 days (until Tuesday).

Tuesday:
8. Set regulator to 10 psi and hope that it's ready!

Any suggestions? Should I attach a nylon bag to the tube during racking to help filter..etc.

Thanks!

 

[carltjones]

Looks good. I've never ran oxiclean through the lines; just sanitize. And force (over) carbing is rolling the dice but it's easy to adjust. Cheers.

 

[msmith92]

well, i guess i don't have to force carb but since i've never tried i figured why not

i mainly want it to be ready for the 17th.

i guess i could leave it at 12 psi for the week and it should be good by then?

 

[runitis]

Check this thread out, it helped me when I first started kegging.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

I use the "set it and forget it" method. I find I need about 2 weeks. My main concern after putting in the time to brew is having consistant beer. I don't think 2 days will be enough. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Everything else looks good.

 

[PseudoChef]

First off, "force carbing" is using CO2 from a tank to carb your beer whether you use the set and forget method or jack up the psi for a couple of days. So if you're carbonating in a keg via CO2 tank, you're force carbing.

One of the greatest advantages of kegging is ability to purge O2 - so before you even rack, take your sanitized, but empty keg, and fill 'er up with CO2. Then pull the pin and rack into it however best works for you.

Also, you don't have to disconnect the CO2 while the beer is chilling. You can go ahead and begin the carb process right when you put the keg into the fridge.

 

[bad67z]

One of the greatest advantages of kegging is ability to purge O2 - so before you even rack, take your sanitized, but empty keg, and fill 'er up with CO2. Then pull the pin and rack into it however best works for you.

This is a good step to add to your kegging procedure. I drastically reduces you beer to exposure to oxygen. I take it a step further and push my beer out of my carboy and into my "out" post on my keg with Co2.

As for a "filter" to clear you beer. I would suggest you look into adding unflavored dissolved gelatin to your keg before you rack. Makes my beer crystal clear.

 

[msmith92]

One of the greatest advantages of kegging is ability to purge O2 - so before you even rack, take your sanitized, but empty keg, and fill 'er up with CO2. Then pull the pin and rack into it however best works for you.

Cool. I can do this. Does it "waste" a lot of co2? Same psi as I would use to seal? (20psi).

 

[msmith92]

As for a "filter" to clear you beer. I would suggest you look into adding unflavored dissolved gelatin to your keg before you rack. Makes my beer crystal clear.

I have been thinking about this. It's pretty fail safe right?

 

[bad67z]

Cool. I can do this. Does it "waste" a lot of co2? Same psi as I would use to seal? (20psi).

This can be done @ a lower pressure, your only trying to displace the O2 which is lighter than the Co2 that "falls" to the bottom of the keg and pushes the O2 out. As for waist maybe a few cents of Co2, money well spent in my opinion.

 

[bad67z]

I have been thinking about this. It's pretty fail safe right?

Yes, the first pint or two are cloudy but after that crystal clear. That is as long as you don't move it.

 

[msmith92]

Before I do Step 7. Do I pull the pin and release all the gas and then add gas?