Kegging question

[codfather]

Hi all,

I went and bought a keg system the other day and have a question or two.

I'm currently in Kentucky and have 5 gallons of beer I want to put in my keg. However, I'm planning on driving down to Florida with it to enjoy the beer with some friends. I'm unsure about what psi I should set it at.

Obviously the beer won't be refrigerated until I get down there. Should I just put the beer in the keg and set it at a low psi until I can get the keg into a fridge or a load of ice. Or should I start the psi higher as the beer will be warm and then just reduce the psi once I get to Florida and get the beer chilling?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks





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[Howhownow]

Congrats on kegging- you will love it.

A few questions:

Are you carbonating your keg before transporting it (either force carbing of conditioning)?

How long are you going to be down there?

The answer is likely that you are good to go with either high or low PSI.

Also, this is in addition to your original question- are you toting your whole kegging setup down with you? Is it going into ice, a fridge, or what? How will it be served.

 

[Derrminator]

I'd just set it at your desired serving pressure whenever you're able and leave it there. Another option since you're travelling with the keg is to prime the whole keg with priming sugar and let it carb that way. Then just chill and serve.

 

[jekeane]

How long will you be able to carb the keg before leaving for florida? Are you carbing it in a keezer/kegerator? If you can get it good and carbed before you leave it will be fine when you get to your destination. You wont be able to get it carbed in FL without time and a freezer.

If you are short on time you can look up quick force carbing methods that takes a couple of days. But either way you will initially need to have the beer cold to carb it in time I believe.

 

[TopherM]

CO2 dissolves into beer more easily at lower temps. At room temp, it takes a long time to get to the proper CO2 levels.

Are you making the trip in one day? Are you looking to quick carb or carb it over like 5-6 day period?

I would either fully carb before you leave and keep it cold, or chill it when you get there and quick carb once it's fridge temps.

 

[codfather]

Firstly thanks for the quick responses. I am leaving on Sunday and going to take a couple of days to get there as I will be stopping at some places. Then I will be in Florida for about a week.

I could get the beer into the keg today and it will be in a fridge until Sunday. Then it will be in the car until I get to Florida where it will most likely just put on ice.

I will be taking the whole kegging system (keg,co2 tank, regulator and tap)

Should I leave everything hooked up or could I start force carbing today then disconnect everything when I leave on Sunday?




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[Howhownow]

If it was me I'd:

Cool the keg
1. Hook it up to 40+ PSI and shake the bejeezus out of it as soon as it's cold. 2. Give it 20 min to settle.
3. If you have very little headspace in your keg, repeat steps 1-2
4. Hook up at 20 PSI until you depart. Before you leave, bleed pressure out and repressurize to serving. Pull a test pint to check carb levels. If it is still low, repeat steps 1-2, up to your desired carb levels.

Note- If possible, get a good chill on the keg before hooking it up once you reach your destination.

 

[grainbill]

I would not put it in the fridge unless you intend to keep it chilled until you get to FLA. If you chill it now and toss it in your car or truck and leave it for two days the temp may get too warm and give you some funk. I seem to recall, from way back, that once your homebrew is chilled it should remain that way. Today's school of thought may be different?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I always thought it was all the same as commercial beer. As long as I kept it from getting light struck it wouldn't skunk and I'd be ok going warm to cold and vice Versa.


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[TopherM]

Yup, the cooling and heating thing is an urban legend. It won't affect the beer at all, within reason. Don't freeze it then boil it

 

[codfather]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I know what I'm doing now


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