New Beer brewer with a question!

[BrewerJim]

Hey Guys,

I have recently just started trying to brew my own beer and bought one of the all in one brew kits ( English Bitter). I have had it fermenting in the fermenting bucket for nearly 3 weeks now, I know its ready but i havent got round to kegging as i have been away. My question is will it still be okay to drink still it has been sealed and air tight, And secondly I am going to a party tomorow night and would would like to take it for people to drink, i have a plastic beer keg ( I know but it was cheap) and Co2 Canisters so if i keg and add Co2 would it be ready in time for tomorow? ( Mabey a little taster this evening)
Or can I add priming sugar to the keg and shake it up?
Thanks for your help

 

[Vedder014]

You should be fine in terms of the beer fermenting in primary for 3 weeks. I don't keg but I'm pretty sure it takes at least a couple days to get it carbonated. Adding priming sugars is definitely not going to help as that process takes some time. One thing you'll learn about brewing is patience is probably the most important part, and the hardest to learn. If you try to rush it for a party tomorrow it won't be nearly as good than if you let it sit and age for a bit. There will always be another party.

 

[austinb]

Your beer should be just fine. Many people prefer to leave their beer in the fermenter about 3 weeks, 1 week for the initial fermentation and an additional 2 weeks because the yeast will start cleaning up by products of fermentation that can produce off flavors. You can leave the beer in the fermenter for about a month with no issues and possibly a little longer but after a month if you don't have a keg to move it into or time to bottle I would suggest transferring it to a secondary fermenter because if it sits on the yeast cake too long it can develop yeasty flavors. You want to introduce as little oxygen as possible when transferring so use some sanitized plastic tubing to siphon it to another bucket or a carboy with the outlet end of the hose at the bottom of the second fermenter to minimize splashing.

As for the keg. Yes it is possible to carbonate it in a day and possibly sooner depending on the maximum psi rating of your plastic keg and if the psi is even adjustable. I will pressurize my stainless keg to be carbonated to 30psi and pre-chill it in the keggerator prior to carbonating because co2 will go into solution in the beer better at a colder temperature and higher pressure. Once it is cold I will leave it hooked up to the co2 tank at 30 psi and shake the heck out of the keg for a couple minutes. Once it has a chance to settle after a few hours so that foam is no longer spraying out the pressure relief valve when I release all the pressure and set it to 10 psi and it is usually carbonated and ready to drink. If I don't pre-chill the keg I usually have to shake it for a few minutes 2 or 3 times before it is fully carbonated. I'm not really sure how your plastic keg thing works but if it is a small keg it should chill much sooner than a 5 gallon keg, and if you can't control the pressure then it probably defaults to about 10 psi in which case you will need to shake it for a longer period of time but that shouldn't be an issue with a smaller keg.

 

[twistr25]

Hey Guys,

I have recently just started trying to brew my own beer and bought one of the all in one brew kits ( English Bitter). I have had it fermenting in the fermenting bucket for nearly 3 weeks now, I know its ready but i havent got round to kegging as i have been away. My question is will it still be okay to drink still it has been sealed and air tight, And secondly I am going to a party tomorow night and would would like to take it for people to drink, i have a plastic beer keg ( I know but it was cheap) and Co2 Canisters so if i keg and add Co2 would it be ready in time for tomorow? ( Mabey a little taster this evening)
Or can I add priming sugar to the keg and shake it up?
Thanks for your help

Do not shake it after adding priming sugar, you will introduce oxygen and it will go stale on you. Even for force carbing, I'd recommend a rocking as opposed to actually shaking, but there's not as much risk there if all of the O2 is purged.

 

[BrewerJim]

OKay thanks guys, I will put some Co2 in give it a gentle rock for a bit and try a pint or two after a few hours, and keep you updated on how it turned out!
Austinb it was a cheap holding keg which i have only used for natural carbination so far but i recived a Co2 top and injector today as previously i would get half way through the keg and lose pressure. I think im going to invest in a proper keg soon anyone got any advice on which ones are best vaule?

 

[austinb]

If you can purge the o2 by running the co2 with the pressure relief valve on the keg open briefly I don't think you are going to have any issues with oxidation. If there is any oxygen left it will be so little that any oxidation will be so slight that it is not detectable. If you can purge your keg then I say shake the living crap out if it under pressure if you want it ready in time because gentle rocking won't do very much.

 

[austinb]

As for kegs. Corny kegs are the way to go used ones are relatively affordable but have just about doubled in cost the last few years because home brewing is becoming more popular.

There is a higher initial cost for a one keg setup because of the co2 tank and regulator but adding more kegs after that is much more affordable. I would recommend the biggest co2 tank you can afford and fit in your space because it is a much better value to fill or exchange a bigger tank. It only costs me $18 to exchange my 20lb tank at the local welding supply and that should last me at least 100 kegs, i think a 10lb is like $12-14. Do not get any smaller than a 5lb tank or you will be shelling out cash to fill it all the time, but I would really really recommend bigger than 5lb if at all possible because in the long run you will make up the cost difference in money saved on co2. Also even if you are starting with 1 keg I would recommend getting a manifold that can handle at least 3 so you don't have to buy a whole new manifold every time you upgrade.

 

[BrewerJim]

Thought I would update the beer missed the party, I decided to wait it out ( Save it for Myself). Tried a cheeky pint though while transffering and it tastes good! Cant wait to taste the actual finished product now!

 

[twistr25]

Thought I would update the beer missed the party, I decided to wait it out ( Save it for Myself). Tried a cheeky pint though while transffering and it tastes good! Cant wait to taste the actual finished product now!

As hard as I'm sure that was to do, it will turn out way better giving it a bit more time. Congrats, you have passed the toughest test, patience!