noob kegging question

[voodoobrew]

So recently I made the leap and got a kegging setup. I picked up four kegs to start with, and am dreaming of more already. I have a dual gauge co2 regulator. I understand force carbing, but have a question about kegs, carbing, aging...

I filled one of the kegs with mead, purged, released pressure and am letting that sit to age in the basement. Feel OK on that one.

The next keg I filled with R.O. water to make my own soda water. I have the keg chilling and preparing to carbonate. I plan on setting and forgetting the co2 for about a week to get the water fully carbonated.

I have a beer in secondary and one in primary, so the last 2 kegs are scheduled to be filled in 2 and 3 weeks. I would like to be able to serve from multiple kegs on the same day (switching gas line over to current serving keg).



Here comes the questions



After a keg has been carbonated completely and is ready to serve, can I then remove it from the gas and store/age it? (without serving from of course)

Is it possible to just 'deal with the hassle' of moving the gas line to the keg that is being carbed/served and have all of my kegs ready for serving on one magical day ( st. paddy's )

Does beer keg age better w/ or w/o carbonation? (still aging vs. carbed aging)

Basically can I store/age one keg that is ready to serve disconnected from the gas while I force carbonate a different keg?
i.e. could I have 10 (dreaming) kegs full of perfectly carbonated beer sitting around aging, not connected to the gas, while I work on filling and force carbonating the next 10 (still dreaming)?

And... if I have a half of a keg left and don't want to finish it promptly, can I apply enough gas to find equilibrium and then let that sit/age without problems?

 

[Yooper]

You have a regulator that has two primary regulators? The reason I ask is that soda water is generally carbed to a much higher level than beer. You'll need that at 25 psi or so, and about 20 feet of serving line, while the beer will be at 10-12 psi and need about 8 feet of serving line. Taking the gas off and on is a huge PITA, and may cause some problems with keeping the beer and soda water carbonated.

If don't serve from a keg, you can certainly disconnect the kegs. That is fine.

 

[JonK331]

After a keg has been carbonated completely and is ready to serve, can I then remove it from the gas and store/age it? (without serving from of course)

Yes

Is it possible to just 'deal with the hassle' of moving the gas line to the keg that is being carbed/served and have all of my kegs ready for serving on one magical day ( st. paddy's )

Yes but you can buy a manifold to split the gas as many times as you want for pretty cheap: http://morebeer.com/view_product/16388//Gas_Manifold_-_2_Way They also come in 3,4,5,6 etc.

Does beer keg age better w/ or w/o carbonation? (still aging vs. carbed aging)

Not sure on this one

Basically can I store/age one keg that is ready to serve disconnected from the gas while I force carbonate a different keg? Yes but it's much easier with the manifold, you can shut off the gas to one and increase the pressure on the other without disconnecting
i.e. could I have 10 (dreaming) kegs full of perfectly carbonated beer sitting around aging, not connected to the gas, while I work on filling and force carbonating the next 10 (still dreaming)?

And... if I have a half of a keg left and don't want to finish it promptly, can I apply enough gas to find equilibrium and then let that sit/age without problems? Yup

 

[JonK331]

You have a regulator that has two primary regulators? The reason I ask is that soda water is generally carbed to a much higher level than beer. You'll need that at 25 psi or so, and about 20 feet of serving line, while the beer will be at 10-12 psi and need about 8 feet of serving line. Taking the gas off and on is a huge PITA, and may cause some problems with keeping the beer and soda water carbonated.

If don't serve from a keg, you can certainly disconnect the kegs. That is fine.

I only have 5 feet of serving line and have zero problems, why?

 

[Yooper]

I only have 5 feet of serving line and have zero problems, why?

That really surprises me! Soda is usually very highly carbed and serving it at 25-30 psi out of 5 feet of line should be like a fire hose! I need about 25 feet of line for my sodas/soda water!

 

[voodoobrew]

Thanks yooper,

the regulator is one gauge for pressure out, one gauge for tank pressure

I know it'll be a PITA, but until I get the money/space I'll have to do it this way. I was just concerned whether or not I will be able to have them both ready for serving on the same day. (I figured having a stout and an irish red on tap for st. paddy's day would be fun)

Sounds like getting a keg carbonated and balanced and then setting aside will be my labor of love.

As for the other questions...

Anybody have suggestions on aging beer in the keg, should I let it set and age then carb/ or should i carb then set and age?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks yooper,

the regulator is one gauge for pressure out, one gauge for tank pressure

I know it'll be a PITA, but until I get the money/space I'll have to do it this way. I was just concerned whether or not I will be able to have them both ready for serving on the same day. (I figured having a stout and an irish red on tap for st. paddy's day would be fun)

Sounds like getting a keg carbonated and balanced and then setting aside will be my labor of love.

As for the other questions...

Anybody have suggestions on aging beer in the keg, should I let it set and age then carb/ or should i carb then set and age?

You can easily use a Y or a T fitting to have several kegs at a time carbing/serving. Soda needs a higher pressure though. That would need a different setup, or at least a way to make it doable.

Anyway, you can age a keg however it needs. What I mean by that is some beers are ready to be kegged and chilled in just a couple of weeks. Some are not. Just like with bottling, some beers are better young (think hefeweizen, most medium OG IPAs, milds) while some need age (most stouts, barleywine, lagers, bigger OG beers). That doesn't change whether you are kegging or bottling. Beer ages faster at room temperature, so if a beer needs some time, I'll keg it and let it sit at room temperature for a while. Some beers go right from 3 weeks in primay to kegerator!

Keep in mind that if a beer needs some time, you can prime it like a bottle by adding priming sugar and letting it sit at room temperature. In 2-3 weeks, it's all carbed up and ready for its place in the kegerator. You can always force carb, too. You have lots of options!

 

[JonK331]

That really surprises me! Soda is usually very highly carbed and serving it at 25-30 psi out of 5 feet of line should be like a fire hose! I need about 25 feet of line for my sodas/soda water!

Ah, I was talking beer not soda.