Priming in corny keg ?!

[theQ]

Ok, so this crazy idea popped in my head so had to ask.

I like the feel of the sugar primed beer, in my mind the carbonation is better then forced carbonation and the

Anyone tried instead of priming in the bottle to prime the whole 5gal in the corny keg for a week at ambient temperature 70-80 and then put in the kegorator ?

Let me know what you think is it really crazy ?!

 

[texcan2000]

This is from one of the stickies in the kegging forum.

Priming & Cask Conditioning - Naturally

With this method, after transferring the beer into the keg, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of corn sugar that has been dissolve in a cup of water by boiling. Adjust the P.S.I. rating to 20 on the regulator and turn on the gas. Check for leaks as previously described. Correct as necessary. When a good seal has been achieved, bleed off the CO2 in the head space by opening the valve on the pressure release lid or removing the gas disconnect and depressing the center of the gas “adapter”. Hit the keg with 20 pounds of pressure again and bleed it off two (2) more times to purge the keg of oxygen.

Disconnect the gas and leave for 10-14 days at room temperature to achieve carbonation. After which the keg should be refrigerated for 2-3 days. Bleed off the head space pressure. Adjust the regulator pressure to 6-12 P.S.I. (the normal dispensing pressure) and draw off 3-4 ounces of beer. This first draw will contain mostly sediment. Pour it out. Draw another glass of 3-4 ounces of beer. Sample this one. If the carbonation is right, you can leave the pressure in the 6-12 range and work it in to your dispensing schedule.

If the carbonation level is lower than desired, you will need to force carbonate the beer for 1-2 days at 20 P.S.I. to achieve more carbonation.

With this method, the beer tends to be cloudier and you will tend to a dispense a greater % of your total batch of beer before you achieve the type of clarity that is achieve by force carbonating after 2-4 glasses.

Hope this helps, Cheers!

 

[Psych]

It works and is a cheaper (gas-wise) way to carb it up! The catch is because there's far less headspace per volume in a keg you need to use less priming sugar, like 1/3 of the normal amount or so.

I've done it once and it carbed it up well but I wound up doing it on a keg that had a leaky ball lock valve, so it sorta sputtered out some of the gas and some of the beer, which meant I lost some carb. This isn't a problem when there's a gas line connected to that post of course.

So if your keg is definitely well sealed and holds pressure, it can work well!

 

[theQ]

Thanks both for the input! I might try with one 1/2 batch to see how it goes.
So you are saying to reduce the primer to 1/3 or with 1/3 ? I need to check if there is a formula. We are talking about 5gal vs. 5.5gal 10% room if that...

It works and is a cheaper (gas-wise) way to carb it up! The catch is because there's far less headspace per volume in a keg you need to use less priming sugar, like 1/3 of the normal amount or so.

I've done it once and it carbed it up well but I wound up doing it on a keg that had a leaky ball lock valve, so it sorta sputtered out some of the gas and some of the beer, which meant I lost some carb. This isn't a problem when there's a gas line connected to that post of course.

So if your keg is definitely well sealed and holds pressure, it can work well!

 

[eastoak]

i've carbed in the keg using the usual amount of sugar that i would in a bottling bucket, i could not detect a difference.

 

[Psych]

Thanks both for the input! I might try with one 1/2 batch to see how it goes.
So you are saying to reduce the primer to 1/3 or with 1/3 ? I need to check if there is a formula. We are talking about 5gal vs. 5.5gal 10% room if that...

The reasoning behind the lesser priming sugar amount is due to the less amount of head space in the top of the keg, versus how much headspace is in 60 some odd bottles, two inches for each bottle.

Worst case you have higher carbed beer than you expect.

 

[theQ]

This would be interesting then

I did bottle 17 22oz bottles and what I got left was 2.5 galons that I kegged in a corny keg with 1/4 cup of sugar and some fresh yeast and I hit it with 20psi. So basically I did use a bit more sugar and I tried to makes sure there is pressure to stop the CO2 breaking out of the beer as the fermentation starts. Not exact science

I might connect the corny keg to the gas line once a day to make sure I have enough psi till the fermentation starts.

 

[govner1]

This is the way I carb ally beers. A few basics I do:
1- shorten your dip tube about 1/2" & add a screen to the end. This helps prevent picking up sediment.
2- I use about 3/4 oz of priming malt/sugar per gallon. Boil in two cups of water, pour in sanitized keg, seal w/ CO2 & let cool before racking in your beer then reseal w/ CO2
3- leave at room temp for 10 days

 

[yellow]

Govner1 has it down. I have done it in the past and decided against continuing because of the draw back of having to let it settle when moving it. I do have a kegerator, but I also use a jockeybox a lot for family functions.

As for over-carbing, just release some pressure and let it reach equilibrium - does not take to long - or throw on a spunding valve to get the exact pressure/temp profile you want.

 

[Curtis2010]

Not crazy. Apps like BeerSmith even have a carbonation profile for this and calc the priming sugar for you.

As posted, getting a good seal may be your biggest challenge...clean, lube, and pressure test everything first.

If you want to get fancier you can even build/buy a "spunding valve" to regulate the pressure.

 

[Exportjo]

This isn't crazy at all, in fact it is how they used to keg beers in the good old days. If you like the way beers turn out carbing this way I would suggest looking into a firkin keg, or some other variant of the hoff-Steven type kegs.

 

[pgordon80]

I kegged two stouts. Same recipe and everything. Force carbed one naturally carbed the other. I preferred the naturally carbed one over the force carbed.

 

[lpdjshaw]

1- shorten your dip tube about 1/2" & add a screen to the end. This helps prevent picking up sediment.

No need to do this, you'll just waste good beer.

 

[DrunkleJon]

No need to do this, you'll just waste good beer.

Agreed. Just enjoy a yeasty first could pulls from the keg. You will have to be a little careful and give it a little time to cold crash between moving and tapping.

 

[Richard-SSV]

I am naturally carbing my kegs for the first time. For my new keg system I decided to go with 2.5 gallon kegs due to the space constraints of the fridge I have in my bar. What I did on bottling/keg day was to rack all 5 gallons into a bottling bucket and then I added enough priming sugar solution to prime all 5 gallons.

I filled my kegs, sealed them up with a few blasts of co2, and then bottled the other half of my batch. I prefer this because it allows for having my brew on tap, but still allows me to take a 6 pack over to a neighbors if I want.

I just put the kegs in the keggerator last night, so I'll see how they turn out in a day or two.

 

[Harry482]

I prime in the keg for stouts, but certainly force carb if I desire clarity in my lighter beers. Like someone else said, You'll run through 1/3 of the keg before you stop picking up sediment.

 

[lpdjshaw]

If you're running through 1/3 of your keg and still picking up sediment I don't think it's from priming it, my beers are usually clear after about a 1/2 pt.

 

[NewBrewB]

Ok, so this crazy idea popped in my head so had to ask.

I like the feel of the sugar primed beer, in my mind the carbonation is better then forced carbonation and the

Anyone tried instead of priming in the bottle to prime the whole 5gal in the corny keg for a week at ambient temperature 70-80 and then put in the kegorator ?

Let me know what you think is it really crazy ?!

I did it when I was still extract brewing. I was making a recipe with lemon and orange zest kind of like a blue moon. Finally I did a test. I brewed two batches and both went into kegs(same day). I force carbed one and added priming sugar (boiled and cooled) to the other. In blind taste tests, everyone agreed the sugar carbed one was better-just more complex flavor.

Also, I did a lager with my keezer as a fermentation chamber:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/anyone-tried-first-lager-attempt-182074/

 

[theQ]

I did it when I was still extract brewing. I was making a recipe with lemon and orange zest kind of like a blue moon. Finally I did a test. I brewed two batches and both went into kegs(same day). I force carbed one and added priming sugar (boiled and cooled) to the other. In blind taste tests, everyone agreed the sugar carbed one was better-just more complex flavor.

Also, I did a lager with my keezer as a fermentation chamber:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/anyone-tried-first-lager-attempt-182074/

That's what I thought - brewing belgians I get more fruity flavors in bottles but I think I need to leave it condition like 2 weeks. Tried after 1 weeks and wasn't there yet.

 

[theQ]

If you're running through 1/3 of your keg and still picking up sediment I don't think it's from priming it, my beers are usually clear after about a 1/2 pt.

Yeast doesn't scare me! I scare the yeast!