questions about kegging and bulk aging

[zodiak3000]

planning on kegging a big RIS (dont want to deal with bottling). my questions-

i was planning on putting it on co2 for a few weeks in the fridge, then taking it off to make room for other kegs (to drink) and storing it in the closet. is this ok? how often should i hit it with co2 with this method? should i just hit it with co2 at room temp, purge, then store instead? how long can I do this before i really need to put it on permanent co2?

 

[RoundKid]

planning on kegging a big RIS (dont want to deal with bottling). my questions- i was planning on putting it on co2 for a few weeks in the fridge, then taking it off to make room for other kegs (to drink) and storing it in the closet. is this ok? how often should i hit it with co2 with this method? should i just hit it with co2 at room temp, purge, then store instead? how long can I do this before i really need to put it on permanent co2?

Your plan is solid. Once it is carbonated it can sit untouched for years I'd you want. You should check it occasionally just to make sure it doesn't leak.

Don't just purge and store. That CO2 will absorb and the keg might open up and expose the beer to air.

 

[Safa]

Agree with RoundKid.

Just make sure you double check that the keg is still pressurized every so often, just in case you have a slow leak on one of your seals.

 

[NathPowe]

You could also prime it with sugar in the keg. I do this often for beers that don't go right into the kegerator. I use half the amount of sugar that would be required for bottling. Just rack the beer to a keg, add priming sugar, and then blast the lid with some CO2 to seal it. It'll carb naturally and stay for as long as you need it to.

Enjoy the brew.

 

[zodiak3000]

cool, so ill have no prob taking it off co2 after about 3 weeks and storing it at room temp? would i need to hit it with co2 at any point in aging?

 

[BryceL]

What is your reason for carbing and then aging? Why not keg/purge/age it at room temp, and then chill and carbonate it a few weeks from when you are ready to drink it?

 

[zodiak3000]

What is your reason for carbing and then aging? Why not keg/purge/age it at room temp, and then chill and carbonate it a few weeks from when you are ready to drink it?

i guess that was part of my initial question, would it be better to carb and age at room temp or just hit with c02, purge, and age at room temp?

 

[NathPowe]

I still think this is a perfect candidate for priming with sugar. It's simple, it doesn't take up room in your kegerator, and it works wonderfully.

 

[freisste]

Issue with sugar is that he mentioned it is a BIG beer. Not sure what you mean, but my stout (1.108 OG) would not carb with sugar. Wyeast 1056 doesn't have enough alcohol tolerance.

Regarding pressurizing before aging, I would hold it as pressure for a couple weeks as you said. Basically as long as possible before you need kegerator space. This will get all the CO2 into suspension as possible. If you just hit it for a day, it would not come to equilibrium and may absorb the CO2, then effectively de pressurize. Not completely, but maybe enough to lose the seal. That could allow oxygen in.

I would also make sure to purge the keg with CO2, probably before filling. That will reduce oxidation, which would be hell on an aged beer.

Good luck, your plan is solid, IMO.

 

[WileECoyote]

What is your reason for carbing and then aging? Why not keg/purge/age it at room temp, and then chill and carbonate it a few weeks from when you are ready to drink it?

This is what I do.

Cheers

 

[WileECoyote]

You could also prime it with sugar in the keg. I do this often for beers that don't go right into the kegerator. I use half the amount of sugar that would be required for bottling. Just rack the beer to a keg, add priming sugar, and then blast the lid with some CO2 to seal it. It'll carb naturally and stay for as long as you need it to.

Enjoy the brew.

NathPowe, why do you use half the amount of sugar in keg, that would be required for bottling.

I think I would like to start doing this as I could age and carb beer in kegs at the same time, saving me 10 days of carbing a beer up after it go's into my kegerator.

I didn't look up carb calc for kegging, that might have answered my question.

Cheers

 

[StoneHands]

NathPowe, why do you use half the amount of sugar in keg, that would be required for bottling.

I've never fully understood this. Because, to me, X amount of sugar creates X amount of CO2, no matter the size of the container. Anecdotally though, it seems true that you need to use less sugar - something to do with headspace in the keg vs a bottle most likely.

If you're going to naturally carb in the keg, I would recommend getting a bleeder valve with a gauge on it, to monitor the pressure. You can extrapolate one of the carb tables to get your temp/pressure for the amount of CO2 you want, and not let it climb above that pressure as it carbs. To put it simply, I use the normal amount of priming sugar in the keg, but I know if the pressure gets above 30 psi at room temp, I start bleeding off the pressure above 30 until it finishes eating up the priming sugar, and then it's done, and nicely carbed. Poor mans spunding.

 

[WileECoyote]

I've never fully understood this. Because, to me, X amount of sugar creates X amount of CO2, no matter the size of the container. Anecdotally though, it seems true that you need to use less sugar - something to do with headspace in the keg vs a bottle most likely.

If you're going to naturally carb in the keg, I would recommend getting a bleeder valve with a gauge on it, to monitor the pressure. You can extrapolate one of the carb tables to get your temp/pressure for the amount of CO2 you want, and not let it climb above that pressure as it carbs. To put it simply, I use the normal amount of priming sugar in the keg, but I know if the pressure gets above 30 psi at room temp, I start bleeding off the pressure above 30 until it finishes eating up the priming sugar, and then it's done, and nicely carbed. Poor mans spunding.

Thanks StoneHands, All my kegs have 30 psi popoffs in the lids, so I guess I'm good to go, for trying this, it would sure be nice to put kegs in the kegerator and pull the tap on it the next day instead of waiting 10 days for them to carb up.

Cheers

 

[StoneHands]

Thanks StoneHands, All my kegs have 30 psi popoffs in the lids, so I guess I'm good to go,

What's that? Not familiar. It doesn't completely drain the CO2 when they pop, do they?

 

[StoneHands]

Also, I always hit my kegs with 20-30 psi to seat the lids (and also purge a few times) when I prime them. Make sure it's sealed. When you monitor the pressure, the initial blast gets absorbed and it creeps down, and then the pressure starts to climb again as the priming sugar gets converted.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I've never fully understood this. Because, to me, X amount of sugar creates X amount of CO2, no matter the size of the container. Anecdotally though, it seems true that you need to use less sugar - something to do with headspace in the keg vs a bottle most likely.

Headspace. The relative amount of headspace in a keg is lower (percentage-wise) than in 60 or so bottles.

The average "12 oz bottle" is roughly 12.5oz to the underside of the cap. So that's 0.5/12 = 4% headspace.

If you consider a 5-gallon keg (to the underside of the lid), you'd have to leave 25oz's worth of headspace in a keg. That works out to approximately 2-2.5" in the dome of a corny keg.

MC

 

[StoneHands]

Headspace. The relative amount of headspace in a keg is lower (percentage-wise) than in 60 or so bottles.

The average "12 oz bottle" is roughly 12.5oz to the underside of the cap. So that's 0.5/12 = 4% headspace.

If you consider a 5-gallon keg (to the underside of the lid), you'd have to leave 25oz's worth of headspace in a keg. That works out to approximately 2-2.5" in the dome of a corny keg.

MC

I can definitely see that, but I don't think it fully explains why some go half the amount of sugar, that's a HUGE difference. Not going to argue though, kegs do require a different amount of sugar from my experience, but I like my method of monitoring the pressure, don't have to be as precise with the sugar amount.

 

[AnOldUR]

If you have a CO2 line outside of your fridge:
Fill
Connect CO2
Purge
Set CO2 pressure for desired volumes at room temp and let it sit for a few days
Disconnect from CO2
Chill and serve when you're ready

 

[NathPowe]

I can definitely see that, but I don't think it fully explains why some go half the amount of sugar, that's a HUGE difference. Not going to argue though, kegs do require a different amount of sugar from my experience, but I like my method of monitoring the pressure, don't have to be as precise with the sugar amount.

Misplaced Canuck hit it right as to why less sugar is used. Headspace. I use half the amount required for bottling because I read that it worked, I tried it, and it worked. It's worked perfectly every time I've done it. I also monitor pressure with a gauge, but mostly because I find it interesting and it tells me when the beer is carbed. I've never needed to bleed pressure with this method. I use a scale to measure my sugar anyway, so I just measure it precisely. No extra time/effort involved there. Just what works for me.

In regards to the huge OG, I guess that was my bad. I've never made a beer that big so I wasn't really aware it wouldn't carb with sugar.

That's really hardcore to have a 1.1+ stout on tap. Gettin after it eh?

Good luck with the beer and enjoy it.

 

[davefleck]

Also, I always hit my kegs with 20-30 psi to seat the lids (and also purge a few times) when I prime them. Make sure it's sealed. When you monitor the pressure, the initial blast gets absorbed and it creeps down, and then the pressure starts to climb again as the priming sugar gets converted.

Agreed. I often take mine to 40psi though. Be liberal with the keg lube on the seal as well