So...I made the leap...
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Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
Do you have a freezer/fridge with temperature control for your kegs? If so you'll want them set to about 40F +/- depending on the style beer you're serving.
When the kegs arrive take them apart and clean and sanitize them. There's a bunch of links on YouTube illustrating how to do this.
Get your co2 tank filled.
Rack the beer to the sanitized keg just as you would to a bottling bucket. Put about 12 psi onto the keg and spray some StarSan around all the hose connections to check for leaks. Fix any leaks you find. Let it set for about a week. (There are some good posts on force carbonating on this forum and on YouTube if you want to speed the process up.)
Figure your first glass of beer is going to be cloudy as heck because all the trub from a week of settling will come out in that first blast. From there on, draw what you want to drink and enjoy!
Cheers!
30 lb... Let the CO2 completely fill the tank by tiping it up, then down, then up... down... etc. Leave it at that pressure at temperature (35-40) for about 24 hours. Then shut off the gas completely and purge the keg. Set the CO2 tank to 8 lbs on the keg.
One thing that I learned though... make sure your liquid lines are 10' long. Just do it.
It's really as simple as that. Doesn't have to be complicated at all.
One thing that I learned though... make sure your liquid lines are 10' long. Just do it.
It's really as simple as that. Doesn't have to be complicated at all.
Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
Great tip on force carbonating. Gotta disagree with the line length point though. I'm running 5' and the beer out of the tap is spot on.
You, my friend, as the exception rather than the rule with those 5 ft lines. I had those originally and, while I didn't have problems to the degree that some report, I wasn't happy with the lack of consistency of the pours. When I decided to make the adjustment on all three taps to 12ft lines (12psi and 38*F), I felt like I had arrived at keg dispensing nirvana.
I don't think it was mentioned thus far, but you must use CO2 to purge the air out of the keg headspace after you rack the beer to it.
Finally, I don't shake or roll the keg when carbing. I did it once right after I started kegging and that brown ale never would completely clear. I normally take a chilled keg o' beer, hook it up to 12psi and leave it sit in the keezer 12-14 days. If I'm in a big rush, I'll hit it with 30psi for 36 hours, then vent and drop to 12psi for at least overnight.
Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
You, my friend, as the exception rather than the rule with those 5 ft lines. I had those originally and, while I didn't have problems to the degree that some report, I wasn't happy with the lack of consistency of the pours. When I decided to make the adjustment on all three taps to 12ft lines (12psi and 38*F), I felt like I had arrived at keg dispensing nirvana.
I am pretty well locked into my current line length but the pours have been very smooth and I have been happy with them. But again, you have more experience in this than I have. When I have the opportunity to make a change I'll try the longer length.
I've kegged my beer forever... but lately I've been bottling half the batch here and there... Something about bottle conditioning... I prefer keg conditioned over force carbed but sometimes I cant wait!
Enjoy - it's much easier than washing bottles...
Enjoy - it's much easier than washing bottles...
