Viability of taking beer off CO2

[MGM]

Apologies if this has been beaten to death, and I'm sure it's an extremely basic question. If I carb a beer, and then take it off CO2, how long will that keg stay viable for use? Is there a different process involved? I ask because I'm brewing a beer for a buddy, and he wants to keg it and keep it at his house, but doesn't want to buy a tank/regulator. Works out for me, because I'll be able to use the keg as well in the long run.

 

[cfonnes]

If he is just storing the keg it will last for years. If he is trying to serve from it he will get a few beers then the pressure will be gone.

 

[phuzle]

You can probably dispense the first 8 pints before you run into problems. I don't know personally, but thats what a friend told me who used those little co2 cartridges to keep his keg with enough pressure to dispense.

 

[MGM]

Excellent, thanks. Bottling it is!

 

[erikpete18]

You could also try one of these if he wanted to spend a little money. If heard they work real well for dispensing a keg during a single day, not sure how they would work as a primary dispenser during an extended time frame. I'd maybe be worried about under/over carbing once the beer got low, but it still might be better than bottling .