I brewed a pecan Porter and it's finally almost time to keg it. I'm unsure about one thing, I'm not in a huge hurry to drink this beer so I don't want to force carbonate it, but all of the videos I've watched on YouTube about kegging, they either force carbonate, or put it in the keg, close the lid and that's the end of the video. I just need to know what pressure I should put it on and how long to leave it on. Any first time kegging advice is much appreciated
if you have a keg you only two option for carbonation. force carbing or priming, like with bottles. priming with a dose of sugar is not recommended but can be done. it defeats the purpose of kegging. force carbing, fast or slow, is still force carbonation. you force the carbonation into the beer; the gas is not created by secondary yeast activity. the set it and forget it method is fool proof. you force carb over time at the desired serving pressure. 10 to 12 psi is generally accepted as adequate. you should get to know about vols, aka the typical amount of dissolved CO2 within each style of beer. keep the beer cold since cold liquid absorbs more gas than warm liquid, and you want the proper carbonation at the serving temp. you can speed up the carbonation by turning up the pressure to 30 or more psi and shaking the keg to get the gas to dissolve quicker, but this is something you want to try after you have carbed a few kegs over time. Cheers.
To expand on the advice above: Kegged beer, like a baby, should be burped. On the initial transfer, seal everything up and shoot an intermediate pressure in the keg (15'ish psi). Then vent and repeat 3-4 times. This purges the air from the headspace. Learn how to read a carbonation chart. As Head Bartender you get to pick the temp for serving . . . use your brew thermo to measure this exactly. As Head Server you get to pick the serving pressure, lots of guidelines on volumes of CO2 per style, but you get the final vote. Once you have these two variables set, then refer to the carb chart for your pressure setting. I normally set the initial headspace pressure to 30'ish, then dial back to desired psi (10-12 range). This may take a day off the process. One of the beauties (many) of kegging is the ease in changing carb levels. By twiddling a few knobs you can move around the amount of bubbles to suit your preference. The overall act of balancing is a bit more complicated, but once you are set up it will be on autopilot. Recommend you solve your gas leak problems (yep, expect some leaks) before your precious beer is at risk. Pressurize your system, to include empty keg, then shut off tank master valve and see if it holds pressure for a couple of days. You're going to love kegging.
I have this URL forever engraved into my brain. http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php Determine where you want your carbonation to be (I always go for the green because I do ales), set your temp, then set your regulator pressure. Like Betty said, 7-10 days.
I'd add one last step... set your liquid line length to balance against the regulator pressure. Preference (for serving temp) determines temperature. CO2 Preference (volumes) and Temperature determine Regulator Pressure. Regulator pressure (and liquid line inner diameter) determine Liquid Line Length
This is what I usually do...and it's a lesson learned from trying to get a keg up to carbonation within a couple of hours...I clean and sanitize keg, transfer the finished beer, purge it of any o2...and then I set it between 10-12psi @ 36 degrees and let it sit for 10 days to 14 days. Let it do it's thing and I've never had an issue with over carbonation. Yes, it does take time but it'll be well worth it when you have properly carbonated beer that you've spent hours making in the first place.
