I am planning on kegging for the first time this weekend and I was hoping to receive some advice on what to do and what not to do. I am looking for general information on what it takes to get it done properly. I have all of the equipment I need, I just need help getting there. cheers
since we are an online discussion, just ask questions. there is plenty of info available to read. if you are not certain about something, just ask. it is difficult to provide advice without a question. Cheers.
My main confusion is that I was told that I would have to purge the air from the tank a couple times a day. I just need to learn that process. Another question is how do I know at what PSI to set my tank to. Those are two specific questions I can think of at the moment.
VikeMan's link covers all the basics. But I suggest you do some serious leak-checking before your beer is at risk. Pressurize an empty tank to about 50 psi and check every fitting . . . a starsan squirt bottles is very helpful. Then shut off the tank master valve and leave 24 hours, it should hold the pressure. You don't want entry into the "blew-a-CO2-tank-overnight Club" Don't think you can properly carb a beer with 15 minutes of shaking. In theory yes . . . but iffy in practice. If you plan on a week of slow-carbing/conditioning your beer karma will rise. You only need to purge air once before you fill with beer. Typically an empty tank is partially filled with starsan (1 gallon'ish) which is purged by CO2 before filling with beer. After beer is transferred to keg do 3-4 burps (see link) and you will be free of any nasty old air. Imperative you know what carb level the beer should have and beer temp, then set psi according to carb-chart in link. To do this you must have an accurate thermo. I would chill a tank of water in advance and see what actual liquid temps your keezer is achieving. Search the Home Bar Forum for subjects like "balancing" and "foam" to determine line length. The more testing you do before your precious beer is in the keg the less stress you will have. Don't tell your friends you have keg beer until you have everything balanced . . . it can easily take a week+ to achieve the balancing act.
what Largo says. you are on your way. kegging is actually one of the more simple homebrewing skills. you purge the air from the keg to keep oxygen off of your beer. once the keg is sanitized and filled with beer, the lid goes on. apply 10 to 14 psi of gas, then pull the pressure release pin. do that a 3 or 4 times. this will evacuate the air and replace it with CO2. now you have your beer in a virtually oxygen free environment. you will want to spend some time figuring out how to balance your system. for now, keep the beer at or near 38F. this critical. you will eliminate a lot of headaches if you stay near 38F. apply about 12psi of pressure and in 5 to 10 days your beer will be ready. you will probably have a clogged dip tube and valve. hops and trub will clog the works. release all the pressure, turn off the gas, remove the valve, tube and clean. replace. reapply pressure. burp keg again to purge air. try not to move the keg too much, since this will cause more hops and junk to clog the tube. Cheers.
I'm sure like everyone else that starts kegging you'll want carbonated beer in 30 seconds after kegging it. NOT! Trust me I do too. You can force carbonate but it will not be the same as properly carbonated beer until it rests which in turn is almost the same as set it and forget it. Basically 2 weeks. I know many will say chill it down ( both beer n gas) and force it in but the carbonation doesn't marry properly with the beer until it rest. You can make carbonated beer in a few hours but it won't be perfect for a couple weeks. Read read read test test test Good luck
Thanks for the advice guys. I am just nervous about screwing this batch up in particular since it was my first all-grain batch. I understand there will be some flaws, but that's ok. I'm just trying to keep it at a minimum, obviously.
I will second this. My fridge was too cold. I'm not controlling the temp with anything other than the stock fridge dial. I thought I had it at 38F (beer kit thermometer) but it was really around 32-34... I had nothing but foam for days. I changed out the lines multiple times (3 ft lines to 20 ft lines) and nothing fixed it. I finally increased the temp, let it sit for a couple of days and now it pours great. Both 6ft and 8ft 3/16" beer lines seem to work for me. This is something that you will need to play around with. Lastly, like the others have said, have patience. I was drinking my first 2 kegs 24 hrs after I kegged them. They had some off after tastes and were somewhat harsh. After 2 weeks, the beer mellowed and tasted great. The keg emptied in about the same time so only the last couple of beers were optimal.
