I currently have a kegging system that I basically only use for parties.( I make batches of beer for parties) My question is do I need a fridge or keggerator in order to force carb the beer? My plan was to brew and then force carb a week before the party and just put in a tub of ice the day of the party. Is this do-able or do I need a fridge? Any help would be great.
Yep, just have to set the psi higher. Plenty of good charts online to show you the actual pressure required at different temps.
Also, to have the beer pushed out with minimal foam, you will need to keep that beer nice and cold while balancing your lines/serving pressure.
You can force carb the beer at any temperature, as long as you follow the charts, as OddNotion said. My only concern would be that your plan involves some jostling of the keg on the day of the event. You're likely to have a lot of floaties - the kind of stuff that only a homebrewer can love . You might consider moving it into position a few days before to give the worst of it a chance to settle.
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?16005959#tag http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
I'd also have a few growlers to give away if you have some extra beer around at the end of the party. Keeping lots of ice around after to keep kegs cold is a pain in the ass.
do not underestimate the need to keep the beer cold! a shallow tub of ice water won't do it, you need to have most of the beer serving temp. also, any time you put a keg in a tub of water have some way to keep it weighted. once it begins to empty its gonna float like a cresting submarine. Cheers.
You could also use something like this. Attach it to the gas side of the corny and a cobra tap to the liquid side and you are good to go. I haven't use these myself but a friend of mine says they are easy to use. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NV9CE6
