Newbie to Kegging questions

[lindormonster]

Hi Guys

Just about attempt my first keg carbonation and have a couple of stupid newbie questions

First really stupid question - Am i correct in thinking the gas bottle needs to be turned on at all times when carbonating the beer - IE set to correct pressure and leave on until beer is carbonated

Second stupid question - Once beer is at correct carbonation I will be bottling with my Boel Itap - If beer is good to go but I dont have the time to bottle can I just turn the gas bottle off and leave it in the keg until im ready to bottle with the itap? Will this be ok for a period of time such as a week or slightly longer? or will it over carbonate

Cheers

 

[Cestrian]

Everyone does things slightly differently depending on setup. You can either wind the pressure up higher and turn the gas off to let it carbonate or leave the gas on at a lower pressure. The former is faster but risky cos you can over carbonate. Once it’s carbed up and at serving pressure you can leave the gas on at serving pressure or knock it off and just turn on to serve or fill your bottles. You can leave it like this indefinitely. I prefer not to leave the gas on once carbed cos I’ve had a slight leak on a keg before and emptied the gas bottle.

Third stupid question.. why are you bottling when you’ve got kegs?

 

[Jan.]

There are several methods to carbonating. You can set the pressure gauge to the right amount (for example 1.4 bars at 10C) and let it sit with the CO2 open. This is easy and requires the least effort. However, I once had a small leak and when I went back to it it had wasted most of the CO2 bottle.

The way I do it is give it a dose at 3 bar-ish once a day for 3 or 4 days and shut the CO2 bottle between doses. It takes a little more work but I know that the worst that will happen if I have a leak is that it won't carbonate. I also have a gauge attached on one end to the white ball lock corny keg attachment and the other end a valve or tap. This allows me to precisely control the CO2 by letting some out if I go over (very useful but not essential).

Once the beer is at the right carbonation you can close the CO2 bottle, as long as you have no leaks (and has stopped fermenting) the beer in the keg will stay at the same carbonation level.

Don't worry about asking questions, this is the perfect place to do it and don't feel bad, every expert started with 0 knowledge, it's all a learning process.

 

[Jan.]

sorry @Cestrian, I just repeated a lot of what you said. I posted without realizing the questions had been answered.

 

[Cestrian]

No worries! Glad to hear it’s not just me that flattens the co2

 

[lindormonster]

Everyone does things slightly differently depending on setup. You can either wind the pressure up higher and turn the gas off to let it carbonate or leave the gas on at a lower pressure. The former is faster but risky cos you can over carbonate. Once it’s carbed up and at serving pressure you can leave the gas on at serving pressure or knock it off and just turn on to serve or fill your bottles. You can leave it like this indefinitely. I prefer not to leave the gas on once carbed cos I’ve had a slight leak on a keg before and emptied the gas bottle.

Third stupid question.. why are you bottling when you’ve got kegs?

There are several methods to carbonating. You can set the pressure gauge to the right amount (for example 1.4 bars at 10C) and let it sit with the CO2 open. This is easy and requires the least effort. However, I once had a small leak and when I went back to it it had wasted most of the CO2 bottle.

The way I do it is give it a dose at 3 bar-ish once a day for 3 or 4 days and shut the CO2 bottle between doses. It takes a little more work but I know that the worst that will happen if I have a leak is that it won't carbonate. I also have a gauge attached on one end to the white ball lock corny keg attachment and the other end a valve or tap. This allows me to precisely control the CO2 by letting some out if I go over (very useful but not essential).

Once the beer is at the right carbonation you can close the CO2 bottle, as long as you have no leaks (and has stopped fermenting) the beer in the keg will stay at the same carbonation level.

Don't worry about asking questions, this is the perfect place to do it and don't feel bad, every expert started with 0 knowledge, it's all a learning process.

Thanks for the help guys

So many different videos online and most of then are for force carbing at very fast rates

I had just set it up at 12psi and left the tap open 10 mins ago - have just gone back and dropped it down to 3psi and turned the tap off so im guessing this will be ok?

Cheers

(Answer to third question i make imperial stouts and like to have them in bottles and age them also to give out - no way im drinking a keg full of 15% beer in one go hahaha)

 

[Rwilts]

I second (third?) Jan and Cestrain, having lost a very large bottle of Co2 I now blast with a high dose, turn off gas and repeat for a few days and then only turn on gas to serve

 

[Brewelder]

Thanks for the help guys

So many different videos online and most of then are for force carbing at very fast rates

I had just set it up at 12psi and left the tap open 10 mins ago - have just gone back and dropped it down to 3psi and turned the tap off so im guessing this will be ok?

Cheers

(Answer to third question i make imperial stouts and like to have them in bottles and age them also to give out - no way im drinking a keg full of 15% beer in one go hahaha)

I like to condition my brews in the keg, so i don’t see the need to force carb. I brew IPA’a and always close transfer into the keg from the FV. I then open the gas and pressure to 11psi and just leave it till the beer is all drank and I’ve never had an issue. I realise that this method probably uses more gas, but hey ho, that’s what i do and it works for me.

 

[RichardM]

Thanks for the help guys

So many different videos online and most of then are for force carbing at very fast rates

I had just set it up at 12psi and left the tap open 10 mins ago - have just gone back and dropped it down to 3psi and turned the tap off so im guessing this will be ok?

Cheers

(Answer to third question i make imperial stouts and like to have them in bottles and age them also to give out - no way im drinking a keg full of 15% beer in one go hahaha)

It shouldn't have dropped to 3psi in 10minutes. I'd be looking for a leak if that happened to me.
Why not bottle straight from the fermenter or bottling bucket and prime with sugar?

 

[gavp1979]

I do the same as Brewelder and leave the tap open and never had an issue. I have tried force carbing using high pressure but always end up over/under carbing the beer but I know a lot of people do have success

 

[Jason s]

I bottle/keg direct from the FV. 1St I will fill a couple of bottles with a bottling wand as this helps to pull through any trub that may have been sitting in the tap. These bottles can be put aside for 6-8 weeks to condition and clear in the usual way. Then fill the keg with a long hose avoiding splashing. I then give the keg a few blasts at 30 PSI. This helps to seal the lid. Then leave at 30 PSI for 24 hours. After that vent and set to 12 PSI and leave for 2 weeks. I find this works for me. Not to heavily carbonated, perfect for pale ales and IPA's.

 

[Jan.]

I do the same as Brewelder and leave the tap open and never had an issue. I have tried force carbing using high pressure but always end up over/under carbing the beer but I know a lot of people do have success

I have one of these. you plug it into the gas input of the corny keg and will give you the pressure of CO2 then the tap lets you adjust it how you like. One of my favourite gadgets.