# Natural Carbonation For Kegs



## ballantynebrew (29/6/12)

Hey fellas 
Just got myself a kegerator and have to still get a co2 bottle, in the meantime I have a stout ready to be carbed. Mate of mine reckons natural carb is a good idea. Any advice on how much sugar etc 
Cheers


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## nathan_madness (29/6/12)

ballantynebrew said:


> Hey fellas
> Just got myself a kegerator and have to still get a co2 bottle, in the meantime I have a stout ready to be carbed. Mate of mine reckons natural carb is a good idea. Any advice on how much sugar etc
> Cheers



Go to your local BOC dealer and get a bottle of CO2 and you won't look back. 

I have been told that the VT size is filled with a copper line over the poly line that fills all smaller bottles and apparently the copper line gives your beer a better taste. Can't tell you if it is correct or not as I went straight into the VT. $53 for 10kg of CO2 and bottle rental $140ish per year easy as.


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## Brad Churchill (29/6/12)

I use about 50g of sugar to a 19L corny. Leave it for two to three weeks at room temp then hook it up to gas at serving pressure.
You use about half the amount of sugar you would use if you were bottling to get the same level of carb.

Cheers


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## ballantynebrew (29/6/12)

Brad C said:


> I use about 50g of sugar to a 19L corny. Leave it for two to three weeks at room temp then hook it up to gas at serving pressure.
> You use about half the amount of sugar you would use if you were bottling to get the same level of carb.
> 
> Cheers





cheers brad c for the advice

keen to get my co2 bottle but need to wait for the mrs approval. ha ha


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## Amber Fluid (29/6/12)

Plenty of online calcs out there.... just remember if the only option is to calculate for bottles then you need to halve the priming rate.

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html

http://webspace.webring.com/people/ms/sirl...Calculator.html

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

http://www.brewheads.com/priming.php

just to name a few.


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## Tim (29/6/12)

Just be careful if you are planning to natural carb a keg as the lids need some positive pressure to seal properly. Normally the seal is good enough to naturally carb, but on others I have found I need a quick squirt of CO2 to seal them.


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## .DJ. (29/6/12)

quick Q - why do you halve the amount of sugar if kegging?


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## seamad (29/6/12)

less headspace iirc


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## doon (29/6/12)

Yeah 50g of dextrose I found is spot on after two weeks although I still burp the keg with co2


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## Nossil (29/6/12)

nathan_madness said:


> Go to your local BOC dealer and get a bottle of CO2 and you won't look back.
> 
> I have been told that the VT size is filled with a copper line over the poly line that fills all smaller bottles and apparently the copper line gives your beer a better taste. Can't tell you if it is correct or not as I went straight into the VT. $53 for 10kg of CO2 and bottle rental $140ish per year easy as.




I wouldn't rent from BOC. I bought one from my local HB shop recently. Brand new 7 or 8kg one, filled with gas for $250. 

If you get over homebrew within a year(ha!), put the gas bottle up on ebay and you'd get $150 or so for it. Silly to pay a crazy $140 a year to rent something you are potentially going to use for years to come.


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## WeaselEstateBrewery (29/6/12)

Nossil said:


> I wouldn't rent from BOC. I bought one from my local HB shop recently. Brand new 7 or 8kg one, filled with gas for $250.
> 
> If you get over homebrew within a year(ha!), put the gas bottle up on ebay and you'd get $150 or so for it. Silly to pay a crazy $140 a year to rent something you are potentially going to use for years to come.



Couldnt agree more


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## mkstalen (29/6/12)

Just remember you're still going to need the CO2 to push the beer out. If you don't have a CO2 bottle your first few beers will probably pour ok with the pressure in the keg, but as you drink more beer there will be more headspace for the naturally produced CO2 to escape into, and I recon by the time you get to not even half a keg you'll have flat beer which won't pour.

So it's fine to natually carbonate a keg to save on CO2 but you still need a CO2 canister to maintain the naturally created pressure...


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## nathan_madness (29/6/12)

Nossil said:


> I wouldn't rent from BOC. I bought one from my local HB shop recently. Brand new 7 or 8kg one, filled with gas for $250.
> 
> If you get over homebrew within a year(ha!), put the gas bottle up on ebay and you'd get $150 or so for it. Silly to pay a crazy $140 a year to rent something you are potentially going to use for years to come.



I am pretty sure that you will be paying for pressure testing and crack testing on any cylinder that you own yourself every 2 years. That is why so many people now do the swap and go on the LPG bottles. I use to pay for my Air/Nitrox bottles for diving and it was very expensive almost cheaper to buy a bottle every time.


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## Muscovy_333 (29/6/12)

If you can get hold of a CO2 Fire Extinguisher, they work a treat.
Plenty of threads on here to show you how.


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## nathan_madness (29/6/12)

nathan_madness said:


> I am pretty sure that you will be paying for pressure testing and crack testing on any cylinder that you own yourself every 2 years. That is why so many people now do the swap and go on the LPG bottles. I use to pay for my Air/Nitrox bottles for diving and it was very expensive almost cheaper to buy a bottle every time.




Just did a bit of quick research. Hydrostatic testing is due every 5 years on CO2 cylinders. Probably worth it if you can't write off cylinder rental.


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## jkirky (30/6/12)

nathan_madness said:


> Just did a bit of quick research. Hydrostatic testing is due every 5 years on CO2 cylinders. Probably worth it if you can't write off cylinder rental.



I know extinguishers are every five years, but my co2 food grade is dated for 10 years...


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## seemax (30/6/12)

nathan_madness said:


> I am pretty sure that you will be paying for pressure testing and crack testing on any cylinder that you own yourself every 2 years. That is why so many people now do the swap and go on the LPG bottles. I use to pay for my Air/Nitrox bottles for diving and it was very expensive almost cheaper to buy a bottle every time.



Many of us are swap n going CO2 bottles now, in Melbourne at least... $25 for 2.6kg.


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## Innes (30/6/12)

I naturally carbonate or "cask condition" all my kegged beers.

There are a few reasons why I do this, mainly because I use soda stream bottles to serve the kegs and because I like the traditional method.

I chill my fermenter to 7C for 3 days and then filter with a 5 micron pleated filter which still allows enough yeast through to do the job, but stops any chunky bits. I then add dextrose or DME to the keg (at what ever rate beersmith suggests for the style) and then burp the keg with CO2 a few times to get rid of any oxygen. I leave enough CO2 in there to keep a positive pressure on the lid seal. I then give the keg a gentile shake to mix the dextrose/DME into the beer and then put the keg into my fermentation fridge set at the same temperature the beer was fermented at.

In about 1-2 weeks, I transfer the keg to the serving fridge. After a day or two, I hook up the gas and pour 1-2 pints until the beer runs clear.

I find using a 5 micron filter leaves just a slight dusting of yeast on the bottom of the keg. If you don't filter, the yeast layer can be much thicker. Either way, as long as you don't disturb the keg, you won't get any yeast after the first 1-2 pours. If the keg gets knocked or moved, just repeat the steps.

I use the same method for my bottled beers, but double the amount of dextrose/DME.

I like using the soda stream bottles because I can serve a few kegs from one bottle. Though I have spares, if I run out, I can swap them at the local woolies.


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## Tricky Dicky (10/2/19)

Innes said:


> I naturally carbonate or "cask condition" all my kegged beers.
> 
> There are a few reasons why I do this, mainly because I use soda stream bottles to serve the kegs and because I like the traditional method.
> 
> ...


Can a keg be naturally carbonated in 12 days? I put in 52g of sugar boiled in water into the 19L keg and let it sit at 20c, tested after 12 days, it seems to have carbed up nicely but do I need to leave it any longer ?how do I know if it's ready?


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## Moog (10/2/19)

that sounds enough to me, you could wait another week to be sure but should be ok


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## brewgasm (11/2/19)

I like to naturally carb my kegs too. I don't use filters or flocculents just rely on cold and time.

I think that you might get finer bubbles using dex.

I always charge the keg with CO² to ensure a seal.

I have used upto 100g of dextrose in a keg without over carbonation but I think 50-60g is a sweet spot


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## altone (11/2/19)

Tricky Dicky said:


> Can a keg be naturally carbonated in 12 days? I put in 52g of sugar boiled in water into the 19L keg and let it sit at 20c, tested after 12 days, it seems to have carbed up nicely but do I need to leave it any longer ?how do I know if it's ready?



If it tastes good and is carbonated to your liking then it's ready.
There's no right/wrong way.


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