How long does it take you to keg your fermented beer?

[Newts]

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd throw this out there and see how long it takes others from start to finish to put their beer from the fermenter into the keg including cleaning maintenance etc. I'm just timing myself now as I do it, and thought I'd see how other people go about it. I'm kegging two brews at the moment.
My process is:

1. One and a bit caps of napisan into keg
2. Fill to about 7 litres with warm water from tap
3. Shake and leave for a while (varies depending if it's urgent but at least an hour)
4. Shake whenever I go by the keg
5. Hook up to tap on fridge that I'm going to use and run some through there - usually run for around 30-60 secs.
6. Empty some of napisan solution into a washing bucket for other keg parts. Pour the rest out.
7. Rinse with cold water about 4-5 times. I put this on the lawn to make the water doesn't go to waste.
8. Rinse once with warm water from tap again. Sometimes I do one last shake with a few litres boiling water but not sure if this is required.
9. Take off keg posts, gas in, and lid and put in washing bucket.
10. Let em sit for a few minutes. Give them a wipe over with a clean cloth and rinse with warm tap water. Starsan lid and posts and reassemble.
11. Put keg back together and put some warm water in. Run through tap for about 30 secs.
12. Empty keg and put in starsan. Run some through tap. Shake and let it sit for a few minutes.
13. Run some of the napisan through the racking cane. Run some warm water then Star san through the racking cane.
14. Empty Starsan and rack beer.

Total this has taken me about 3 hours today for 2 kegs.

I've read heaps on the sanitisation part of brewing. Just wanted to know other peoples time frames when it comes to kegging.

Cheers,

Newts :chug: :beerbang:

 

[mmmyummybeer]

Not sure on times but when I empty the keg I rinse it then put in some PBW and hot water, splash it around and push the poppets down to get cleaner through dip tubes, leave.

Later (generally the next day) I pour out the PBW and rinse with hot water again pushing on the poppets to rinse the dip tubes and empty water then leave until whenever I need to use it.

When I'm ready to use I place some star san and hot water in keg and splash it around and push through poppets and fill transfer hose, I then leave a while before emptying out star san. I then flush CO2 in the out post and open the release to purge. purge some Co2 through transfer hose and hook up to fermented and leave in fridge to cool, then transfer and gas. I just gravity feed into the keg so it takes about 15 or 20 so minutes, all up hard to tell but thats my procedure anyway.

 

[MashPaddler]

Not sure on times but when I empty the keg I rinse it then put in some PBW and hot water, splash it around and push the poppets down to get cleaner through dip tubes, leave.

Later (generally the next day) I pour out the PBW and rinse with hot water again pushing on the poppets to rinse the dip tubes and empty water then leave until whenever I need to use it.

When I'm ready to use I place some star san and hot water in keg and splash it around and push through poppets and fill transfer hose, I then leave a while before emptying out star san. I then flush CO2 in the out post and open the release to purge. purge some Co2 through transfer hose and hook up to fermented and leave in fridge to cool, then transfer and gas. I just gravity feed into the keg so it takes about 15 or 20 so minutes, all up hard to tell but thats my procedure anyway.

This is almost exactly what I do, but I do a run of star san straight after the pbw if it is sitting for a while before refilling. No issues to date. Taking the time with the gravity feed to the tune of 15-20 minutes means no splashing and less oxidisation.

 

[treefiddy]

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd throw this out there and see how long it takes others from start to finish to put their beer from the fermenter into the keg including cleaning maintenance etc. I'm just timing myself now as I do it, and thought I'd see how other people go about it. I'm kegging two brews at the moment.
My process is:

1. One and a bit caps of napisan into keg
2. Fill to about 7 litres with warm water from tap
3. Shake and leave for a while (varies depending if it's urgent but at least an hour)
4. Shake whenever I go by the keg
5. Hook up to tap on fridge that I'm going to use and run some through there - usually run for around 30-60 secs.
6. Empty some of napisan solution into a washing bucket for other keg parts. Pour the rest out.
7. Rinse with cold water about 4-5 times. I put this on the lawn to make the water doesn't go to waste.
8. Rinse once with warm water from tap again. Sometimes I do one last shake with a few litres boiling water but not sure if this is required.
9. Take off keg posts, gas in, and lid and put in washing bucket.
10. Let em sit for a few minutes. Give them a wipe over with a clean cloth and rinse with warm tap water. Starsan lid and posts and reassemble.
11. Put keg back together and put some warm water in. Run through tap for about 30 secs.
12. Empty keg and put in starsan. Run some through tap. Shake and let it sit for a few minutes.
13. Run some of the napisan through the racking cane. Run some warm water then Star san through the racking cane.
14. Empty Starsan and rack beer.

Total this has taken me about 3 hours today for 2 kegs.

I've read heaps on the sanitisation part of brewing. Just wanted to know other peoples time frames when it comes to kegging.

Cheers,

Newts :chug: :beerbang:

You do that every time?

Do you force carb or natural carb?

 

[manticle]

I just recently started kegging. First time I pulled everything apart - posts, poppets, tubes blah blah, boiled in a big put, soaked in sanitiser, put back together, sanitised, purged, filled, gassed.

Along the lines of what you are doing. Second time I did similarly and had the same questions as you. Not really the easy mecca the anti-bottling crowd make it out to be.

Advice I was given by a couple of long term keggers was 'first time and every few months break everything down. In between, just flush out with pbw/sodium percarb, rinse clean and sanitise, flush with co2, fill and gas'.

Should be much quicker and easier.

 

[scon]

Yeah, it sounds a little much... I can bottle a batch of beer in 2 hours.

 

[nathan_madness]

Sounds like way too much work!

1. Rinse with boiling water flush through tap and line.
2. Rinse with PBW again through tap and line.
3. Flush keg with tap water and flush tap and line.
4. Rinse with Starsan flushing tap and line.
5. Fill with beer and carbonate.

Takes about 20-30min.

 

[mxd]

for me, leave empty kegs until I can be stuffed cleaning (or need em to fill)
Fill bath with hot (tap water) with sodium perc in it.
Open kegs (if no gas then assume leak somewhere and check
Rinse in shower
put some sodium perc in keg, attach disconects (that are attached to pond pump) and run for some time
put disconnect on anther keg
Empty "clean" keg
rinse in shower, put some hot water in and some no rinse
Give it a shack
Some time in future,
give it a shack
empty no rinse out
put beer in
connect to gas
drink
repeat.

 

[Screwtop]

1. One and a bit caps of napisan into keg
2. Fill to about 7 litres with warm water from tap
3. Shake and leave for a while (varies depending if it's urgent but at least an hour)
4. Shake whenever I go by the keg
5. Hook up to tap on fridge that I'm going to use and run some through there - usually run for around 30-60 secs.
6. Empty some of napisan solution into a washing bucket for other keg parts. Pour the rest out.
7. Rinse with cold water about 4-5 times. I put this on the lawn to make the water doesn't go to waste.
8. Rinse once with warm water from tap again. Sometimes I do one last shake with a few litres boiling water but not sure if this is required.
9. Take off keg posts, gas in, and lid and put in washing bucket.
10. Let em sit for a few minutes. Give them a wipe over with a clean cloth and rinse with warm tap water. Starsan lid and posts and reassemble.
11. Put keg back together and put some warm water in. Run through tap for about 30 secs.
12. Empty keg and put in starsan. Run some through tap. Shake and let it sit for a few minutes.
13. Run some of the napisan through the racking cane. Run some warm water then Star san through the racking cane.
14. Empty Starsan and rack beer.

Stuff me! I'd have given it up long ago if it was this much work :lol:

1. When keg blows, rinse with tap water a few times, put a couple of litres of water in the keg with a teaspoon of Sodium Percarbonate and shake. Leave with a sodium perc label for a few days.

2. Tip out Sodium Perc and rinse with tap water a few times, put 2 litres of NoRinse Sanitiser in the keg and store away with a Sanitiser Label until required.

3. Fill from fermenter with gelatine solution in the bottom.

4. Put on Gas

5. Serve after a week

Screwy

 

[Ironsides]

1. Soak in 'cleanskin' (96% sodium per carb from the wine industry) for some time.

2. Rinse with Citric acid and PMS solution. Or peroxide. Or Phosphoric acid.

3. Flush with CO2

4. Fill with beer

20 minutes excluding soaking time.

 

[Cocko]

Keg blows..

Leave until needed - its full of C02, so why stress.

Need to fill said keg - release pressure, hose out with hot water. Visually inspect, if needed, hit with Perc - if not, just hit with Starsan and up-end to drain.

Fill.

The 2 parts, usually take 10 minutes, so 20 mins max.

IF/WHEN keg needs soaking, do on a different night then kegging night.

Most will argue but 6 years in and no infections [touches jyo's wood] - Why change the procedure.

Find your own method, that works - if you are having issues, change it. If it is working, well if it aint broke etc...

2c'ing.

 

[bradsbrew]

Keg blows..

Leave until needed - its full of C02, so why stress.

Need to fill said keg - release pressure, hose out with hot water. Visually inspect, if needed, hit with Perc - if not, just hit with Starsan and up-end to drain.

Fill.

The 2 parts, usually take 10 minutes, so 20 mins max.

IF/WHEN keg needs soaking, do on a different night then kegging night.

Most will argue but 6 years in and no infections [touches jyo's wood] - Why change the procedure.

Find your own method, that works - if you are having issues, change it. If it is working, well if it aint broke etc...

2c'ing.

Exactly the same as this except I put a kettle full of boiling water in and shake with the lid on and run the boiling water through a bronco tap instead of starsan. If its not going in the fridge after filling I give it a rinse with starsan after the boiling water.

Cheers

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Hmm. This thread makes me think I might be getting complacent on the keg side of things.

I starsan or oxonia my keg, and fill. Ideally down the dip tube through a santised hose into a QD.

I clean kegs with PBW most times I finish, but not every time. Every few empties I use caustic.

Maybe 'not every time' could be a problem....no keg infections so far though...

 

[Cocko]

Exactly the same as this except I put a kettle full of boiling water in and shake with the lid on and run the boiling water through a bronco tap instead of starsan. If its not going in the fridge after filling I give it a rinse with starsan after the boiling water.

Cheers

I knew jyo was cheating.

 

[Natdene]

I do almost the same as Cocko, only thing different is I take the posts off to clean and sanitise, and also when keg has been put back together and has sanitiser in it I give it a blast of CO2 and then push down on the out post so to push sanitiser back up the dip tube. Never timed it but reckon max 30min's

 

[dougsbrew]

I'm able to get my arm in through the opening, wipe the inside with a sponge with a splash of starsan on it and rinse.
Top up with half a litre of water and some starsan, 5 psi co2, purge out post, and store. 5 minutes.
Come beer time, shake corny, take off lid, sit upside down(1 minute), drain out post, ready to fill.
I do recommend a thorough clean say every 6 months ie dismantle posts etc(depending on amount of use/abuse).

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Keg blows..

Leave until needed - its full of C02, so why stress.

Need to fill said keg - release pressure, hose out with hot water. Visually inspect, if needed, hit with Perc - if not, just hit with Starsan and up-end to drain.

Fill.

The 2 parts, usually take 10 minutes, so 20 mins max.

IF/WHEN keg needs soaking, do on a different night then kegging night.

Most will argue but 6 years in and no infections [touches jyo's wood] - Why change the procedure.

Find your own method, that works - if you are having issues, change it. If it is working, well if it aint broke etc...

2c'ing.

Yep same as this. I put boiling water through out post as well and just hit the lot with starsan before I filter into the keg. Too easy.
Oh and the keg is left full of Co2 until used. Time to pull all 6 keg apart actually.

 

[Cocko]

I'm able to get my arm in through the opening,

WTF? Are you actually a cartoon character?

Dude, eat.



Edit: Too late to edit main post - but YES, pay attention to posts...

 

[bradsbrew]

Douglas was born without elbows Cocko.

 

[Cocko]

Sorry, was un aware of this, thanks Brad.

Douglas, please focus on growing elbows and less on kegging beer. We are all here for you.




You freaky c%nt.