Keeping beer in kegs

[Ghizo]

Ok new to kegging, got two kegs in the fridge and just filled another one.
So I filled the keg, purged the air now should I keep the extra keg in a fridge or is it ok to keep it out of a fridge?
I pressurised the keg to 10psi I know this will not carb it but figured it would be best to have some pressure there?
Anything else I should do?

 

[Danscraftbeer]

OK to keep it unrefrigerated. Call it conditioning. When you purge (burp the keg etc). I crank up the pressure to maybe 20 psi but 10 psi will do. Just remember when it goes into the kegorator connected to 10psi its 5 days until drinking it.

 

[danestead]

If you have free fridge space available, keeping that 3rd keg in there is best. Beer kept cold prolongs the effects of oxidation and infections. Keeping your beer cold also helps keep the hops in hoppy beers fresher. Having said that, if you have followed good sanitary practice and avoided oxidation, your beer will be fine at room temperature. I do this often if I have an excess off beer.

I wouldn't leave it in a shed or garage outside during summer though because beer at those temps will rapidly show the effects of ageing in a bad way.

 

[wereprawn]

I keep mine in the fridge usually but leave some out if I run out of fridge space with no ill effects . I also crank the pressure up to 40 so that when the keg pressure equalizes , it wont leak, if it is not going to be properly carbed for a while. Just what works for me.

 

[Drewski]

I have 4 in the keezer and 3 conditioning at room temps in the closet. No issues, no different to storing bottles.

 

[contrarian]

If you don't have fridge space you can also naturally carb your kegs by adding some sugar, purging and storing at ambient for a couple of weeks. Then you just have to chill them down and they're ready to drink!

 

[Kiwimike]

I have just finished a ginger beer that had been sitting in a keg out of the fridge for at least 6 months, and it was fine. :chug:

 

[pist]

Keep in mind the lid needs pressure on it to seal properly. I put 10psi in my first 2 thinking this would be enough. I naturally carb mine, and this resulted in flat beer that i had to force carb. Id put 30psi in to be sure

 

[Rocker1986]

Hi Ghizo,

Just want to say thanks for starting this thread. I'm just starting out with kegging myself and had been wondering the same thing, so it's good to get some answers.

One question though, about how long does it take at say, 30PSI to seal a keg up properly?

 

[RdeVjun]

Ghizo, as per contrarian et al, I'd naturally carbonate seeing as you are probably storing at room temperature for a little while.
Just remove the lid, add the priming sugar to the keg and close it back up. It will also be helpful to seal this keg with a squirt of CO2, that way you can be sure it has positively sealed- if you rely on the priming ferment's gradual generation of CO2 for the pressure to seal the lid then it may or may not, most likely not, engage the seal and that would be a real bummer.
Then you have achieved two things, firstly carbonated the beer, but also effective storage and prevention of staling (if not stored pressurised and exposed to atmosphere). This way you can think of the keg as one great big bottle, just with a convenient dispenser instead of a cap/ lid!

Rocker- putting 30psi on seals the keg up instantaneously. However, if you then take it off the gas then that CO2 should eventually be absorbed by the beer, lowering the pressure, possibly low enough that the lid seal is defeated.
If you actually mean how long does it take to carbonate at 30psi then that will depend on the temperature, search AHB for force carbonation &/or Ross method, there's plenty of resources about it. Pretty quickly is a rough answer though, within hours, if not minutes, when conditions are favourable.

 

[Ghizo]

Thanks for all the replies, really enjoying the beers I have been making so far and kegs are so much easier

 

[Rocker1986]

Thanks RdeVjun, that answers my question perfectly. If I end up with a spare keg that will be sitting a little while I might just use the Ross method to ensure the seal stays sealed.

 

[H0U5ECAT]

No no no...
All a bad idea. I think you've ruined your kegs and beer.
Better let some of us come over and assist you in clearing them out.