Keg newbie questions- something went wrong...

[uniiqueuser]

After many years I have filled my first kegs. I've been using King Browns for decades and it is about time I stepped up to draught beer.

Of course, I wanted to try it out straight away! I followed the instructions for forced carbonation, and after a few hours I connected up the Pluto gun and poured myself a nice looking beer with a good head. It was very cloudy, which I assumed was dissolved CO2. However it did not clear over time, and the foam eventually disappeared and left a cloudy and somewhat flat beer.

I also transferred the brew to another drum for a week in the hope that some of the sediment would settle and give me a clearer beer.

Have I been impatient? Would I be better off filtering the beer that goes into the kegs (more stuff to buy lol)? Will I get better results if I carbonate at 15 psi for a week or so?

I thought I followed the instructions for forced carbonation pretty closely, I pumped 35psi into the liquid post, did the rocking, and repeated this over several hours.

Is dip tube length important to avoid sediment in home brewed beer in kegs? Mine are currently 1/2" (about 12mm) off the bottom.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[rotten]

I force carb mine. Hook up to beer out post @ 350 kpa, wait until noise stabilises, unhook. Leave for 15 mins, no shaking required. Release pressure from keg. Hook up to normal posts, set reg to say 70kpa ish and drink away.

Obviously it will get better carbonation and clear a bit more after a few days. I have done this for the last 18 months and it hasn't failed me yet.

Cheers

 

[rotten]

Don't cut your dip tube h34r:

 

[hairydog]

I just wack the keg in the fridge for a day,follow the gelatine method after that and carbonate a few days later.
Turn on co2 at 35-40 psi for 2-3 days and she's ready to go, no rocking and stiring things up.
The process usually takes about 5 days,the beer has aged a while and you can adjust amount of carbonation
by adding or reducing time left on pressure,works great for me.

 

[mofox1]

All will be well. Just needs more time on the gas.

FWIW - I crank my reg up to ~300 or so (kpa that is... that's like what, 50ish in psi?) and rock the crap out of it for 30 sec. This is with the gas going down the beer post. Then slowly open up the PRV, re-attach gas to gas post at ~100kpa. By the next day it's good to go... YMMV.

Should also clear up after a few days at low temps.

Edit: kpa/psi derp.

 

[uniiqueuser]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Looks like I need to be more patient!

I am reluctant to shorten the dip tubes, it would mean I miss out on another glass This was suggested by a guy at a home brew shop... it probably works for him.

By 'gelatine' do you mean finings, Hairydog? Many moons ago my dad used these when he first started making kit and kilo beer with the included yeast. I thought they added a bit of an off flavour to the beer, but that might just have been the rank beer lol. If things don't improve I will give these a go.

Another question.... how long does beer last in a keg if everything was sanitised and purged with CO2? Is regular regassing required?

 

[uniiqueuser]

Low temps aren't a problem. Where I am living you need to put beer in the fridge to warm it up at this time of the year....

 

[dblunn]

Another question.... how long does beer last in a keg if everything was sanitised and purged with CO2? Is regular regassing required?

Who knows mate, my kegs always seem to run dry just as the beer is really tasting good. As for re-gassing, if you don't have any leaks then is is not required. Just reconnect the gas for serving so the pressure doesn't drop.

 

[uniiqueuser]

Thanks for your help guys. I'll wait a little bit longer, and see what happens.

 

[Pogierob]

Get more taps, ( so you don't have to wait for a beer.)

set to pouring pressure and just keep adding the "new keg" in and forget about it for atleast a week.

You can't over-carb if you set to pouring pressure, give it a week and it will be fine

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Newbie you are over reacting and expecting too much results too quick. The no fail no brainer method is to connect to the pouring pressure (~8 to 12psi) For a week. After one week is good. After 2 weeks is impressively good. If it gets too much head when poured then disconnect and release some pressure or not. Just pour it until it runs no more then just connect the gas for a second enough to pour a glass. Draught beer is only tuned by the brewer/ the controller of the tap etc.
So what if you get a big head.


Ed: As Rob.P just said ha!

 

[TheWiggman]

Note that a week CHILLED is required. The cooler the beer is, the faster it will absorb CO2.
Personally, I find a week not enough. I'll put the 'new' keg in the fridge and hook up to a common line. I set the pressure at ~80 kPa for standard fizzy beers and give it 3 weeks before I'm happy with the result. Other things to note -

• Cloudiness won't change in the glass unless it's caused by chill haze. If you want it filtered/clear, it should be done pre-kegging*. That said the beer will become clearer the longer it's stored in the keg as the particulate matter settles out.
• Make sure you 'burp' the keg before doing anything. Lid on, hook up to gas post to serving pressure, and release the PRV 3-4 times for a second.
• Depending on your brewing skills, not all beers are ready to drink immediately. Some require conditioning.

* look up the gelatine thread for info on fining when kegging

 

[Moad]

Gelatine when filling the keg, if cold 45 psi for 48 hours then purge and hook up at serving pressure. Enjoy.

Even better leave for 2-3 weeks at serving pressure and you probably won't need gelatine