Maturing In The Keg

[gava]

I go with approx 300kpa (more like 270 but this would make little difference) for 48 hours, always have a taste test after 24, but its never anywhere near enough...

that'd explain my first kegs disaster i also read up on the correct way to carbinate kegs it said if you have it at 4c and your going for 2.5 you'd want to do 80.1 or somthing does that mean you carb your keg up using 80.1KPA for a week?

 

[Ronin]

Yep, best way. Arguably it aids flavour development as well. All you do is prime with half what you would for same volume going into bottles....when it goes into the keg, just purge it, then leave it to sit. The one and only reason I force carb instead of doing this, is that I'm behind on my brewing......

Even for a beer thats best young, 5-10 days after kegging, chill for 24 hrs, then bang, on tap. Luverly.

Could I ask why prime with only half the sugar butters?

And you drank 12L in an afternoon...24 pints?

 

[jeremy]

that'd explain my first kegs disaster i also read up on the correct way to carbinate kegs it said if you have it at 4c and your going for 2.5 you'd want to do 80.1 or somthing does that mean you carb your keg up using 80.1KPA for a week?

Do you mean your first keg was under carbed?

Its a matter of debate what the "correct" way to carbonate is, but i believe the method you are describing is the "safe" way of doing it. I dont use this method personally, but I believe the theory is you set the pressure to a certain level, and after a week or so the pressure will carbonate the beer to that set level. This way it is not actually possible to over-carb your beer, and you can carb it to exactly the level you require, but it will take longer.

The 300kpa for 48 hours is a way of carbing more quickly. If you leave it too long it will over-carb, this is the disadvantage of this method. Even quicker is the shaking the keg method.

I should mention that I put my keg at 270kpa when I first put it in the fridge, so it will probably spend the first 12 hours getting to a temperature which it can carb at, and not actually do much carbing in this period of time.

 

[gava]

Do you mean your first keg was under carbed?

Its a matter of debate what the "correct" way to carbonate is, but i believe the method you are describing is the "safe" way of doing it. I dont use this method personally, but I believe the theory is you set the pressure to a certain level, and after a week or so the pressure will carbonate the beer to that set level. This way it is not actually possible to over-carb your beer, and you can carb it to exactly the level you require, but it will take longer.

The 300kpa for 48 hours is a way of carbing more quickly. If you leave it too long it will over-carb, this is the disadvantage of this method. Even quicker is the shaking the keg method.

I should mention that I put my keg at 270kpa when I first put it in the fridge, so it will probably spend the first 12 hours getting to a temperature which it can carb at, and not actually do much carbing in this period of time.

can you save a beer once its been over carb?

 

[jeremy]

can you save a beer once its been over carb?

There is always something you can do, but in my experience it is difficult to get it back completely. But then I probably just got impatient.

The most effective method is to disconnect the gas open the relief valve on the keg. After 24hours with the valve open connect it up and see if it has rectified. If not leave it longer, if it has gone too flat hook up the gas at high pressure and re-carb.

You can also shake the keg to encourage gas to escape, but if the keg is too full beer will tend to squirt out of the relief valve. Patience is the virtue required with this one i reckon.

 

[BOG]

Butters 12 Litres in an afternoon of English Bitter ! Hope you had some help!

I've done all of the above mentioned methods.

Carb at pouring pressure is by far the easiest.
I have 4 kegs online and never change the regulator setting (70 Kpa)
Plug in the new keg, have a quick taste (it's already a week old from the fermentor) to get an idea as to how it's going to turn out.
And then pour a beer from the other keg.

2 days later, another taste, and a few beers from another keg. By the weeks end it's got a good head and it starting to clear.
By the end of the next week it's carbed and clear , but still maturing.

By the end of the month it's finished and the process starts again.


Simple , effective and consistant results.


Gava, yes you can.
unplug the gas. burp the keg each time you to the fridge go for a beer. after a week it's almost flat again and you can start the carb process as above.
Takes out the aroma hops and flattens the taste somewhat but it's still drinkable.

 

[SJW]

I guess I always excercise caution. I go 350 Kpa for 12 to 18 hours and its always close but on the lower side good carbonation.

 

[newguy]

I've force carbonated by simply hooking up the gas and walking away for a week. This is easy, but time consuming (duh), and it ties up your gas lines in the meantime.

I've also force carbonated by hooking up the gas and shaking the living hell out of the keg for 10 minutes. Works best if you invert the keg so the CO2 has to bubble up through the beer, thus stirring it as well. Tiring, but very effective.

If you elect to let your beer naturally carbonate via priming, just be careful that your keg is properly sealed. I have 12 and only a few will seal nicely without any pressure to seat the lid & poppets. You'll probably have to regularly connect the gas in the first few days, until the beer works up enough pressure to seal the keg on its own.

Saving a beer that's too carbonated, in a keg, is really easy. Just disconnect the gas and continue to pour pints from the keg over 2-3 days. Depending on how much beer you remove, what's left in the keg will degas in pretty short order. You can accelerate things by bleeding the keg's pressure relief valve.

 

[buttersd70]

Alternatively, there are some that trim their dip tubes to allow more room for sediment, or you can use gelatine or the like to achieve a more solid sediment. Besides, with the very small amount of fermentation (relatively) occuring during priming, very little extra yeast will be made, so there should be very little difference in the amount of sediment.

As for not wanting to use table sugar... use malt if you're that sensitive

Better to bend, rather than trim....bending can always be undone. My tubes are bent up off the bottom, and I geletine. Oh, and I never, ever, ever, ever would use table sugar (or any polysaccharide) to prime (or for any other reason)....but that's me. :lol:

Could I ask why prime with only half the sugar butters?

And you drank 12L in an afternoon...24 pints?

Yes I had help with the drinking.....14pints between 2 of us.

As for half the sugar....honestly, I don't know why. But thats what all the literature suggests, thats what beersmith suggests, and it is also what works. Last keg I primed naturally, after 10-14 days it went in the fridge....once it was at serving temp, after a day or 2, I checked the pressure....it was almost exactly at dispensing pressure, no more than a needle width off on the regulator (this is from the natural carb, not the gas....I'd put no gas on at this point). Turned the gas on and poured a perfect pint.....and it was clear.

 

[eamonnfoley]

Exactly. On the far side of the examples from what Mika mentioned about APA, many English beers benefit from being drunk very young....I force carbed one straight from primary yesterday, just 3 days after fermentation ended....and finished 12L off that afternoon.... :icon_drool2: I just couldn't stop drinking it.

lets hope there was several people involved in that 12L session!

 

[Ronin]

As for half the sugar....honestly, I don't know why. But thats what all the literature suggests, thats what beersmith suggests, and it is also what works. Last keg I primed naturally, after 10-14 days it went in the fridge....once it was at serving temp, after a day or 2, I checked the pressure....it was almost exactly at dispensing pressure, no more than a needle width off on the regulator (this is from the natural carb, not the gas....I'd put no gas on at this point). Turned the gas on and poured a perfect pint.....and it was clear.

If that the case butters, if I was to brew say a 30L batch, 18L goes into the keg and I want to bottle the rest, how would you get the right amount of sugar? Or would it just be easier to force carbonate the keg and bulk prime the remainder for bottling?

 

[raven19]

If that the case butters, if I was to brew say a 30L batch, 18L goes into the keg and I want to bottle the rest, how would you get the right amount of sugar? Or would it just be easier to force carbonate the keg and bulk prime the remainder for bottling?

Just work out your normal priming rate per litre (dependant on type of beer), halve it then times by 18.

Check out the various links and documents here:
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=28251

 

[buttersd70]

Just work out your normal priming rate per litre (dependant on type of beer), halve it then times by 18.

Check out the various links and documents here:
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=28251

Exactly. Any remainder gets primed at the full rate.

 

[gava]

I have 4 kegs online and never change the regulator setting (70 Kpa)
Plug in the new keg, have a quick taste (it's already a week old from the fermentor) to get an idea as to how it's going to turn out.
And then pour a beer from the other keg.

This sounds like my kinda of option.. I will have three kegs in my fridge and I dont drink much during the week so I could keg it on the weekend and by the time the next weekend comes around it should be set?

So this way you'll leave your gas on most the time so when you want it on you just turn it on and dont have to fiddle with it at all? Im going to do this.. cheers..

 

[newguy]

This sounds like my kinda of option.. I will have three kegs in my fridge and I dont drink much during the week so I could keg it on the weekend and by the time the next weekend comes around it should be set?

So this way you'll leave your gas on most the time so when you want it on you just turn it on and dont have to fiddle with it at all? Im going to do this.. cheers..

You don't have to turn the gas off, just leave it on 24/7. That's what I do and the last CO2 cylinder lasted ~23 months and fully dispensed and force carbonated over 40 kegs (19l cornies). Just make sure you don't have any leaks (use soapy water to spray all fittings) and also ensure that the rubber o-rings on the outside of your keg's gas line connectors are in good shape. Nothing is better than just pouring a beer without having to worry about turning on the gas.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Nothing is better than just pouring a beer without having to worry about turning on the gas.

I disagree. Nothing is better than just pouring a beer without having to worry about cleaning the bottle afterwards.

 

[newguy]

I disagree. Nothing is better than just pouring a beer without having to worry about cleaning the bottle afterwards.

Touche.

 

[littlecreature]

Alot of really good information, however I feel that there is no decisive answer with regard to storing time and at what temperature.

Will the keg mature naturally kept in a fridge chilled to drinking temp with no gas connected to it? If so, how long should it stand for?

And if you do connect the gas at XXXkpa for XX hours, is it connected to the In or Out post?

Pls forgive me if these are basic questions, just that while my beer has great taste and maintains good head and glass lace, the effervescence just isnt quite there!

 

[muckey]

keg will mature in the fridge without the gas connected, just make sure the headspace has been purged.

The keg will mature even if fully carbonated and connected to the gas, just connect the gas to the 'in' post as normal

hope that helps

edit: just a quick note, if you leave the gas connected and turned on the carbonation level will slowly increase over time. You'll need to monitor it to ensure it doesn't overcarb