New to kegging

[Bradgc]

Hey,
I'm new to brewing and kegging.
Previously I've bottled but I just bought a keg and fridge system.

My question about kegging, once my beer is ready in the fermenter, do I just pour it straight into the keg? Then do I prime the keg and condition it for 10 days like I would a bottle?

I just need simple steps from fermenter to serving from the keg.

 

[Moad]

Cold crash in fermenter, move to keg (gently, with hose from tap of fermenter) then set to 12 psi and leave for 2 weeks. Good to go.

Alternatively hook up at 30 for 2-3 days and then relieve pressure and sial back to 12 and you'll be ready.

Another option is to look at the "Ross method" to have it ready in a few minutes. Or get a carbonation stone to speed things up.

By far the easiest and most reliable is to set at serving pressure and leave it.

No need to prime if you are force carbing with kegs

 

[Moad]

Forgot to mention, make sure to balance length of beer line vs pressure vs temperature, there is a table somewhere if you search!

 

[Pogierob]

I am assuming that with your keg system there was a bottle of c02 and a c02 regulator and fittings to suit the gas side of things.

if this is the case, all you need to do is transfer the fermented beer into a clean and sanitised keg with minimal splashing, I personally syphon this through a silicone food grade hose, you DO NOT want to just pour it in as it will oxidise the beer and you will end up with a keg full of cardboard flavoured shit beer.

Once you have completed the slow and careful transfer, you then purge the air out of it by connecting the gas line to the keg and then releasing the pressure relief valve a few times over a minute or two.

then all you have to do is put the keg in your keg fridge and leave the gas connected at serving pressure ( you will need to research balancing your lines as this changes with each system).

The above system does NOT require any carbonating sugar as you are introducing the carbonation from an external source.


There are short cuts like rocking the keg with the gas turned up higher however this can lead to overcarbonation if you don't know what you are doing, so I would suggest leaving it at serving pressure and leaving for at least a week, two is better.


The whole process should be done to minimise exposure of the beer to air.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Yep. Carefully decant/ drain into keg through properly sanitized silicon hose (Boiled for my option, then in san solution)
spiraled into keg to eliminate O2 exposure. (any kind of turbulence to cause bubbling)
Burp the filled sealed keg purging it of any oxygen.
No brainer carbonation is at serving pressure ~ 12psi for 5 days. That can be shortened for taste tests at 30psi for 2 days.
Go with the flow you will learn better from experience than anything that can be expressed on the internet. :chug:

 

[Bradgc]

Thanks for the info!
So basically it will condition itself even if kept in the fridge?
Does it speed up conditioning if I purge the keg and leave at room temp?

 

[Grott]

Note: if you are going to slow carb with Co2 make sure you have no leaks anywhere in your system:- regulator to bottle, regulator pressure release valve, gas connector to keg and any other attachments to the line eg. gas manifolds, splitters, non-return valves. A non return valve is really a must, protects regulator from beer going up the gas line which can happen if you use rapid forced carbonation methods.

Cheers

 

[oglennyboy]

I've just recently got into kegging as well, and have noted that although the beer can be ready in a week from fermenter to keg at 12psi, it realy does benefit from at least 2 weeks before getting stuck in. This could be a combination of sitting at 8 degrees and the types of beer to date - IPA sort of things - but it seemed to be the same as for bottle conditioning so I figure there's something in it.
I've got a keg trial where its sitting at about 12-14 for a couple of weeks to see if it makes a difference in how 'ready' the beer tastes.
From what I gather its more efficient as far as carbonation goes to do it at a lower temperature, you can jam more in quicker than if you're trying to carb at room temp of 18-20 like you'd have for bottle conditioning to keep the yeast ticking over.
cheers!

 

[Pogierob]

Thanks for the info!
So basically it will condition itself even if kept in the fridge?
Does it speed up conditioning if I purge the keg and leave at room temp?

I wouldn't over think it.
If you leave the keg out of the fridge you increase the chance of an infection growing, this isn't an issue of you have awesome sanitisation. But it is safer in the fridge

 

[manticle]

Co2 goes into solution quicker/better at cold temps so beer chilled.
Personally I don't like it served too cold or too fizzy but find your own level of preference for that.

 

[Mardoo]

Hey there, I just ran across the Draught Beer Quality Manual yesterday as a free download from the American Brewers Association. Pretty in depth, probably more than a noob like me needs but I thought I'd share the resource. The download link is right at the top right of the page.

 

[Weizguy]

Too early to start thinking about adding a beer engine?