Newbie Kegging Questions

[kiwisteveo]

Alright so making the change to kegging from bottles and have a couple of questions

(a)Can i bulk prime my beer,leave in the keg at room temp 17-19 degrees till i get my gas/taps etc in 3-4 weeks

(b)transfer beer from fermenter(don't bulk prime) to keg(refridgerate or not??)untill gas/taps turn up in 3-4 weeks

©Leave beer in fermenter crash/cold chill at 1-2degrees for 1 week then transfer to keg(refridgerate or not??) wait 2-3 weeks untill gas/taps turn up /carbonate at serving pressure for 1 week in kegerator,drink

(d)crash/cold chill for 1 week in fridge at 1-2degrees in fermenter then transfer/bulk prime keg and leave at room temp 17-19degrees to carbonate natuarally then when i'm ready leave in kegerator at serving pressure for 1 week,drink

beer is/are extract brews,1 stout and two APA's, don't want to force carbonate just yet as still don't know what i'm doing,beers don't have to crystal clear as have been happy with my bottling just geting tired of washing longnecks and want to know whats the best way of conditioning/storing beers in the keg,cheers for any info or tips as starting to enjoy a few refreshing beverages

Steveo.

 

[T_Kiwi]

take keg to your local hbs and ask them to throw a bit of co2 in it for you till you get your gear for dispensing then gas up for 48hrs in the fridge and enjoy

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

I'd choose either a or d. I'd be a bit concerned leaving finished uncarbed beer kicking about. At the least you'd risk oxidization or at the worst infection. Be careful when priming kegs as it is different to bottles. around 2 to 2.5 grams per litre.

 

[reVoxAHB]

D.

 

[michael_aussie]

Alright so making the change to kegging from bottles and have a couple of questions

(a)Can i bulk prime my beer,leave in the keg at room temp 17-19 degrees till i get my gas/taps etc in 3-4 weeks
YES YOU CAN .. BUT YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOUR KEG SEALS, IF IT DOESNT YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE NATURALLY PRODUCED CO2.

(b)transfer beer from fermenter(don't bulk prime) to keg(refridgerate or not??)untill gas/taps turn up in 3-4 weeks
I WOULDNT ADVISE THIS, YOU WANT TO HAVE CO2 IN YOUR KEG FROM THE VERY START

Leave beer in fermenter crash/cold chill at 1-2degrees for 1 week then transfer to keg(refridgerate or not??) wait 2-3 weeks untill gas/taps turn up /carbonate at serving pressure for 1 week in kegerator,drink
CAN YOU LEAVE IN THE FERMENTER UNITL THE GAS TURNS UP?? THE BEER WILL BE FINE TO DO THIS, YOU COULD CC IN THE FERMENTER AND THEN WHEN YOU GET YOUR GAS YOU COULD FILL YOUR KEG, FORCE CARBONATE AND DRINK WITHIN THE HOUR

(d)crash/cold chill for 1 week in fridge at 1-2degrees in fermenter then transfer/bulk prime keg and leave at room temp 17-19degrees to carbonate natuarally then when i'm ready leave in kegerator at serving pressure for 1 week,drink
YES YOU CAN .. BUT YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOUR KEG SEALS, IF IT DOESNT YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE NATURALLY PRODUCED CO2.

beer is/are extract brews,1 stout and two APA's, don't want to force carbonate just yet as still don't know what i'm doing,beers don't have to crystal clear as have been happy with my bottling just geting tired of washing longnecks and want to know whats the best way of conditioning/storing beers in the keg,cheers for any info or tips as starting to enjoy a few refreshing beverages

Steveo.

If you can wait, Id leave in your fermenter until you are ready to go.

take keg to your local hbs and ask them to throw a bit of co2 in it for you till you get your gear for dispensing then gas up for 48hrs in the fridge and enjoy

Thats a good idea if they will do it..
Alternatively, Im sure someone here would give you some gas if you asked nicely,,,,,, I would but I fear you may be too far from me!!

 

[kierent]

Yep A or D. If you crash chilled that'd be ok but the problem is you don't have a CO2 layer and it might oxidise. If you didn't want to bulk prime you could just put a couple of tsp sugar in the keg and leave it for a couple of days before crash chilling just so there was a layer of co2 on top. But A or D would be best that way it's carbed ready to go when your keg is ready

 

[kierent]

Be careful when priming kegs as it is different to bottles. around 2 to 2.5 grams per litre.

Why is this by the way? I want to bulk prime my kegs too as an option.

 

[scott_penno]

Why is this by the way? I want to bulk prime my kegs too as an option.

Plenty of conjecture as to why in the following threads:
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=31030
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=19393
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=49070

but I'm not convinced there's a definitive answer anywhere there... other than maybe something to do with a difference in headspace.

I use Beersmith which has an option for the amount of sugar to bulk prime a keg with and more often than not bulk prime with sugar rather than force carbing with CO2.

YMMV.

sap.

 

[kierent]

I was just thinking about it and figured it must have to do with the headspace. I then went and checked the keg I bulk primed at normal rates about 2 weeks ago and it's up at around 18psi!! So yeah I'm going to burp that sucka. a few times i think

 

[kiwisteveo]

alright so much info i end up going around in circles so i'll think i'll put the fermenter(stout it's been 20days) in the kegerator 2moz at 1-2degres for 1 week then bulk prime/transfer into the keg at half the rate with dex as opposed to bottles by the sound of it and leave at room temp (hope the new seals work and holds pressure) until i get my gas/taps etc in 3-4weeks and then hook it all up & pray to the beer gods that it's as "sweet as beer&chips"

 

[chefeffect]

alright so much info i end up going around in circles so i'll think i'll put the fermenter(stout it's been 20days) in the kegerator 2moz at 1-2degres for 1 week then bulk prime/transfer into the keg at half the rate with dex as opposed to bottles by the sound of it and leave at room temp (hope the new seals work and holds pressure) until i get my gas/taps etc in 3-4weeks and then hook it all up & pray to the beer gods that it's as "sweet as beer&chips"

I had a similar situation when I first started kegging, I would just get the beer in the keg and bulk prime (i cant see the point of chilling it?), then shake the shit out of it and spray the lid and seals with soapy water to see if it seals properly, then put the keg some where for a month and treat the keg like a huge home brew bottle, but of course use half the amount of sugar for the bulk priming, I find 1 cup of sugar is good for a 50L keg, just depsnds on how carbonated you want it.

 

[kierent]

would shaking it be a good idea given that if he doesn't have a kegging setup he won't have a co2 bottle to purge the oxygen out of the keg, so would it oxidise if you shake it?

 

[Steve@PMF82]

I would not be shaking a keg that has not been purged.
I guess how much head space you leave will determine the amount of oxygen that goes into the beer and whether the secondary ferment cant use this up?
Still i would think that it would be detrimental the longevity of your beer.

 

[stux]

I would use Option C

A bit of extended lagering never hurt anyone, and this is pretty much how I treat all my beers

 

[chefeffect]

would shaking it be a good idea given that if he doesn't have a kegging setup he won't have a co2 bottle to purge the oxygen out of the keg, so would it oxidise if you shake it?

The amount of oxidisation would be minimal if you use a syphon hose to the bottom of the keg. Being CO2 is heavier releasing the saftey valve a minute or two after shaking will release most of the oxygen. You could toss some softened gelatine into the keg also to help clear the beer instead of putting in a clearing cube, if this is what was inteneded by chilling the beer down first? which is an easy option.

l also agree with option C.