Pouring My First Beer Tonight!

[Silvern]

I put down an IPA a few weeks back and have had it stored in the keg under pressure for a week or two. Tonight I'm going to try my first pour. I've had the keg chilling in my newly built kegerator overnight and it's sitting at 4 degrees. (build post to follow )
I'm going to check carbonation by checking the pressure at the regulator. If it's not high enough I'll do a little forced carbonation.

Question:

Once I'm done pouring beers, do I leave the gas on? do I reduce it from pouring pressure? or just turn it off completely?

Thanks

 

[glenwal]

I put down an IPA a few weeks back and have had it stored in the keg under pressure for a week or two. Tonight I'm going to try my first pour. I've had the keg chilling in my newly built kegerator overnight and it's sitting at 4 degrees. (build post to follow )
I'm going to check carbonation by checking the pressure at the regulator. If it's not high enough I'll do a little forced carbonation.

Question:

Once I'm done pouring beers, do I leave the gas on? do I reduce it from pouring pressure? or just turn it off completely?

Thanks

The regulator will not tell you how carbed the beer is, only how much pressure is in the keg. What pressue have you had the keg under whilst storing, and has it been connected to the gas bottle, or did you pressurise it and then disconnect it?


To answer your question though, no need to disconnect the gas assuming you don't have any leaks in the system. Some people turn the gas off just in case though.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Also don't turn the gas off unless you either have a non-return valve, or disconnect the gas from the keg first. Doing otherwise could result in flooding your regulator with beer.

 

[Silvern]

The regulator will not tell you how carbed the beer is, only how much pressure is in the keg. What pressue have you had the keg under whilst storing, and has it been connected to the gas bottle, or did you pressurise it and then disconnect it?


To answer your question though, no need to disconnect the gas assuming you don't have any leaks in the system. Some people turn the gas off just in case though.

I pressurised the keg, then disconnected. It's still holding pressure but I'll probably need to do some forced carbonation. Following the method shown in these forums.

I think I'll turn the gas off just to be on the safe side (after disconnecting from keg thanks Liam) until I feel comfortable that all my connections are solid

 

[Diesel80]

I pressurised the keg, then disconnected. It's still holding pressure but I'll probably need to do some forced carbonation. Following the method shown in these forums.

I think I'll turn the gas off just to be on the safe side (after disconnecting from keg thanks Liam) until I feel comfortable that all my connections are solid

Hmm, how long did you pressurise it for? Just to fill the headspace of the keg then disconnect it?
If so it will be flat. Needs to be pressurised over time to carb up.

you can force carb it now it is cold in a few mins, but i would leave reg at 70kpa or something for 1 week and then try it again. by all means try the beer flat now to see how it goes, then try again in a week when it has carbonated up.

What type of beer is it?

Cheers,
D80

 

[Silvern]

Hmm, how long did you pressurise it for? Just to fill the headspace of the keg then disconnect it?
If so it will be flat. Needs to be pressurised over time to carb up.

you can force carb it now it is cold in a few mins, but i would leave reg at 70kpa or something for 1 week and then try it again. by all means try the beer flat now to see how it goes, then try again in a week when it has carbonated up.

What type of beer is it?

Cheers,
D80

A galaxy IPA.

 

[jammer]

I always turn it off. Got a dual reg (which is awesome)
So can have 3 beers on tap, serving at around 70 odd kpa, and one line purely for
Carbonating ( only have 3 taps ).
Usually crank that to aRound 100 ish kpa....
Turn off the gas, and in a day or so or whenever
The gas drops, crank her again for a few seconds.
Carved in a week, and doesn't eat the gas as much...
As for pouring, I leave it around 70, like I said, gas off, and when the pour drops off
Or gas drops to 30 or so, give her a bit more....
You'll get a load of pours before you have to gas again...
That's what I do anyways!
I'm sure everyone has their own way

 

[hsb]

I'm a 'set and forget'. Just hook up at serving pressure (80kPa for me), leave for a few days, and drink. I prefer the KISS approach, doesn't make it the best or only method by any stretch though.

I leave the gas on and all kegs connected 24/7. Good advice above if you do decide you want to disconnect it.
And make sure you have a Non-Return Valve as there will come a day when beer shoots up the gas line. Prost!

 

[glenwal]

and doesn't eat the gas as much...

You aren't actually saving gas doing any of this (compared to carbing at serving pressure, which will only take about a week anyway so not really saving time either). As soon as you turn the gas back on, it will pump in enough gas to get back to your serving pressure. The only difference is if it lets that gas in gradually or in 1 big hit.

 

[Diesel80]

If you are eating gas fast, i would be looking for leaks.
Even a slow one can have a significant impact on longevity of a bottle of CO2.

I am one to talk though lol, I have to fix my own small gas leak before I start preaching to others
Clarification: gas leak on keg setup, not myself

Cheers,
D80

 

[NewtownClown]

You aren't actually saving gas doing any of this (compared to carbing at serving pressure, which will only take about a week anyway so not really saving time either). As soon as you turn the gas back on, it will pump in enough gas to get back to your serving pressure. The only difference is if it lets that gas in gradually or in 1 big hit.

True. But will save gas if he has a slight leak in the system...

 

[tallie]

Also don't turn the gas off unless you either have a non-return valve, or disconnect the gas from the keg first. Doing otherwise could result in flooding your regulator with beer.

I think I'll turn the gas off just to be on the safe side (after disconnecting from keg thanks Liam) until I feel comfortable that all my connections are solid

Assuming you don't have a non-return valve*, also make sure the keg is at a lower pressure than your reg when you reconnect (easiest way to do that is to pull the pressure relief valve on the keg before hooking it up). Otherwise, if you have a very full keg, you'll get beer in your regulator.

* you really should have one, unless you're happy to spend the additional money to fix/replace your reg when you eventually forget to check one day. Either that, or have a really long gas line (that's the only thing that saved my regulator when I eventually forgot h34r: )

Cheers,
tallie

 

[jammer]

You aren't actually saving gas doing any of this (compared to carbing at serving pressure, which will only take about a week anyway so not really saving time either). As soon as you turn the gas back on, it will pump in enough gas to get back to your serving pressure. The only difference is if it lets that gas in gradually or in 1 big hit.

i do so i dont lose any gas through any tiny leaks which i may or may not have.
like i said, each to their own...

 

[jammer]

True. But will save gas if he has a slight leak in the system...

shoulda read that reply before i said anything!

 

[jammer]

You aren't actually saving gas doing any of this (compared to carbing at serving pressure, which will only take about a week anyway so not really saving time either). As soon as you turn the gas back on, it will pump in enough gas to get back to your serving pressure. The only difference is if it lets that gas in gradually or in 1 big hit.

not trying to save time either, really.
or id force carb to 200.
just making sure its ready for the following weekend! :icon_vomit:

 

[hsb]

Best bet is not to have any gas leaks, however tiny, it's bad practice to rely on turning the CO2 source on/off to manage them.
But waking up to an empty tank sure is a bummer, doubly so when it restricts your access to the goddaamn beer.

 

[jammer]

Best bet is not to have any gas leaks, however tiny, it's bad practice to rely on turning the CO2 source on/off to manage them.
But waking up to an empty tank sure is a bummer, doubly so when it restricts your access to the goddaamn beer.

How the frig is that bad practice???It's just what I choose to do. It works.

 

[hsb]

IMHO

it's bad practice to rely on turning the CO2 source on/off to manage

leaks.
Probably better to not have leaks, or to identify them and deal with them, not just turn the source off.
Was aimed at the idea of turning the CO2 off every night to 'manage' leaks. Seems "frigging" safer but YMMV.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

identify leaks.

turn source off in case of leak.

 

[pk.sax]

Yep, and if ur pissed and forget to turn it off ur screwed.

Find the leak and fix the fvker. My last leak was in the spring loaded thingo in the gas post on a keg. Took a while to figure out since it would not leak when that keg wasn't on the gas and I usually carb and then transfer the disconnect.