Relocating kegs

[kaiserben]

I'm a keg virgin, but about to break that cherry this weekend.

I've got a potential problem (well I dunno if it's a problem or not),

I want to keg a crash-chilled kolsch on Saturday. But I can't get that filled keg back into a fridge until the following day (it'll get driven around Sydney, dropped off to a mate, and then down to Bulli where it'll finally be put in a kegerator).

Will 24 hours un-refrigerated be a problem? (temperature swings etc etc)

I assume I should get the keg under enough pressure initially to seal the keg, then unhook everything so that it's easier to transport? (or do I need to keep the gas cylinder hooked up to the keg?

 

[booargy]

is not the best but this time of year should be alright

 

[MastersBrewery]

Purge before filling, purge after filling, you haven't said if you are force carbing, either way you'll be fine, though a few days to settle out after travel is always good.

MB

 

[n87]

If its crash chilled, hook up the gas at ~30PSi and give it a thorough rocking to get some dissolved CO2 in there.
This will help to make sure that the pressure stays high enough to keep it sealed during transportation.

Of course purge first

 

[kaiserben]

Won't be force carbing. Happy to let it condition for a bit and carb up slowly.

EDIT: But if force carbing it initially makes transporting it easier, then I've got no probs doing it that way.

 

[Yob]

Do it that way, natural carbing will generate more yeast, transporting will shake shit out of it, gas ot and keep it clear

 

[kaiserben]

Ah cool. One of the reasons this kolsch batch was my first to get kegged was that I wanted to avoid the yeast in the bottom of bottles generated by natural carbonation (obviously can get around that when pouring from tap, but I'm going to end up bottling some off from this keg eventually).

 

[peteru]

It sounds like there won't be much dissolved CO2 before you get the keg on the road. If that is the case, transport it at a high pressure. Say 20 psi. When you transport it, the keg will shake and will possibly cool down. Both of those will cause the CO2 to absorb into the beer. You might as well use the transportation stage as part of the carbonation process. You also want to ensure that you don't lose lid pressure and spring a leak.

Once you get it to target location, release the excess pressure and give it a good shake, then release again. Hook up gas at serving pressure and chill.

 

[Brewman_]

Hi Kaiserben,
This time of year being cold certainly helps.

Did you use a true Kolsch yeast? If you did I'd try to keep it cool, Not hard at the moment.

The characteristics of a Kolsch I find very delicate, and easily lost, and very worth keeping.

Cheers Steve

 

[Yob]

Once you get it to target location, release the excess pressure and give it a good shake, then release again. Hook up gas at serving pressure and chill.

check first, often mine are perfect, I gas new kegs to 30 PSI, I degas old kegs to 5 PSI, pour one and adjust.

 

[kaiserben]

Thanks guys. I think everything went smoothly enough.

I did forget to purge the headspace. (We did that just now, 48 hours after it was initially kegged. Will that be a huge issue?)

Initially I had it at nearly 30 psi. It had settled to about 24 psi by the next morning (and has stayed steady at 24 psi since).

One more question from a first-timer: How do I now go about getting my level of carbonation right? Looking to try to hit about 2.8 volumes CO2. I realised there are a few variables (like length of the beer line etc), but where do I start? And ultimately will it be down to me just looking at and tasting the beer and adjusting to where I think it needs to be?

 

[kaiserben]

I'm going to pour from this keg on this coming Sunday. (will bottle some off and try a few poured from the gun).

Just looking for some reassurance/guidance about how to get my carb level correct.

After purging headspace we left it in a 2C fridge at 24psi for another few days, and then set it for 5psi and left it there since.

If I wanted to get ~2.7 volumes CO2, this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/ suggests that if I set my fridge temp to 4C then I should set the regulator at 14psi.

Is that it? Just set it there and leave till Sunday?

 

[Moad]

24 for more than 2-3 days will be overcarbed.

just set i to 12 (or 14 if thats 2.8 volumes) and leave it, itll be good to go by sunday

 

[Rocker1986]

I looked at some calculators and got a ballpark figure for my gas pressure to get the carb level I want in my beers, and then just basically worked it out more precisely from that via trial and error and tastings.

Since I don't transport my kegs anywhere, when they initially go into the kegerator I just hook them up at about 40-45PSI for ~20 hours, remove the gas disconnect, let the keg sit in there for another 4-6 hours, then release pressure and hook up at my normal serving pressure. They aren't usually fully carbonated by this stage but they do get a good head start on it. Another day or so at serving pressure usually sees it done.