Some Kegging Questions...

[shark]

Hi All,

Just kegged my first brew. Brewers Selection Original Porter Fresh Wort Kit.

Kegged and burped.
Chilled in the fridge for 24 hours.
300kpa for 24 hours
Disconnected gas for an hour.
Reconnected gas dialed the gas to around 50kpa
Served.

Tasted great but perhaps a little bit gritty from only being single stage fermentation.

My questions are: :unsure: (hope they don't sound silly)

Should I leave the gas connected at serving pressure or turn it off?

If I do disconnect the gas will the beer eventually absorb the CO2 inside and stop holding pressure? Maybe go stale?

Would it help if I cut the end of the keg dip tube to reduce sediment?

PS. If anyone is thinking of getting into kegging. DO IT! Best feeling in the warm pouring a fresh icy cold beer from my fridge!!!! :icon_chickcheers: :icon_chickcheers: :icon_chickcheers:

Thanks
Ben

 

[Effect]

Hi All,

Just kegged my first brew. Brewers Selection Original Porter Fresh Wort Kit.

Kegged and burped.
Chilled in the fridge for 24 hours.
300kpa for 24 hours
Disconnected gas for an hour.
Reconnected gas dialed the gas to around 50kpa
Served.

Tasted great but perhaps a little bit gritty from only being single stage fermentation.

My questions are: :unsure: (hope they don't sound silly)

Should I leave the gas connected at serving pressure or turn it off?

If I do disconnect the gas will the beer eventually absorb the CO2 inside and stop holding pressure? Maybe go stale?

Would it help if I cut the end of the keg dip tube to reduce sediment?

PS. If anyone is thinking of getting into kegging. DO IT! Best feeling in the warm pouring a fresh icy cold beer from my fridge!!!! :icon_chickcheers: :icon_chickcheers: :icon_chickcheers:

Thanks
Ben

I leave the gas connected, but i'm new to kegging and there are probably pros and cons for doing this. From what I understand, if you leave the gas on, whatever pressure you have it at and the temperature of the beer will make it balance out at a certain carbonisation and maybe not at the carbonisation you want. E.g. if you have a wheat beer at 4 volumes, and have the pressure really low, after a while the highly carbonated wheat beer will slowly become less carbonated, please correct me if I am wrong keg gurus.

I don't think the beer will absorb the co2 and make the beer stale, you need oxygen in there to make it go stale.

Some people have cut the dip tube of their kegs for the beers that they naturally carbonate, so they can run them through their hand pumps. I wouldn't though, but I don't have a hand pump and don't naturally carbonate.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Phil

 

[raven19]

Should I leave the gas connected at serving pressure or turn it off?
Yes, as long as you have no leaks. I leave mine on all the time.

If I do disconnect the gas will the beer eventually absorb the CO2 inside and stop holding pressure? Maybe go stale?
The beer and gas will reach equilibrium, so there will be pressure there and it hence will not go stale. You can even pour a fair few beers off before you need to plug the gas back in.

Would it help if I cut the end of the keg dip tube to reduce sediment?
Yes, but not really needed, as after the first pint or two it should be clear and fine once settled out

Well done on getting on the kegs, never having to bottle again is SSSOOOOOOOOO noice!

 

[buttersd70]

Should I leave the gas connected at serving pressure or turn it off?

If the beer is still a bit undercarbed, leave the gas on. If the carbonation level is correct, either leave it on or turn it off, as you choose. If you leave it on - make sure that all connections are sound. Soapy water test ftw.

If I do disconnect the gas will the beer eventually absorb the CO2 inside and stop holding pressure? Maybe go stale?

The beer will only absorb the CO2 to the point of making the keg neutral in pressure if it is uncarbonated / very undercarbonated in the first place. For example, if you put top pressure on a uncarbed keg, and then fridge it with the gas off, it will absorb that gas, and can end up with no pressure in the keg. It will have CO2 in the headspace, though.

Would it help if I cut the end of the keg dip tube to reduce sediment?

Don't cut the dip tube. Once it's cut, it can't be undone. If you choose to do so, you can remove the tube, then bend it very slightly at the bottom, then reasseble it. This will have the diptube 'shorter', but it is reversable......there are 2 schools of thought on this. Those that bend their tubes up, pour clear beer and leave the sediment in the bottom of the keg; and those who dont, and they wait for the sediment to drop, then pour it out on the first pour. Personal choice imo.