First Brew - some Kegging questions

[neils58]

Hi, I'm doing my first brew, from extract following John Palmers How to Brew book and the Cincinatti Pale Ale recipe.
It's been 4 days since Brewday and everything's gone ok, had a good vigorous primary Ferment which finished yesterday. Now I'm planning to use my King Keg (Top tap with CO2 injection cap) rather than bottling and unfortunately the book doesn't cover this.
I'd appreciate some advice on when to rack it from my Fermentation bucket to my Keg (was planning on doing it on Thursday), and whether to use Sugar/ DME / the compressed gas for carbonation (I figured without a pressure gauge this might be tricky). Also, temperature management, so far it's been kept at a steady 21C, once moved to the Keg should it be kept at this temp for weeks, a few days, or moved to a cooler location immediately?

I'm hoping to have it ready in time for my Sisters Wedding, in about a month.

Thanks in advance, Neil.

[Kev888]

Hi Neil, and welcome!

4 days is fairly quick for most people's fermentations; it could be over, but its more likely that its reaching the end and going slowly at this stage. If you have a hydrometer you can check that the gravity stays the same over a few days (taking great care to sanitise anything contacting the beer) but if not then maybe give it a few more days just to be sure - it'll be okay in the fermenter if its reasonably well covered (I almost never rack/keg within 10 days and its usually 2 weeks as thats convenient for weekends, but you're probably cutting things a bit fine for the wedding so maybe time isn't a luxury).

You'll need to prime your King Keg, as (unlike stainless kegs) they don't really take enough pressure to force carbonate from a cylinder. The choice of what to prime with is yours, I always used sugar (as a boiled, cooled syrup) for convenience and because it causes little additional sediment, but there are those who swear by malt extract in one form or another too.

After kegging then yes you'll need to keep it warm for a week or so, to encourage the secondary (priming) fermentation. After that put it somewhere cool for conditioning; I'd expect it to be drinkable but probably still improving by the wedding but only time will tell.

There will be some sediment in the KK by the time you come to serve, settling out from the first and secondary fermentations; if you'll have to move the beer prior to serving this could stir it up again so you may want to think about that as well. It could be that bottling instead of kegging, or possibly decanting to bottles to move and serve, may be required.

Hope that helps,

Cheers
kev

[neils58]

Thanks Kev,
I have got a hydrometer, was worried about taking samples though as my fermenter doesn't have a convenient tap (something I'll be fixing for next time).
Is there any harm to delaying the point at which it goes in the Keg? Does it need 3+ weeks to self carbonate properly?
If I do delay racking until the two weeks mark should i be moving it somewhere cooler now for best conditioning, then warm again in the keg for priming, then cool again to finish conditioning?

[Kev888]

Hi,
Yes introducing infection is a legitimate concern, especially until sanitation is second nature, so its worth avoiding more interference with the beer than necessary. If you'll have a tap next time remember that you should clean and sanitise it externally after use so that nothing grows in it's spout between drawing samples and racking the beer - to be frank I find it easier to just sanitise the hydro very well and leave it floating in the Fv.

'Normally', if its well covered (no dust etc getting in) then you could leave it for longer in the FV - racking after anything up to two weeks seems quite typical and some people go longer without issue; during that time it settles more and cooling it after the fermentation can help that too. BUT in this case you're up against it time wise: It'll usually be done fermenting within a week, although higher gravity ones or cooler fermentations may take longer, and on this occasion i'd suggest you keg as soon as you're reasonably confident that its largely over the primary fermentation.

I say that because although it'll take less than a week for the secondary/priming fermentation to finish after kegging, many/most beers then benefit from settling and conditioning in a cool place afterwards. The stronger they are then generally the longer this takes but between a few to several weeks is quite typical for conditioning. So on this occasion I'd keg and prime as soon as you reasonably can, then keep warm for several days for the secondary fermentation to work, and then put somewhere cool to condition for as much time as you can give it.

The best of luck with it,

Cheers
kev

[neils58]

Took a hydro sample (used a small steralized measuring jug and just dipped it in, then put the lid back on) it's now at ~1.006 which should mean a final Alcohol Volume of around 3.5%. Tasted it and it's surprisingly drinkable despite being flat and less than a week old. It actually tastes like beer. I've been served worse in pubs. Nice to know it can only get better from here as it conditions.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/EPO9G.jpg[/img]

It aught to clear up considerably, over the next month, especially once i add some Gelatine, but was actually clearer than it looks. I think I'll go ahead with kegging on Thursday if the hydro stays the same.

Cheers,
Neil

[Kev888]

Good stuff! 1.006 is nicely low so its not stuck prematurely; sounds like you got a good fast fermentation there then.

If the next time you test it the gravity is similar, I'd say definately keg it and prime - after secondary that'll allow the most time to settle and condition. I hope the wedding crowd enjoy it!

Cheers
kev