Corny keg newbie question.

[rcammish]

Hi
I've finally got myself a corny keg and have an APA ready to transfer.
I plan on cooling the beer down using my new fridge... As yet I have no idea how cool it will go.
I will then transfer to the keg.
This is where things get complicated with different people doing different things. I have a simple party tap with a 3/8 and 3/16 line from the malt Miller.
What is the simplest way of carbonating my beers over 10 to 14 days for a beginner?
Ideally I would like to disconnect the gas overnight if possible.
I'm looking to keep it simple to prevent foaming and over carbonation.
I will be keeping the keg in my inkbird controller fridge.
Thanks.

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[Bigbud78]

really need to keep the gas on while its carbing, just set it at 10psi and forget for a week. I tend to ramp it up to 30psi for 24 hours then turn it down to 10psi and leave it.

If your using an inkbird to control the fridge you can remove the thermastat, this will get you a lot colder

[simon12]

Use this or https://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbo ... alculator/ similar to work out what pressure you want for the level of carbonation and beer temp. pressure the corny to this level. If you don't want to keep it connected just keep topping it up to that level a few times a day until it stays at that pressure.

[rcammish]

Great. Thanks for the info. So I use the keg carbonation calculator. Set the pressure and leave connected or top up several times a day and give it a week or 10 days..... Sounds simple!

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[simon12]

And remember to lower the pressure for serving.

[rcammish]

Carb up. After ten to fourteen days vent the keg then set a serving pressure?

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[AnthonyUK]

You can also 'force' carbonate it by pressurising and shaking too. All you're doing is getting CO2 into solution.

[DaveGillespie]

My beers are set around 8-10PSI and generally carb up within a week. They're served on that pressure too, I don't bother faffing around with "serving" pressure".

[Jambo]

Yes dropping the pressure for serving is a waste of gas and only necessary if you don't have the system set up correctly in the first place. You need enough small bore pipe to balance the pressure in the keg. Although - OP - you don't say how long the line is before the party tap, I guess minimal? That's the first upgrade you need, proper tap that you can mount to a wall or fridge door or something and several metres of 3/16 pipe.

[rcammish]

Hi the tap is slightly better than the standard one. From the malt miller description..... This premium Party tap consists of 3/8 line adapted to 2 meters of 3/16 line and then back to 3/8 Line with a simple thumb operated tap. The combination of the different sized lines means that you eliminate most of the foaming whilst dispensing your beer..... Hopefully I can set around 10psi for a week and serve without any major problems?



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[rcammish]

OK. The keg is (hopefully) cleaned and sanitised. The beer is in and the gas is set to 12psi. I've set the inkbird to 7C and attached the probe to the side of the keg and insulated it. Now I wait two weeks, attach the party tap after a week and sample.... Hopefully I'm not missing anything here?

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[Fil]

sounds about right, there is a kegging chart stickied in here iirc that shows temps in C, rather than F https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 7178,d.ZG4
but here is the one i have bookmarked just in case,,
might be best to check that 12psi @ 7c is the optimum serving conditions for the level of condition your after in your IPA, and dont be shy in giving the keg a wee shake every now and again to help it on its way..

also be mindful our regulator dials may not all be very precise/accurate at low psi.. and watch out for post setting creep..

enjoy..

[rcammish]

Thanks for all the great advice. Without it I would still drinking from bottles. Looking forward to having a sample next week and I'll keep my eye out for post setting creep.

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[rcammish]

Tried the beer on Tuesday and last night. To my astonishment it poured fine and has decent carbonation. I've been shaking the keg a few times a day so maybe that helped. I'm chuffed with the whole set up. I'll never go back to bottling again!
I'm looking to do another beer soon and as the fridge is quite small, is it OK to disconnect the keg and store at room temperature for a few weeks while I ferment another beer? I can then chill the keg back down to 7c reconnect the gas and I assume it will be fine?

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[AnthonyUK]

It should remain drinkable for 6 months or more as long as it keeps pressure.

It would be interesting to find out how long someone has kept a beer in a cornie for.