First go at Kegging

[benchharp]

Hi,

Going to keg my homebrew for the first time this evening.

I think i have the process clear - i'm just getting a little stuck in regards to psi.

I'm looking for a light carbonation - Verdant, Neon Raptor etc style.

I guess what i'm getting confused about is whether people do the carbonation in the fridge or not?

My plan was to put it in the fridge at 4c and set the psi to 8 or 10 then set and forget for a week.

Is this likely to get the results i'm looking for? When i type in these measures on brewers friend Carbonation Calculator. 4c and roughly 2 vols of co2 (total guess) it comes up at 0.45 bar - which doesn't sound right.

Any help would be appreciated

[Jocky]

Take a look at this chart: https://jollygoodbeer.co.uk/wp-content/ ... or_CO2.pdf

8-10 psi at 4c will get you to 2.1 to 2.3 volumes, which sounds about right for what you want.

If you want to set and forget then you will need to leave the CO2 connected to the keg while carbonating, and it will take a week or more.

If you want to speed it up a bit then stick it on at 30psi for the first 16-18 hours then reduce to your 8-10 psi.

I go a bit further and stick it on at 40psi for 12-36 hours (depending upon the final carbonation level I want), but I wouldn't recommend starting there until you've done at least a couple of carbonations in keg as at 40PSI it's easy to accidentally over carbonate.

[benchharp]

Hey, thanks, this is really useful.

If you want to set and forget then you will need to leave the CO2 connected to the keg while carbonating, and it will take a week or more.

In my head i would have the co2 connected until all the beer is gone? Is that right or is their a time that you would switch it off?

Many thanks

[Jocky]

Once fully carbonated you can disconnect it if you wish, or just turn off the CO2 cylinder.

I do that occasionally just to check for leaks.

[benchharp]

Once fully carbonated you can disconnect it if you wish, or just turn off the CO2 cylinder.

I do that occasionally just to check for leaks.

Makes sense - i'm using the Sodastream Adapter so i'm not sure I can turn it off...bit you're saying that i could disconnect the gray tap - as the co2 will remain in the keg. The only way it can escape is if I implenent the pressure release valve?

Thanks again.

[Jocky]

Yes, if you remove the grey disconnect from the keg then everything self seals.

As a side note, a sodastream cylinder will not go far in force carbonating beer. I think you might only get a couple of kegs out of it.

A CO2 bottle won't cost much more to fill (typically £20-25 - mine is about £25 delivered to me) for 10x the amount of CO2, it just takes up space.

[benchharp]

Yes, if you remove the grey disconnect from the keg then everything self seals.

As a side note, a sodastream cylinder will not go far in force carbonating beer. I think you might only get a couple of kegs out of it.

A CO2 bottle won't cost much more to fill (typically £20-25 - mine is about £25 delivered to me) for 10x the amount of CO2, it just takes up space.

This is all really helpful. I think i went with sodastream because i like the idea if taking the keg to parties/bbqs. Thought it would be less to lug around, as well as being easy to get hold of. But if i can disconnect the gas once i'm happy with the carbonation level then that's a bit of a game changer.

[Jocky]

My first few kegs I couldn’t leave the gas connected - so I either force carbonated by sticking a high pressure in and then topping it up a few times over a few days, or otherwise naturally carbonating in the keg (like a giant bottle!) and serving with CO2.

[benchharp]

If you want to speed it up a bit then stick it on at 30psi for the first 16-18 hours then reduce to your 8-10 psi.

Quick question on this - do i need to pull the pressure release valve or can i just adjust the regulator down to 8 and wait?

Thanks

[Jocky]

If you want to speed it up a bit then stick it on at 30psi for the first 16-18 hours then reduce to your 8-10 psi.

Quick question on this - do i need to pull the pressure release valve or can i just adjust the regulator down to 8 and wait?

Thanks

It doesn't really matter. If you don't bleed off the excess then the 30psi will gradually come down to your reduced pressure.

Although if you want to sample your beer I'd recommend bleeding it down to your serving pressure first or you will get lots of foam.

[benchharp]

If you want to speed it up a bit then stick it on at 30psi for the first 16-18 hours then reduce to your 8-10 psi.

Quick question on this - do i need to pull the pressure release valve or can i just adjust the regulator down to 8 and wait?

Thanks

It doesn't really matter. If you don't bleed off the excess then the 30psi will gradually come down to your reduced pressure.

Although if you want to sample your beer I'd recommend bleeding it down to your serving pressure first or you will get lots of foam.

Great - I got a tiny bit impatient and did the pressure release valve before you responded - got a nice aroma - hopefully it won't affect the end aroma but will be a good experiment either way and good to know that I could just dial the pressure down without doing the valve. Thanks again.

[Jstinchy]

[quote=Jocky post_id=853974 time=1606759649 user_id=8935]
or otherwise naturally carbonating in the keg (like a giant bottle!) and serving with CO2.
[/quote]

I'm about to attempt my first homebrew and a complete first timer!

I hope to use a 5l mini keg and use my Royal Catering dispenser (with CO2 cartridge) to serve.

Is this what you mean? How exactly do I go about brewing/carbonating in the keg?

[f00b4r]

or otherwise naturally carbonating in the keg (like a giant bottle!) and serving with CO2.

I'm about to attempt my first homebrew and a complete first timer!

I hope to use a 5l mini keg and use my Royal Catering dispenser (with CO2 cartridge) to serve.

Is this what you mean? How exactly do I go about brewing/carbonating in the keg?

This thread refers to corny kegs, mini kegs are a bit different and you wouldn’t want to ferment in them unfortunately.

[Jstinchy]

Thanks f00b4r.
So, I was looking at using a 23l fermenting bin from brew2bottle.
If I then syphon into the mini keg? Would this be okay? Struggling to figure out how to then carbonate it once it's in the mini keg.

[Jocky]

Can you point me to what kind of keg you are using with that dispenser?

You can add sugar to some kegs to carbonate them, just as you would a bottle. I just don’t know what kind of keg that device uses, or how you’d seal it up to take pressure.