Another newbie to kegging

[GuyBob]

Just purchased a kegerator! Very excited. Gonna use a 5 gal ball lock keg. Couple questions. 1. How much line should I use from keg to tower? It was equipped for commercial and bought a kit to swap back and forth from commercial to home brew. 2. Does kegging really save time conditioning compared to bottling? 3. What's sop when not drinking out of keg? Shut c02 off or do I keep co2 on it all the time. Sorry for all the questions but starting a whole new path of home brewing. Thanks in advance

 

[Jipper]

Congrats on entering the world of keggin! I run 6' from keg to faucet, and 6' from CO2 tank to keg. I generally force carbonate to 12psi, although IPA and Kolsch get 14psi, and imperial porter gets 9psi. The conditioning time being shorter - not necessarily. If you're force carbonating it's possible to carbonate faster, but you'll still want certain beers to condition for the same period of time. I never shut CO2 off - you wont waste it if there's no leak.

Let us know if you have any other questions. Enjoy homebrew on tap!

Cheers.

 

[GuyBob]

What do you mean by force carbonate? Is this when keeping a consistent force of c02? Say 12 psi for several weeks. I've heard of other people rolling keg on floor with higher pressure and bleeding it off. Not sure if this is same thing. I have c02 cheat sheet for what level of c02 I would want at certain pressure. Thanks for input

 

[Irbefan]

Force carbonating is using an external source to carbonate the beer. You're using a co2 tank to force gas into the beer and the beer absorbs the co2 into solution. The yeast aren't eating sugar and releasing co2 that is trapped like in bottle/natural carbonation. That's the only difference. It's all force carbonating whether you roll the keg, blast it, or set it and forget it.

 

[Irbefan]

Another note, it takes time for the gas to be absorbed in the beer, that's why people shake/roll the keg. They're trying to get the gas into solution faster. I prefer the set it and forget it method. It takes longer, but you can't over carbonate your beer...unless your psi is turned way up. Set it the the volume you want and it'll get there.

 

[stpug]

I've heard and use the term 'burst carbing' when referring to very high pressure and agitation method of carbing. I do a hybrid of set-and-forget and burst carbing; I set the keg in the fridge on 20psi pressure for 2 days, then turn down pressure to serving and vent headspace. I typically have 85% carbed beer in two days and it finished up over the next 5-7 days.

1) 10 foot liquid lines are generally recommended - it's easy to cut them shorter if needed

2) Not on "conditioning", however if you do a good job making the beer then you don't need to condition much. Just carb it up and drink - 14 days from grain to glass.

3) I leave co2 tank on at all times. As long as you don't have a leak in your system then there should be no problems.

Edit:
Welcome to the world of kegging. Now you can brew more and drink more, and do them both more quickly (our poor livers )

 

[jc5066]

As far as conditioning beer, it doesn't matter which method you use. As far as carbonating the beer, the method you use will very greatly. Bottling being the longest at three weeks. I've done the quick carbonation method before but ended up over carbonating it and had to goof around with it for a couple days to get it straightened out. I will always go with the set it and forget it method and have my beer carbonated in a week.

Like I said at the beginning, carbonating your beer and conditioning your beer are two different things. I leave my CO2 on all the time.

 

[GuyBob]

Thanks everyone for the tips. This has helped me out a lot. Will report back in a few weeks. I am brewing a Ferocious IPA tomorrow morning. Will know in a couple weeks