New to kegging, forced into it because of friends' wedding - need some advice

[DoctorDuvel]

Here's the thing, my friends asked me to brew beer for their wedding, so I'll be kegging three 5-gallon batches soon (figured it's way easier to travel with 3 kegs rather than 150 bottles). Obviously due to the nature of the event, my margin for error is very narrow.

I don't own a kegerator set up yet, so assuming I can use my friend's converted kegerator, which fits one corny, I'll be able to force carb at cold temps. My biggest question is, if I carbonate at cold temps, can I then store the keg (off of gas) at room temperature without harming the beer? (as I will need to carb the other kegs, one at a time). Or is it best in this case to carb at room temps? Because there's not a way I can keep them all cold at the same time. I will then have to bring the kegs in the car for about 4 hours on June 3 (all the cooling they'll have is my car's a/c), and have them ready to serve in the evening on June 4. Is it ok to lay the kegs on their side for the ride?

I've been wanting to keg for a while, but ideally didn't want my first time being under such high pressure (pun sort of intended)...

 

[samc]

If you had a splitter on the gas line you could carb up all three kegs at once at room temp. Probably about 30 psi depending on your desired level of carb & room temp. Probably not the best way to start kegging however is rushing to learn on 3 kegs all at once and then transporting them somewhere else for chilling & serving. Hopefully all goes well for you! Kegs on the side is not an issue as long as they are not hooked up for serving.

 

[JuanMoore]

Yes, assuming your kegs hold pressure there is no problem with carbing them cold and then storing them at room temp. FYI, you're going to want to let the kegs rest and chill for a minimum of several hours after being transported. You might also consider counterpressure transfering the beer into different kegs after carbing to minimize the sediment that will get stirred up during transport. You'd need a 4th keg to do so, but it might be worth it.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

samc and juan, thanks very much for replying - definitely alleviates some stress over this...i will be getting a 3-way splitter to serve, but i think i will carb cold, being that the beers are about ready to be kegged now and the wedding is still 3 weeks away

thanks again for your help