I've never left a keg for a long period of time without being hooked up on gas. I recently brewed a lager that I am leaving in the fermentation chamber at 32F for 4-5 weeks. I kegged it and pressurized to 30 psi to seal the lid while it lagers. Is this amount of pressure going to carbonate the beer at all or will it all absorb and break the lid on the seal? I'm trying to avoid moving the keg to hit it with more gas within the 4-5 weeks so I don't agitate the sediment. I suppose I could pull a pint with the picnic tap first if I needed to add more gas?
Pressurizing keg to lager
- Thread starter arnobg
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Cavpilot2000
Well-Known Member
It will absorb the gas to a degree, but shouldn't fully carb, and should maintain positive pressure enough to keep a seal.
popsicleian
Well-Known Member
Why wouldn't it fully carb? Maybe I'm missing something, but it sounds to me like the OP is planning to leave it at 30 PSI, 32 degrees for several weeks--that sounds like a recipe for major overcarbonation to me.
Cavpilot2000
Well-Known Member
This.
I made the (now confirmed to be correct) assumption that he disconnected it for storage after pressurizing it.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I have done this before and it does carb a little bit while at 32F, but maybe not fully carbed like it would at 65F (natural keg carbonate) or while you leave the gas on the keg. It may surprise us and it will be carbed to a satisfactory level, but you may have to finish it off with CO2 at the end of the lagering process since the yeast is all but dormant at that 32F temp. Good thing is it will be ready to go soon thereafter since you will have taken care of the long lagering process already.
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