Priming in Kegs

[aurora_colony_cider]

Hello.

I'm going to try something new for me, priming in korny kegs.
This is for a family wedding in mid-June.

I'm going to carbonate two kegs - one with dry cider, one with hopped cider - and instead of force carbonating I'm going to add priming sugar to the kegs.

I will be storing the kegs at room temperature until the wedding at which stage I'll chill them for a day or two before the wedding.

I have a pound of corn sugar ready to go (I hear that has no impact on flavor) but I have heard conflicting reports about the amount of sugar per keg to get a nice mid-sparkling cider.

Anyone any experience with this and can give me some pointers on what/what not to do? I have heard so much conflicting info - leave on gas, take of gas, use .5 or .3 the regular amount of sugar, etc.

Thanks.

R.

 

[MarkKF]

I tried it once. Used 3/4 cup sugar in a 5 gal. corney. I didn't think it was enough so I added some CO2.

 

[jabba11]

just search for beer priming calculator Im sure there's more than one. I prime my kegs almost 90% of the time. They don't usually need to go into the kegerator right away and Co2 is ridiculously expensive here.. 25 dollars for a 5 lb bottle with ONE source.

 

[aurora_colony_cider]

Thanks, guys.

Yes, the beauty is that if the kegs aren't primed sufficiently then you can just add a few pounds with co2. So I guess it's better to go over than under.

Kegging tomorrow night and I'll post my methods and results here.

R.

 

[TheHopfather]

Do you have any spare kegs kicking around you can transfer the carbed cider into prior to transport? Priming in the keg is good and all, but if you are serving for a wedding you'll probably want clear cider. Priming with sugar will leave a layer of yeast on the bottom of the keg, travelling to the event will stir that yeast up.

I'd prime, let carbonate, chill and CO2 transfer into a serving keg before travelling to the event.

 

[aurora_colony_cider]

Good thinking, Hopfather.

I might splash out on one before the event.

Is this what you mean by CO2 transfer? [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2f9hCgdgcg[/ame]

R.

 

[aurora_colony_cider]

Advice needed badly here folks ...

So, I'm a runner, and they say you should never try anything new during a marathon - stick with your old shoes, nutrition intake, shorts, etc.
Well, the same applies to making cider for a family wedding.

To recap, i decided to bottle condition a dry and a hopped cider in korny kegs for a family wedding. Now, 3 weeks after priming my korny kegs with corn sugar, and despite the kegs sitting in our nice warm garden shed there is till no carbonation - so basically I have flat, sweet cider.

The thing is, while the shed is toasty warm, the liquid in the kegs seems cold - the walls of the kegs are both cold to touch - and so fermentation is sluggish as a result, one would assume.

As far as I can see, my options to get a dry carbed cider:

- leave the kegs as is and pray for a fermentation to kick in
- place the kegs in a really warm bath to warm the liquid internally to help fermentation start
- transfer back to carboy and let ferment back to dry, then carb it with co2

Alternatively, I can carb it with co2 a couple of days before the wedding and just suffer the sweetness. The guests will not be as picky as me.

Thanks for any tips.

R.

 

[casualbrewer]

Did you seal up the kegs with pressure first? Probably won't seal up with only the off gassing from priming sugar.

 

[aurora_colony_cider]

Yeah, casualbrewer, all sealed off. I tried again last night. It's at the stage where it is foamy rather than bubbly.

 

[Drewed]

Your shed might be toasty warm during the day, but what about night time temps? Also my shed can reach over 110 in their sun, and that is bad news for yeast, although I expect that you are not getting as warm as you think given that they feel cold.