Storing beer in a keg

[Chizult]

Sorry, I know it's been hit numerous times, but I wanted to ask a couple specific questions reguarding storing beer in kegs. I have a bunch of extract kits to get through from the AHS sale, and I just got my kegging equipment in. I want to keg the beer and disconnect the gas and let it sit until I get my tap system set up. Should the beer be carbed or uncarbed? I know a lot of people have suggested just purging the O2 with a blast of CO2, how much pressure are we talking about? Thanks!

 

[rycov]

give it a blast at thirty to set the lid, then purge a couple times. it shouldn't matter if its carbed, but might as well carb it since your hookin it up any way?

 

[ArcaneXor]

I prefer to store them at least partially carbed so that there is always pressure against the lid o-ring, keeping things sealed. But I have done both, and haven't really noticed a difference in beer quality. But since you have the equipment, I would just go ahead and carb it. That way you'll be able to enjoy it faster once your system is all set up.

 

[samc]

I carb everything as soon as it goes in the keg unless I plan to dry hop later. Meaning that if I brew 10 gallons I might not want to dry hop the second keg for a few months. Otherwise it is good to have it ready to go in need of chilling only.

 

[Chizult]

Will the kegs stay up to pressure if not constantly hooked to gas? If I'm blasting with 30 PSI to set the lid, what do I want the pressure to settle out at....around 12?

 

[samc]

Depends on temp. http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

 

[ArcaneXor]

Most people recommend keeping the kegs constantly on the pressure and carbonating over the course of a week or two. That's the easiest method, and one that pretty much guarantees that you'll end up with a properly carbonated beer - unless you have a gas leak somewhere in your system.

I personally do not follow the recommended practice because I know that some of my kegs aren't as reliable as I would like them to be. I usually carbonate with excess pressure and agitation (which you probably shouldn't do), and then simply "top up" the kegs to the desired CO2 pressure once or twice a day. Eventually, the pressure will stabilize if the kegs are properly sealed and you can store them indefinitely.

At room temperature, you'll need a lot more pressure than 12 PSI. For 2.5 volumes at 75 deg F, you need about 32 PSI.

 

[Chizult]

Thanks for the info and the graph. Very helpful. So I've got them stored at ~20-30 PSI depending on the type of beer. When I go to put them in the fridge, I would then relieve the pressure to ~10-12 PSI to serve and hook it up to the gas and I should be good to go, correct?

 

[mrk305]

I force carb mine at 40 psi by rolling on my lap for a few minutes. Then they sit unchilled for a week or so. After chilling, they are still under carbed, but they have had a head start.

 

[JuanMoore]

Will the kegs stay up to pressure if not constantly hooked to gas? If I'm blasting with 30 PSI to set the lid, what do I want the pressure to settle out at....around 12?

Yes and no. If you just pressurize and then take it off the gas immediately, the pressure will drop as the CO2 gets absorbed into the beer. You need to leave it on the gas long enough that the beer absorbs enough CO2 to equalize with the pressure. Once you've done this you can take it off and it will stay at that pressure. This usually takes 10-14 days on the gas.

Thanks for the info and the graph. Very helpful. So I've got them stored at ~20-30 PSI depending on the type of beer. When I go to put them in the fridge, I would then relieve the pressure to ~10-12 PSI to serve and hook it up to the gas and I should be good to go, correct?

You don't want to relieve any pressure, as that will mean a loss of carbonation. Disconnect the gas, put the kegs in the fridge to chill, and then once chilled reconnect the gas at your serving pressure. If you used the charts correctly, the pressure in the kegs should drop from the 20-30 psi you have them at to the serving pressure as the temperature drops and the CO2 gets absorbed into the beer.

 

[mky375]

Or you could boil up a cup of corn sugar and throw it in the keg while your racking it then put about 15 lbs of pressure on it.

That way you it will carb up naturally, that's what I do.

 

[rycov]

Or you could boil up a cup of corn sugar and throw it in the keg while your racking it then put about 15 lbs of pressure on it.

That way you it will carb up naturally, that's what I do.

this seems like a pretty good fit for your situation.

 

[mrk305]

That works, too, but you will get a little more sediment in your keg. If your dip tube goes all the way down to the bottom like mine it will blow out in the first or second pour. I always dump the first pour anyway.

 

[Chizult]

I'm trying to get away from priming, at least initially. I want to see how carbing with CO2 works out.

 

[rycov]

better if you can do it cold.

 

[40watt]

I want to get keg and condition naturally without the use of any gas. Buy kit later. Can I do this? Or will my keg not seal?

 

[KevinM]

Depends on your keg.
If you look through the forums, it's definate that the main difference between force carbing and sugar conditioning is definately the yeast amount. (Not that it gets in the way or anything, but there's yeast that might come out for the first 2 ounces.)
Also, you're not using co2 from the tank to do something that be done naturally, so you can factor in the cost of however much co2 you actually use, if you want. Tends not to matter unless you have a 2.5 pound tank and only get so many uses out of it before you have to drive 2 hours to get it filled.

Keg conditioning is rather nice when you have a supply going, because when you have kegs that will be sitting around for 3 weeks anyways, why not let them go and do something useful?

Have to bother a little less about headspace during keg conditioning since it's said that the oxygen is used by the yeast during the process. Compared to force carbing, where you definately want to clear the headspace to prevent oxidation.

Some kegs seal just fine, and you can just let it condition on its own. Some kegs either need lots of lube on the lid O-ring, or need the additional pressure to push the lid up enough that it seals before you can just let it sit. So it depends on your keg. (not the make, not the model, just the keg itself and the lid).

For example. One of my kegs definately doesn't seal properly, and if I flip it when it's full of sanitizer, it drips from around the lid. I've tried a different lid, and that didn't help, so I know it's something about the metal rim where the oring presses against, or something else specific to the one keg. The others don't leak. So, I have to use a bit of co2 to force the lid to seal on this one keg, but I don't have to for the others.

 

[40watt]

Depends on your keg.
If you look through the forums, it's definate that the main difference between force carbing and sugar conditioning is definately the yeast amount. (Not that it gets in the way or anything, but there's yeast that might come out for the first 2 ounces.)
Also, you're not using co2 from the tank to do something that be done naturally, so you can factor in the cost of however much co2 you actually use, if you want. Tends not to matter unless you have a 2.5 pound tank and only get so many uses out of it before you have to drive 2 hours to get it filled.

Keg conditioning is rather nice when you have a supply going, because when you have kegs that will be sitting around for 3 weeks anyways, why not let them go and do something useful?

Have to bother a little less about headspace during keg conditioning since it's said that the oxygen is used by the yeast during the process. Compared to force carbing, where you definately want to clear the headspace to prevent oxidation.

Some kegs seal just fine, and you can just let it condition on its own. Some kegs either need lots of lube on the lid O-ring, or need the additional pressure to push the lid up enough that it seals before you can just let it sit. So it depends on your keg. (not the make, not the model, just the keg itself and the lid).

For example. One of my kegs definately doesn't seal properly, and if I flip it when it's full of sanitizer, it drips from around the lid. I've tried a different lid, and that didn't help, so I know it's something about the metal rim where the oring presses against, or something else specific to the one keg. The others don't leak. So, I have to use a bit of co2 to force the lid to seal on this one keg, but I don't have to for the others.

Thanks.