Carbing multiple kegs

[dhammers91]

I have just acquired 7 kegs. I only have enough room in my fridge to accommodate 3 at a time. If I were to fill all seven, I know I am supposed to keep them under pressure, but I was wondering if there was any way that i could carbonate the beer in the keg, then take it out of the fridge after it is fully carbonated, and then carb another one while storing the previously carbonated keg in my basement? I guess I want to make it so that when one keg runs out in the fridge I can hook up a warm keg that has already been carbonated so that it is ready to go once it cools, so I don't have to wait a week for it to carb. Would this work? Or is there another way to accomplish this? Or am I just crazy?

Thanks!

 

[cheezydemon3]

That will work, and odds are, you will get beneficial warm aging for most styles.....

That said, I am skeptical that you will really have all of the kegs filled at one time.

 

[Yooper]

Sure, that will work. Alternatively, you can prime it with priming sugar (just like with bottling, only use 1/2 the amount you normally would) and let it sit at room temperature until you need it. Then it'd be all carbed up and ready to go, and you'd drink when it was chilled.

 

[Rockn_M]

That's pretty much what I currently do. I currently have 5 kegs and when a beer is ready to be kegged I put in the keg and hook it up to Co2. Once carbed I take it off and store it till it is needed. This way I have beer ready to go once a tap opens up.

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

That will work, and odds are, you will get beneficial warm aging for most styles.....

That said, I am skeptical that you will really have all of the kegs filled at one time.

That'd be a hell of a feat to have 7 full at once for most homebrewers.

Can you naturally carb some at room temps as well as force/burst carb the others? That's what I do with my 10 gallon batches. One gets priming sugar and the others get the gas.

 

[dhammers91]

Well thanks for all of the advice! And just for everyone's peace of mind, I have three full in the fridge, and three batches ready to go in the kegs tonight... So I guess I will have one empty for a while... Good container to hold my sanitizer until I need it I guess!

!cheers!

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

Forget that, make an apfelwein or something! Get them all full! Ferment it in the corny. Pop the gas post off, take out the poppet, and put gas post back on. Put a length of hose over the post as a blowoff, and let it sit for a while. When it's ready, jump it over to an awaiting keg and enjoy!

 

[dhammers91]

That would b fun to ferment in the empty keg, but since its the last one I wouldn't have another one to put the fermented liquid into! Haha I never thought I would get into kegging, let along have 7 full kegs! Oh the joys of homebrewing!

 

[PLOVE]

Sure, that will work. Alternatively, you can prime it with priming sugar (just like with bottling, only use 1/2 the amount you normally would) and let it sit at room temperature until you need it. Then it'd be all carbed up and ready to go, and you'd drink when it was chilled.

Why 1/2 the amount of priming sugar? I've never naturally carb'd a keg, but I don't see why the total volumes of CO2 would be different between keg and glass bottles. I have a similar dilemma (if you can call it that ), and think this would be a great solution.
Thx
P

 

[dhammers91]

That is a good question... Probably something to do with physics or chemistry that I wouldn't understand anyways! Haha... And I've learned not to second guess Yooper, just do what she says and your set!

 

[Yooper]

Why 1/2 the amount of priming sugar? I've never naturally carb'd a keg, but I don't see why the total volumes of CO2 would be different between keg and glass bottles. I have a similar dilemma (if you can call it that ), and think this would be a great solution.
Thx
P

It has to do with the amount of headspace in a keg (when filled) vs the amount of headspace in individual bottles.

If you use the full amount, that's fine because you can just purge the keg if it's overcarbed. But it's usually easier to just move the keg into the kegerator and hook it up instead of trying to lower the carb level.

 

[cheezydemon3]

A primed keg then needs to "Bottle condition" and be given time for that.

There is a specific PSI that you can burst carb a warm keg at, but I suggest cooling a keg, pressurizing it to 53psi when cold, disconnect it and store it warm. It will then carb up and be ready when hooked up to 12PSI or so and it becomes chilled.

This is how I carb mine as a matter of course, but I have plenty of room.

Priming is OK, but gas is so elegant, and if something unexpected happens and you need a keg 2 days after priming it, you will have to wait.

 

[PLOVE]

just do what she says and your set!

I hear that. Don't doubt it for a minute

 

[PLOVE]

There is a specific PSI that you can burst carb a warm keg at, but I suggest cooling a keg, pressurizing it to 53psi when cold, disconnect it and store it warm. It will then carb up and be ready when hooked up to 12PSI or so and it becomes chilled.

So many clever ways to carb beer. Fascinating. Someone ought to create a sticky with all the various methods that have been employed. Did you stumble across the 53psi starting point by accident, or calculate it? What temp do you keep your fridge at?

Neat idea. I recently acquired a couple extra cornys and would prefer to store/age beer under CO2 rather than a glass secondary with airlock. Looks like I have several options to play with.

Thanks!

 

[masonsjax]

I naturally carb in the keg routinely. 3oz of simple sugar (I usually use table sugar) and 2-3 weeks at room temp and it's carbed enough to drink when chilled.

 

[cheezydemon3]

So many clever ways to carb beer. Fascinating. Someone ought to create a sticky with all the various methods that have been employed. Did you stumble across the 53psi starting point by accident, or calculate it? What temp do you keep your fridge at?

Neat idea. I recently acquired a couple extra cornys and would prefer to store/age beer under CO2 rather than a glass secondary with airlock. Looks like I have several options to play with.

Thanks!

I had the idea because "Shaking" a keg sounded not only inelegant but a major PITA, but I wanted the beer faster than 10 days. I posted a thread and someone else calculated it for me.

It carbs the beer in 3 days.

2 days sitting cold and then 24 hours hooked up to 12 psi.

 

[b-boy]

I do a hybrid method too.

I hook up at room temp in my basement (~65F) at 30PSI for ~24 hours. No shaking.

I drop the keg it in my keezer and hook it up to serving pressure for 3-4 days. It cuts the 'set and forget' time in half, and I think minimzes the chance of over-carbing. (At least I haven't over-carbed yet.)