Kegging Question(again)

[Gugs44]

I am going racking to kegs tomorrow for first time, I dont want to drink them til xmas so I just wanna store til then...How much CO2 will i give em after purging off the oxygen in the headspace??



And when I do go for tapping up and connecting to taps at xmas how much CO2 to give the kegs, half afraid of an explosion to be honest so wanna do everyhing right....I have an oatmeal stout which  i want at around 2.2 volumes and an IPA I want at around 2.5, I have a dual reg so no probs doing both

Cheers

[Beerbuddha]

Its more to do with how much Co2 you like in a certain beer. I like plenty. Also depends what way you co2 up.....i like to do it fast so my procedure is .....when fermentation is complete i crash cool fermenter to 0-1C for 3 -5 days days then i rack into keg purge of oxygen as you described then lay keg on its side apply pressure 35psi and then rock keg gently for approx 2.5 minutes. Leave keg for two days and test...if it needs more i add another 30 secs at 35 psi...or less i just release pressure via vent on lid. For dispensing i use approx 5psi.

Record your setting and after 4-5 kegs you will get it how you like perfect every time after. The lower temp via crash cooling allows c02 to mix much better than if beer is warm. Im sure other have more scientific approach.

I also add gelatin to keg before i rack beer into it so this clears the beer after 2-3 days. I ditch first pint as this contains gelatin, yeast hase forming particles and after that its bright beer. Just an extra step if you like it sparkling. For stouts i believe its help with head retention if yeast is removed and served via nitro gas mix.

[Gugs44]

Thanks for that BB...I won't be in any rush so I just want to naturally carb it up as opposed to force carbing it, I just kegged an hour ago so what I did was purged out the oxygen and gave it maybe 2 mins at 35 just to give a nice seal and a good blanket of co2 on top of the beer

When I am carbing up for dispensing at Xmas do I just set the reg at whatever psi I want for my desired level and leave it on for a few days?? I haven't a clue how the reg work so when it's balanced out and taken all the co2 does the reg go back to zero or what??

Sorry bout all the questions

[Beerbuddha]

Hopefully someone can't help with carb times as I force carb.

I'm guessing it's set at let's say 35 psi for say 7 days. There will be a chart of times pressures and temperature is important also. Then you just disconnect the gas. The regulator just shows the pressure you set it at ...it won't move unless you increase or decrease it manually. To me going by charts is just too confusing and time consuming. Also chance of loosing all gas if you have a leak.

You put blanket co2 in keg 35 psi as you said but I'm guessing that will dissolve into solutions over next few hours and the sealing pressure you need will dissapear and cause lid to leak. I think you need to pressurize the keg today to stop this. The quicker you carb up should help stop and bacteria that need oxygen to survive.

Hope others can help on non force carbing

[Beerbuddha]

If no other replies come your way soon YouTube carbonation homebrew plenty step by step guide's. Visuals worth a million words

[raindogxx]

Hi Gugs,

Are you planning to add sugar to let the remaining yeast naturally carb your beer? Force carbing just means to apply CO2 via a tank, so low or high pressure both qualify.

Force carbing at the pressure that corresponds to your target dissolved CO2 volumes is the preferred method. It's easy to over shoot if you apply high pressure to your keg and shake it. Having said that, it's what I do every time as I want to drink my new beer asap!

Check out this chart, it lists the pressures and corresponding temperatures to reach your goal CO2 volumes:

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Edited because I write poorly.

[Gugs44]

Thanks Raindog...apologies bout the naturally carbing, what I meant was I didn't want to force carb it as in rocking on the floor but just to let the co2 turned on for a few day

I do want to try my kegged beer ASAP but wanna keep it for Xmas to share with mates, I prob will force carb come the time but until then I just wanted to store it, it's now in keggerator sealed up coz I sprayed with a foamy solution and no sign of leak, also I wanna dry hop my IPA for about 7 days, I could have added them today at kegging time but don't want a grassy taste come Xmas

Thanks again

[alealex]

I think you're a bit late for refermentation in keg Gugs, not even 4 weeks left till xmas.
Beer is defo not gonna clear till then, but should be carbed.
How much sugar did you put into keg?
Oh yeah, and as BB says make sure keg is pressurized enough to be gas tight.
Try to give it few weeks to few months (depends on beer style) before you tap the keg to help clarity if you naturally carb again.
Interesting fact is that beers naturally carbed have longer shelf-life then force carb beers.

[Gugs44]

I think you're a bit late for refermentation in keg Gugs, not even 4 weeks left till xmas.
Beer is defo not gonna clear till then, but should be carbed.
How much sugar did you put into keg?
Oh yeah, and as BB says make sure keg is pressurized enough to be gas tight.
Try to give it few weeks to few months (depends on beer style) before you tap the keg to help clarity if you naturally carb again.
Interesting fact is that beers naturally carbed have longer shelf-life then force carb beers.

Cheers alealex, I didn't naturally carb the keg with sugar, fermentation is well and truly finished, I had both in primary for over 4 weeks...all I want to do before Xmas is dry hop my IPA, what I meant and I know it's wrongly put is that instead of force carbing by rocking motion I just want to put the co2 on it for a few days to carb it up as I am in no rush, all I wanted to do today was seal up the keg and purge off the oxygen which I think I have done, before Xmas I think il set my reg at around 15psi and check everyday after 4 days until desired level of co2 in beer

[Dr Jacoby]

If you want to store the keg you should carbonate it now to the desired level and leave it under pressure. If you just add a little Co2 the beer will absorb that and there won't be enough pressure in the head space to maintain a proper seal.

[Gugs44]

Thanks Dr Jacoby...that basically is all I need to know now, il put it back on the co2 tomorrow for a few days until the desired level is reached which I will get from the charts online....will it be on to release the pressure before Xmas to dry hop my IPA and then carb up again?

[Gugs44]

One final question and that's it

How long is an adequate length for the beer line??

[molc]

It all depends on the height of your tap. Length and diameter of line is a balancing act to get the right head. I've cut mine a little short and I just use the aduster on the tap to cut down the head near the end of a pore

[alealex]

Don't worry about beer line length too much, you've got good tap with compensator and hard tubing.
It has more to do with picnic taps and soft pvc tubing I think.
Nobody worries about leght of beer lines in commercial installations. Bars are not built to fit certain length of beer line but beer line is cut to fit the bar,  tempreture of serving plays bigger role - higher the *C more foam in the glass.
You won't have any problem once carb level is right and temp is below 7*C. The lower the better and this is one of the reasons why you get ice cold beer in the pub.

[Dr Jacoby]

Yep, it's fine to release the pressure for dry hopping. Purging the tank of oxygen afterwards is a little more tricky. There's a widespread view that because Co2 is heavier than air it forms a blanket under the oxygen so you can just lift the valve a couple of times and the oxygen will escape. It doesn't work like that in reality. Co2 and oxygen mix very easily so when you purge from the valve all you are doing is diluting the oxygen level very slightly. A couple of quick valve lifts won't get the job done. You need to open the release valve slightly and force some Co2 in for a few minutes until the oxygen has been diluted to negligible levels. In breweries, purging tanks can take two or three hours using this technique (filling tanks with de-aerated water and pushing this out with Co2 is a faster method but not something you can do in this situation). Luckily, the headspace you need to purge is very small so it shouldn't take too long to get the job done.