Supposing I make a batch of beer, it ferments for 2 weeks, and then I rack it into Corny Keg #1 and force-carbonate it and then start drinking it.
Well, suppose I have another batch of beer ready to keg a few days later....
Can I put batch #2 into keg #2 and leave it there in my kegerator without my CO2 attached? Or should I leave it OUTSIDE my kegerator at room temp until I'm ready to carbonate it?
Post #2 made 12 years ago
There are many answers to your question, I'll give you mine.
I'd leave mine out for storage, this will allow the beer to mature, if only briefly. I'd also (and I do) naturally carb the second and future kegs. 1. Because you can 2. Because the beer will be better < in my opinion.
If you chose to force carb your second and ongoing kegs, they will carb better if the beer is already chilled, so storing in your fridge will be a benefit there. However it only takes ~24 hours to chill a corny.
Either way you will have beer to drink, horses for courses
I'd leave mine out for storage, this will allow the beer to mature, if only briefly. I'd also (and I do) naturally carb the second and future kegs. 1. Because you can 2. Because the beer will be better < in my opinion.
If you chose to force carb your second and ongoing kegs, they will carb better if the beer is already chilled, so storing in your fridge will be a benefit there. However it only takes ~24 hours to chill a corny.
Either way you will have beer to drink, horses for courses
Last edited by hashie on 24 Apr 2012, 15:38, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #3 made 12 years ago
my take is a bit different.
I think that all beers benefit from some cold conditioning (lagers and ales alike) as long as the fermentation is complete.
if you have two kegs, i would recommend splitting the gas line with a T and connecting both kegs to CO2. even if you can only serve one at a time. while your drinking the first, the second one will condition, clear and carbonate.
I think that all beers benefit from some cold conditioning (lagers and ales alike) as long as the fermentation is complete.
if you have two kegs, i would recommend splitting the gas line with a T and connecting both kegs to CO2. even if you can only serve one at a time. while your drinking the first, the second one will condition, clear and carbonate.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
Post #4 made 12 years ago
I've just increased my stable of kegs to 6. I intend to use natural carbonation once I've replenished my stock as per hashie. In your case if you are in no rush I would naturally carb your second keg leaving it outside for up to 2 weeks. Then stick it in your kegerator prior to gassing up. The only down side to naturally carbonating is that you could end up over gassed requiring a bit of messing to get things right.
Either way as long as the kegs full and ready to go your winning..
Either way as long as the kegs full and ready to go your winning..
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Post #5 made 12 years ago
daddy,
I'm a bit confused here sorry
...
From what I am reading, you can fit both your kegs into your kegerator (fridge). Is that right? If so...
Wouldn't a simple T-Piece for your gas line allow you to have Keg 1 dispensing and Keg 2 carbing up?
Couldn't you even force-carb Keg 2 and then have two beers available? (All this would need is you snapping the liquid fitting from one keg to the next.)
Hope I have made some sense
,
PP
I'm a bit confused here sorry
...From what I am reading, you can fit both your kegs into your kegerator (fridge). Is that right? If so...
Wouldn't a simple T-Piece for your gas line allow you to have Keg 1 dispensing and Keg 2 carbing up?
Couldn't you even force-carb Keg 2 and then have two beers available? (All this would need is you snapping the liquid fitting from one keg to the next.)
Hope I have made some sense
,PP
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Post #6 made 12 years ago
You nailed it. I can indeed fit both in my kegerator, but wasn't aware I could split the CO2 and force-carb Keg 2. The Beer line end of Keg 2 won't shoot beer out of the pin if I'm just pumping in CO2, will it? It has to have a connector on it to allow pressure (beer) to come out, right?PistolPatch wrote:daddy,
I'm a bit confused here sorry
From what I am reading, you can fit both your kegs into your kegerator (fridge). Is that right? If so...
Wouldn't a simple T-Piece for your gas line allow you to have Keg 1 dispensing and Keg 2 carbing up?
Couldn't you even force-carb Keg 2 and then have two beers available? (All this would need is you snapping the liquid fitting from one keg to the next.)
Hope I have made some sense
PP
Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll try it.
On a slightly related topic, do most folks cold crash the fermenter after one week, putting it in their fridge/kegerator to sit for a week before racking it to a keg and adding CO2 for another week? (3 weeks from brew to drink instead of 4)
Last edited by daddyo on 25 Apr 2012, 09:01, edited 3 times in total.
Post #7 made 12 years ago
Absolutely correct. Just leave keg #2 on the gas at serving pressure for the amount of time it takes to drink keg #1 and voila, carbonated beer ready to drink.daddyo wrote:
You nailed it. I can indeed fit both in my kegerator, but wasn't aware I could split the CO2 and force-carb Keg 2. The Beer line end of Keg 2 won't shoot beer out of the pin if I'm just pumping in CO2, will it? It has to have a connector on it to allow pressure (beer) to come out, right?
Last edited by hashie on 25 Apr 2012, 09:34, edited 3 times in total.
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."
Post #8 made 12 years ago
Thanks! I'm getting way excited now, but have yet to start brewing my first AG BIAB! LOL!hashie wrote:Absolutely correct. Just leave keg #2 on the gas at serving pressure for the amount of time it takes to drink keg #1 and voila, carbonated beer ready to drink.daddyo wrote:
You nailed it. I can indeed fit both in my kegerator, but wasn't aware I could split the CO2 and force-carb Keg 2. The Beer line end of Keg 2 won't shoot beer out of the pin if I'm just pumping in CO2, will it? It has to have a connector on it to allow pressure (beer) to come out, right?
Last edited by daddyo on 25 Apr 2012, 10:00, edited 3 times in total.
Post #9 made 12 years ago
Good stuff!
You can also do a rapid force carbonation which allows you to carbonate the beer in a few minutes rather than a week.
Also, if you want to save a bit of cash, you could get by with just one gas connector for the moment and just swap it between the two kegs from time to time. A second connector though is far more convenient.
As for fermenting, I prefer to leave my ales for two weeks and then crash chill for about 4-7 days before transferring to the keg. This is because I couldn't be bothered checking when fermentation has finished. Of course though, some yeasts etc can ferment out in a week but I think that is cutting it too fine.
You can also do a rapid force carbonation which allows you to carbonate the beer in a few minutes rather than a week.
Also, if you want to save a bit of cash, you could get by with just one gas connector for the moment and just swap it between the two kegs from time to time. A second connector though is far more convenient.
As for fermenting, I prefer to leave my ales for two weeks and then crash chill for about 4-7 days before transferring to the keg. This is because I couldn't be bothered checking when fermentation has finished. Of course though, some yeasts etc can ferment out in a week but I think that is cutting it too fine.
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Post #10 made 12 years ago
I ferment my ales, generally at 17.5C for 2 weeks, then crash chill to <2C (say 0.5C) for 3+ days, generally up to a week, then I keg.
After the kegs are full, I connect them to gas at 300kpa, burp them a few times, then leave in the keg fridge for 24 hrs. Then I dial the gas back to zero, burp the kegs, and repressurize at my serving/carbing pressure, which are the same because I've balanced my keg setup, at the 4C I keep my kegs, that's 85kpa.
Within a few days all the kegs (i can keg up to 3 kegs at once) will come to perfect carbonation within a few days. I then might take all but one of the kegs out of the keg fridge and put them in my cold-storage fridge for later.
I always store kegs carbonated, and preferably under cold storage.
A different possibility is to add 70g or so of dextrose to a keg after filling it and leave it in a warmish area (15-22C or so) for a few weeks, just like carbing up a bottle.
...
with you gaslines you can just split them with T pieces and add more gas quick disconnects and connect as many kegs as you want. The liquid out post should have a functioning poppet valve which will stop the beer flowing out unless a disconnect is connected.
And then you can add a second tap
After the kegs are full, I connect them to gas at 300kpa, burp them a few times, then leave in the keg fridge for 24 hrs. Then I dial the gas back to zero, burp the kegs, and repressurize at my serving/carbing pressure, which are the same because I've balanced my keg setup, at the 4C I keep my kegs, that's 85kpa.
Within a few days all the kegs (i can keg up to 3 kegs at once) will come to perfect carbonation within a few days. I then might take all but one of the kegs out of the keg fridge and put them in my cold-storage fridge for later.
I always store kegs carbonated, and preferably under cold storage.
A different possibility is to add 70g or so of dextrose to a keg after filling it and leave it in a warmish area (15-22C or so) for a few weeks, just like carbing up a bottle.
...
with you gaslines you can just split them with T pieces and add more gas quick disconnects and connect as many kegs as you want. The liquid out post should have a functioning poppet valve which will stop the beer flowing out unless a disconnect is connected.
And then you can add a second tap
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #11 made 12 years ago
OK, I racked to my corny tonight straight from my fermenter (after 11 days of fermenting) and pushed in about 30psi to seal it up. Shook it around a bit, disconnected the gas line, rolled it on the floor for about a minute, and then set it in my kegerator.stux wrote:I ferment my ales, generally at 17.5C for 2 weeks, then crash chill to <2C (say 0.5C) for 3+ days, generally up to a week, then I keg.
After the kegs are full, I connect them to gas at 300kpa, burp them a few times, then leave in the keg fridge for 24 hrs. Then I dial the gas back to zero, burp the kegs, and repressurize at my serving/carbing pressure, which are the same because I've balanced my keg setup, at the 4C I keep my kegs, that's 85kpa.
Within a few days all the kegs (i can keg up to 3 kegs at once) will come to perfect carbonation within a few days. I then might take all but one of the kegs out of the keg fridge and put them in my cold-storage fridge for later.
I always store kegs carbonated, and preferably under cold storage.
A different possibility is to add 70g or so of dextrose to a keg after filling it and leave it in a warmish area (15-22C or so) for a few weeks, just like carbing up a bottle.
What else do I need to do to condition it with the CO2?
Do I need to have it constantly hooked up at a lower PSI (10-12?) for a few days?
I'm a little frazzled trying to figure this part out.
Last edited by daddyo on 10 May 2012, 13:00, edited 3 times in total.
Post #12 made 12 years ago
If you have time you can leave it on about 10Lb of gas for a week or 2.For a fast conditioning,pull it out of your fridge cold,hook up the gas at about l0 lb and shake and roll it until you here the gas quite hissing into it.Leave it for a while and do again.Return to the fridge with the gas hooked up and leave for a couple of days.The warm beer will not absorb very much co2,you will always do better with it cold.
AWOL
Post #13 made 12 years ago
After 6 days at 12 psi, I hooked up the beer line and sampled a pint of my "Red Ale." The flow was very slow, so I upped it to 20 psi and it still was slow. It took me up to about 40 psi to get a good flow out of my beer line. Seems a bit high? My LHBS told me I needed to use 7.5 feet of beer line for my mile-high elevation. The beer is carbonated and looks semi-red, and it has some kick like it should!
Should I leave it on 40 psi or should I dial it back down to 20-30 psi and hope a lower psi works?
Should I leave it on 40 psi or should I dial it back down to 20-30 psi and hope a lower psi works?
Post #14 made 12 years ago
daddyo,
Something is not right? You might want to check with some home brew club members at your elevation to see what they have theirs set at? I cannot believe that you need anymore than 5 feet of hose. You only need 2 lbs of pressure to move the beer out of the keg into your glass. Normally I have mine set at 8-12 lbs pressure to carbonate and move the beer. Wow, that elevation must reek havoc on bars and brew-pubs?
Please check this out with a home-brewer who kegs at your elevation. There has to be a Denver home-brewer who can help on this forum?
Something is not right? You might want to check with some home brew club members at your elevation to see what they have theirs set at? I cannot believe that you need anymore than 5 feet of hose. You only need 2 lbs of pressure to move the beer out of the keg into your glass. Normally I have mine set at 8-12 lbs pressure to carbonate and move the beer. Wow, that elevation must reek havoc on bars and brew-pubs?
Please check this out with a home-brewer who kegs at your elevation. There has to be a Denver home-brewer who can help on this forum?
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tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
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Post #15 made 12 years ago
There is a possibility that you have a dodgy regulator however your beer is carbonated so the gas is most likely getting into the keg okay. I'm thinking that something might be wrong with your tap, perhaps a blockage? Checking this is a PITA as you really have to take the beer line off the disconnect and then blow through the beer line which means sanitising it all afterwards.
I think finding someone local to come and have a look would be the best solution but this might not be possible for you.
I defintely wouldn't keep it up at 40 psi. If the problem is in the tap, you are going to end up with overcarbonated beer. 40 psi also exceeds the pressure limits of some kegs so be careful!
Hope you get it sorted out soon
.
I think finding someone local to come and have a look would be the best solution but this might not be possible for you
.I defintely wouldn't keep it up at 40 psi. If the problem is in the tap, you are going to end up with overcarbonated beer. 40 psi also exceeds the pressure limits of some kegs so be careful!
Hope you get it sorted out soon
.
Last edited by PistolPatch on 16 May 2012, 22:52, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #16 made 12 years ago
Daddyo
I'd disconnect all your lines, then push down on the poppet (if its the keg type I'm thinking of) you should get a soaking in beer now reconnect just your tap with a short piece of hose. If your beer is carbonated and the keg is still sealed by the pressure inside there should be more than enough pressure to push out your ale. This will prove your poppet isn't stuck and your tap is good (or bad). I suspect your tap is faulty, I have a smooth flow one in a box and when I tried it it was painfully slow, I must get it out and try it again.
+1 to PP 40psi is too high,
I'd disconnect all your lines, then push down on the poppet (if its the keg type I'm thinking of) you should get a soaking in beer now reconnect just your tap with a short piece of hose. If your beer is carbonated and the keg is still sealed by the pressure inside there should be more than enough pressure to push out your ale. This will prove your poppet isn't stuck and your tap is good (or bad). I suspect your tap is faulty, I have a smooth flow one in a box and when I tried it it was painfully slow, I must get it out and try it again.
+1 to PP 40psi is too high,
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Post #18 made 12 years ago
Good point Lylo!!! Never would have thought of that 
.
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Post #20 made 12 years ago
Looks like that could be the problem..
I think you may have to transfer to another keg.
So to answer your original question...What to do with Keg #2?.....keep it for when you get a blockage...sorry
just pulling ya leg.. 
Seriously Tx your beer, as even if you can clear the dip tube it will block again for sure..
Yeasty
I think you may have to transfer to another keg.
So to answer your original question...What to do with Keg #2?.....keep it for when you get a blockage...sorry
just pulling ya leg.. Seriously Tx your beer, as even if you can clear the dip tube it will block again for sure..
Yeasty
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Post #21 made 12 years ago
Argh!!!
I finally took the gas line off the regular and fiddled around with it a bit, blew through the T splitter I'm using to split the gas to both kegs, then hooked everything back up.
** There's a nut just above where the gas line connects to the regulator. It never seemed important before, but as I had my regulator running at 10 psi, the more I turned the nut, the more I could hear the gas coming out the line. Apparently this nut had gotten tightened down at some point and was restricting the flow of the CO2.
When I hooked it up to my nearly-empty keg of red ale and let it rip, I could hear the CO2 filling up the keg -- a sound I hadn't really heard before until now. I actually dialed down the psi a bit and probably will again a bit later, as the beer is just gushing out the tap now.
Ugh! I can't believe it was something as simple as that little nut!
I finally took the gas line off the regular and fiddled around with it a bit, blew through the T splitter I'm using to split the gas to both kegs, then hooked everything back up.
** There's a nut just above where the gas line connects to the regulator. It never seemed important before, but as I had my regulator running at 10 psi, the more I turned the nut, the more I could hear the gas coming out the line. Apparently this nut had gotten tightened down at some point and was restricting the flow of the CO2.
When I hooked it up to my nearly-empty keg of red ale and let it rip, I could hear the CO2 filling up the keg -- a sound I hadn't really heard before until now. I actually dialed down the psi a bit and probably will again a bit later, as the beer is just gushing out the tap now.
Ugh! I can't believe it was something as simple as that little nut!
Post #22 made 12 years ago
Good news daddyo! If you get a chance, could you post a picture so that we can better understand what the issue was? Thanks.
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Post #23 made 12 years ago
thughes wrote:Good news daddyo! If you get a chance, could you post a picture so that we can better understand what the issue was? Thanks.
Last edited by daddyo on 27 May 2012, 13:10, edited 3 times in total.
Post #24 made 12 years ago
daddyo,
So what length and pressure do you need at your elevation? Just curious?
So what length and pressure do you need at your elevation? Just curious?
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
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tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
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Post #25 made 12 years ago
I believe that would explain everything!daddyo wrote:It's a nut right above #5 (shut off valve) in this picture. In fact, I don't have that shut off valve. I guess my nut IS the shut off valve?
Last edited by thughes on 27 May 2012, 23:03, edited 3 times in total.
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