kegging questions

I'm just setting up my kegging system and have a few questions
1.Once gassed how long can beer be kept in the keg before going off?
2.Can I gas it in the fridge and then store it at room temp?
3.Since my kegs are only 19 – 20lt and my batch is 22, do I need to take this into account when gassing?
4.At the recommended pressure and temp(8cand a 108kpa) how long do I hold at this kps before dropping it back to pouring kps?
5.What is the recommended pouring kps?


Still brewing up a little SKULLDUGGERY

4x  ;D

Lots of good questions here, first congrats on moving to kegs, second, don’t be afraid to make a mistake; you will only have to adjust in small steps to find correct results.

Beer will last months ‘ageing’ in gassed kegs. It’s a good thing for heavy beers to age.

Changing temp for storage is OK too, the colder the better when gassing, then age in an out of the way place, re-chill for a day and serve.
You will only be pushing the beer at this point so don’t over do it, 12 to 15 PSI should do it, you will need to experiment a little in how you pour the beer.

When filling, you will need ‘head room’ of 2 inches when you fill the keg, any extra beer you will need another vessel to carbonate in (I went bigger, 8 to10 gallon batches and I fill 2 kegs, I now have 7 kegs now and rotate parts and batches nicely.)

Use a carbonation stone on the end of a hose on the IN side for best results; it will cut the time needed to only a day or two to fully carbonate. I still recommend ageing a few weeks for taste, but lighter style beers will be ready to enjoy in less that a week typically.
You can find more answers in several books on the subject. Larry’s Brewing Supply in Kent WA. (www.larrysbrewing.com) is well stocked to help.

Hope this helps, good luck and happy brewing.

JT

Thanks JT
The Mad Bootlegger is still brewing up a little SKULLDUGGery
4X   ;D ;D

Brad,
Something that I need to know,
".At the recommended pressure and temp(8c and a 108kpa) how long do I hold at this kps before dropping it back to pouring kps?"

Thanks
4x

4x,
 You are only slightly above the serving pressure, so you might want to lower it a bit and try it out.  Generally you can carbonate at your serving pressure, though it is a bit of trial and error to find the optimal serving pressure.

 An unfortunate fact of kegging is that you need to balance the requirements of the beer style against reasonable serving pressure.   While this is not a big deal when you are running just one keg, it can be a problem when you have several kegs connected to one supply.

 I usually just find a good serving pressure for the amount of cabonation I like and leave my system at that pressure.  For me that is about 12 lbs (83KPA).  Yours may be a little higher or lower depending on your taste, length of the beer line, and actual refrigerator temperature.

 You should be able to pour a cup with a nice head on it but without excessive foaming.  It is best to pour with the valve fully open and the glass tilted.   Note that your beer may take up to a week to fully carbonate with the nice tiny bubbles, though it will have some carbonation after a few days.

Cheers!
Brad

Thanks Brad

Will be kegging a little SKULLDUGGERY this arvo.

4x ;D

I have a keg, regulator, etc. in the mail right now.  So this is a timely thread for me, too. Thanks for the tutorial, folks!

I've been kegging for a while and force carbonation is great. I have found however that keg conditioning yields better results for me. You get all the benefits of bottle conditioning in the convenience of a keg. This works the same way as bottling. Corn Sugar or preferably malt extract boiled, cooled and racked into the bottom of the keg. Rack off your beer to the keg, set aside for aging, and drink away. I use about 7 lbs of pressure to dispense.

I found that, when I have the patience, force carbonating in my CO2 keg at 12lbs works the best, but takes about a week.  I normally don't have the patience and want to carbonate quicker and bump it to 16 lbs, but I pay the price in that the beer ends up overcarbonated and I have too much head until it settles down after I lower it to about 8lbs for pouring.  My other keg is done with a Notrogen/CO2 mix and I force carbonate and pour it (with a stout tap) at 35lbs and it works great.  Bottom line is to have patience, I guess...maybe I'll try a carbonating stone like was mentioned above.  ;D

hey anyone need information on how to use a regular sankey key for homebrew i can send u info on how to take the sankey valve out very easy takes 5 min no special tool needed great so u can fill with your home brew e-mail me at        [email protected]

oh ya some more info if any one wants some cheep 5 gallon kegs this guy will sell u 4 5 gallon kegs for $60
his e-mail is [email protected] and shipping is included in the 60 dollars but u have to clean them this guy has thousands of those kegs so the more u buy the cheeper they are but i have a new sankey homebrew setup myself tho just thought i would let every one know its hell of a deal $60 shipping included

I normally chill my beer to serving temp for a few days,hook the CO2 up at serivng pressure( about 14psi for my setup) and leave it alone until I need the beer.  I have tried the "gas and shake method" when I'm in dire need of a keg in a hurry, but I've never really had good luck with it.  The key is to have enough beer on hand so that your new keg is conditioning as you drink the last one.  Go to 10 gallon batches and have tons of beer on hand.

This seems like a good thread for a dumb question.  I just bought 6 used kegs. All seemed well. They were cleaned and shipped under pressure along with o ring kits. Soooooooooo  anyway, I get ready to use one so I wash it up .......... Oh My God ............ the black s*$! that comes off the plastic Top & bottom ......
Its in the sink, on my hands .............. black rings everywhere I stand one ........... Mrs. Pirate Point is looking on e-bay for a gun ..........

So ........... what is the best cleaner to get this stuff off and keep it off?  When dry there is no black transfer. Get it wet and YUCK!  I've tried most household stuff, PBW, etc. Anyone had this problem and solved it?  Help!  She's getting a credit card out so she's found the caliber she likes!!!

Preston