Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought a 2 keg system with the double dual gauge regulator. Of course I just bottled a batch of beer last night, so I do not have anything to put in them yet, but I will be brewing a batch tonight so I will get to keg in a month.
I want to make sure that I have my steps right:
Syphon the beer into the keg instead of bottling bucket - no need to make a sugar water mixture
Set the regulator to 20 PSI to force carbonate for a few days
Set the regulator back down to 12 PSI for serving
Are those setting correct?
I have heard people talk about cold crashing first, is that needed?
That’s what is good for that set-and-wait method. Use that if you want to set it and wait 10-14 days. I know you probably don’t want to wait that long, but you run the risk of over carbing if you leave it longer than you intended. Others may chime in with fool-proof quick carbing methods.
The fool-proof way to quick carb a beer is to set the regulator at the serving pressure. Every time you walk by the keg, rock it back and forth hard. In a couple of days your beer will be perfectly carbonated.
[quote=“gusrotteyman”]Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought a 2 keg system with the double dual gauge regulator. Of course I just bottled a batch of beer last night, so I do not have anything to put in them yet, but I will be brewing a batch tonight so I will get to keg in a month.
I want to make sure that I have my steps right:
Syphon the beer into the keg instead of bottling bucket - no need to make a sugar water mixture
Set the regulator to 20 PSI to force carbonate for a few days
Set the regulator back down to 12 PSI for serving
Are those setting correct?
I have heard people talk about cold crashing first, is that needed?
your method will likely work well. At 20 psi overcarbonation is a possibility, if you forget and leave the pressure up too long. just check the carbonation daily (or more) while the psi is turned up.
cold crashing will drop some stuff in the fermenter rather than in the keg. if you end up with a lot of stuff in the keg you will get some cloudy pours if you move the keg. not necessary but is preferred by some.
I don’t like opening my kegerator that much though, gets humidity up in there and the chiller plate in the back gets super frosty. I usually have to defrost it once a month or so. It’s annoying.
I set and forget, usually tap a keg after 5-7 days, but it’s not usually carbonated quite enough. I think it usually takes 10-14 days to get fully carbonated. But usually after about 7 days, it’s good enough.
OK, but if I do not want to wait more than a couple days, then I can either push the co2 level higher and test it or leave it as serving level but shake the keg like a mad man every now and then.
Thank you - - I brewed the Brickwarmer Holiday Red Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains last night - the 28th and I REALLY want to serve it when we have family over for Thanksgiving on November 25th. The kit says that it is a 4 week process, so maybe I can get it into the keg by the 23rd and then hopefully force carbonate and have ready on the 25th. Does this sound possible?
You can carb in a couple of days but it’s difficult to get perfect. I hook the CO2 up at 30psi, set the keg on the ground with the gas port down and roll it with my foot for about 2 minutes. If you can, try and get the beer cold first by putting it in the fridge for 24 hours, do the roll, then give it another 24 hours at cold temp to get everything settled down to serve. My first mistake at kegging was my beer lines. Get at least 10’ of line if you’re serving at 12 psi.
[quote=“gusrotteyman”]The beer lines that came with the kit are only 5 feet long - what will happen with them being shorter?[/quote]When I replaced my old kegerator, I decided that faucets were too much work and I didn’t want to install a collar either, so I went with party taps on all the kegs. When I want a beer or three, I turn the regulator down to 2-3 PSI, bleed off the pressure in the keg(s) and pour a perfect pint with 5’ lines.
When I want to enjoy a glass of beer, the last thing I want to do is monkey around with a the regulator/bleeding off pressure/ and the regulator again.
I want my system to be balanced so the pour is near perfect with only having to pull on the tap handle, or push the lever on a picnic tap.
[quote=“Nighthawk”]When I want to enjoy a glass of beer, the last thing I want to do is monkey around with a the regulator/bleeding off pressure/ and the regulator again.[/quote]It adds a grand total of less than 10 seconds to the pouring process and in no way detracts from the beer in the glass. And when my 15-yr-old finally discovers beer, all I have to do is add a hasp and lock to the kegerator, don’t have to mess with tap locks. All around win for me.
Children are a valid concern for you set up. But you must go through twice as much CO2 as necessary by bleeding off the pressure every night that you want to have a drink?
Proper length lines or the mixing sticks in a shorter line to give you a proper pour at the carbonation level you want just makes things simple and less costly over time.
[quote=“Nighthawk”]But you must go through twice as much CO2 as necessary by bleeding off the pressure every night that you want to have a drink?[/quote]It only takes 0.076 lbs of CO2 to fill a totally empty keg. I pay $16 for 20 lbs of CO2 and have a 10-lb backup and it’s been months since I refilled both of them and have yet to switch to the smaller cylinder, so it’s not using or costing much to do it this way.[quote=“Nighthawk”]Proper length lines or the mixing sticks in a shorter line to give you a proper pour at the carbonation level you want just makes things simple and less costly over time.[/quote]Tried the mixing sticks and didn’t like the result or hassle to remove them for cleaning and re-filling the keg. Plus I don’t trust that they are food-safe for long storage in beer or resistant enough to PBW and StarSan.
It’s not like I haven’t tried the alternatives - I’ve carefully picked the options that work best for my situation.
Connect to a keg with no water, set the pressure to 10 psi, and listen to the CO2 going into the keg and then stopping as it pressurizes. Squirt the regulator and keg connections with StarSan or something else foamy (like dish detergent and water) and see if you have any bubbles (showing that it’s leaking).
So you’re not wasting CO2, fill it with water. So you’re not wasting water, add 1oz of star san to use on brewday!
I usually “charge” my keg with a blast at 30psi to set the lid then down to 12psi and pull the relief valve a few times to purge the air. I have a spray bottle with soapy water that I spray on the lid and posts to make sure there are no leaks. My leaks usually show up around the lid seal and PRV. Removing/resealing the lid or pulling the valve, usually fixes the leak.
[quote=“mvsawyer”]So you’re not wasting CO2, fill it with water. So you’re not wasting water, add 1oz of star san to use on brewday! [/quote]CO2 is cheap, five gallons of water is heavy and probably costs more, but making it StarSan is a good idea if your tap water isn’t hard.
Thanks = I am testing with water. I was getting a little leak out of the pressure release valve, but that seems to be better.
I ran it for an hour at 15 PSI and it did release pressure from the release valve - that is good. I hooked up the beer line and the water came out - so that is good.
I am going to let it sit for a while and see how it is.
I know that if I force carbonate that I need to release pressure from the release valve before I turn it down to the normal serving level. If I just set the pressure at the normal level from the beginning and wait 2 weeks, do I have to release the pressure? Once I am serving out of the keg, do I ever release the pressure?
