First Time Kegging Question

[BlackDuck]

So the first batch, which is the Simply Simarello IPA, that will go into my new kegging system is happily fermenting away. In the meantime, I'm excitedly prepping myself for what I'm going to do when it comes time to finally transfer it to the keg.

I'm planning to slow force carbonate it for 7 days before I take my first draw. I've downloaded this carbonation chart from kegerators.com. My beer fridge is at 37 degrees, so according to this chart, I'll set the pressure at 10.5 psi to achieve 2.5 volumes.

My beer line is 10 foot. According to this calculator, I'm real close. I enter the CO2 pressure at 10.5, the hose diameter is 3/16 (0.1875 entered), my vertical distance is 1 foot (I'm using a picnic tap which will rest right on top of the keg), the flow rate is 10 and the final gravity is 1.010. With these figures, the hose length should be 8.96 ft, so I'm off by a foot.

First question....If I change the pressure in that equation to 11.5, then the hose length calculation is 9.85 ft, which is closer to my 10 foot line, so should I force carb it at 11.5 from the start? Or force carb it at 10.5 for the 7 days, then increase the pressure to 11.5 when I tap it? If it's the latter, do I leave it at the 11.5 psi from that point forward?

Next,
I will cold crash the batch before transferring to the keg. Once the beer is in the keg, I'll purge with CO2. Then what do I do? Do I have to let the beer condition at all in the keg, and if so at what temp? Or do I just purge with CO2, set the pressure and put it in the fridge right away to let it carbonate?

I'm excited about this kegging adventure...and I thank you all for you help.

[Beer-lord]

Honestly, the differences in numbers you're talking about are minor so don't sweat it. Plus, every system is a bit different so it'll take a few kegs to get things near perfect.
10-12 for 5-7 days should be just fine. You're first draw will be dirty, of course, but that's the settling.
Before you transfer, just push some CO2 in the keg and fill it. Cap the keg then purge it. Pump in a bit of CO2 and purge it 4-5 times (that's what I do and is prolly more than you need). If I don't have room in my kegerator, I pump it up to 20 psi and let it sit at room temp. If it goes in the kegerator, I set mine to 12 and check at day 5.
For my kegs that sit out a bit, I sometimes do this.....put it in the kegerator, set it to 30 for 24 ours, 20 for 24 hours then 10 for another day and it's usually ready. But, if you do it the slower way, it'll likely be 2 weeks before you really start to see some clearing and get a noticeably better taste.
If you keg hop, it's best to do so for the first 5 days. Sometimes I leave mine in much longer but that's up to your taste.

I likely forgot something but you know where to find me. It's all good!

[Pudge]

Don't over think it too much. Get an idea of a goal pressure and kegerator temp... you've got that. Carbonate just a tic or so below that. It is always better to have a beer slightly under carbonated than over. Under carbonation is easy to cure.

I have a slight foaming issue, but I'm pretty sure mine is due to temp differences between beer, beer line, tap, and glass. Usually a quick 1/4 to 1/2 pour prior to attempting a full pour fixes this. Everybody is at the same temp (or close enough) and the pours are just fine.

Finally, I flush my keg with CO2 before transferring. I know some people do not. A quick sniff from the open keg will tell you. If you get a mild burning sensation (like when you drink a Coke/Pepsi too quick), the keg is full of CO2.

Oh, prepare for some sort of CO2 leak. Everybody has them and they can be tough to track down. I use a spray bottle of Star San. Spraying on connections can show you most leaks.

[FedoraDave]

Paul's advice is best, i.e. every system is different, and it'll take three or four kegs to dial in on yours. It took me until two kegs ago to realize the 12 psi I was using was too high, resulting in foamy first pours. I pulled it back to around 10/11, and it made a world of difference.

Also, there are numerous methods, and they all work. Some guys rock the keg as they pressurize it. I tried that for a couple kegs, and didn't think it was worth it, so I just attach the gas and let it sit for 7-10 days before first draw. Paul outlined a different approach for room temperature storage. Haven't tried it myself, since I have no need for room temperature storage. But it's another method.

I agree with Paul that your numbers are so close, it isn't worth the effort to fiddle with it.

I don't fill the keg with CO2 before racking, either. But I do rack, then hook the keg up to the gas, give it a bit of a charge, then purge. About four or five times, to make sure any oxygen is chased out and the only gas in there is CO2. Then I set it and forget it. First draws are always cloudy, but they clear up pretty quickly, and the head and carbonation is consistent throughout after that.

Good luck finding your preferred method! Having homebrew on tap is an awesome thing!

[Dawg LB Steve]

I second Paul's advice!

[Inkleg]

Since I've started storing my sanitized kegs pressurized with CO2, I don't purge them anymore.
Just vent, pop the lid, fill with beer, drop in the keezer, hook up gas line and vent 4-5 times, spray lid with Star-San to check for leaks, shut keezer lid and have a "how's it coming along" pour in about 5 days.

I have mine set to 11 PSI at around 38*. I am using picnic taps that stay in the keezer at the same temperature with 5-6ft of line and get great pours.

Have Tiffany take a picture of the smile on your face with your first pour and post it for us.

[BlackDuck]

Thanks everyone for the great comments. It really helps put my mind at ease.

Yes, Jeff, I'll have her take a picture to post.

[Whamolagan]

Next,
I will cold crash the batch before transferring to the keg. Once the beer is in the keg, I'll purge with CO2. Then what do I do? Do I have to let the beer condition at all in the keg, and if so at what temp? Or do I just purge with CO2, set the pressure and put it in the fridge right away to let it carbonate?

I'm excited about this kegging adventure...and I thank you all for you help.

That, and time I like to wait 7- 10 days

[ScrewyBrewer]

After buying 'beer line' tubing from my LHBS all of my kegging problems went away. Someone stripped the threads on the regulator screw of my first Co2 regulator, so I had to buy a new one of those too. The beer line tubing's wall is about two or three times as thick as plain old vinyl tubing. The one I have has a 3/16 inch ID and runs about 8 feet long inside the refrigerator.

kegs-sml.jpg (48.68 KiB) Viewed 1210 times

I've been using the 'set and forget' method for force carbonating my beers too, it's way easier to do as long as you have the patience to wait about a week. Usually I set the pressure to 20 psi for the first three days then turn it back down to 12 psi and pour a tester. At about day four or five the bee's carbonated enough to drink but it's perfect after one week.

[FedoraDave]

Vince, I remember the foaming problems you had. I hope you've overcome that. I was experiencing something similar, but I ramped my psi down from 12 to just over 10. I use the set-and-forget method, too, but I just leave it at ~10 psi for at least a week.

Every system is different, for what is probably a variety of reasons. Once you find what works for you and your system, it should be easy-peasy.

[ScrewyBrewer]

Vince, I remember the foaming problems you had. I hope you've overcome that. I was experiencing something similar, but I ramped my psi down from 12 to just over 10. I use the set-and-forget method, too, but I just leave it at ~10 psi for at least a week.

Every system is different, for what is probably a variety of reasons. Once you find what works for you and your system, it should be easy-peasy.

@Dave since replacing the regulator and beer line it hasn't mattered whether I use 15 psi for my Wheat beers or 12 psi for my IPAs the pours aren't foaming any more. What that enabled me to do is take my 2.5 gallon corny key on the road and have perfect pours using a picnic tap and about a foot of 3/16 ID beer line too.

What a relief it was having it all click now my Perlick tap, beer gun and picnic taps all are pouring without foaming.

[FedoraDave]

Nice! And all of this is good information, because such a problem is not limited to one solution. My foaming problem was because I had the psi set just a bit too high. Someone else's foaming problem may be due to not enough tubing, or the wrong diameter tubing, or something else entirely. So it's good to have all this input.

[BlackDuck]

Your right Dave....it's great to have all this input. Because I'm sure I'll need to refer back to this in a couple of weeks.

[RickBeer]

Could be this, that, the other thing, the other other thing. All these answers can drive one to drink. And we're all beer drinkers. So, in fact, going from bottling to kegging merely advances the cause - getting one to drink more beer, but not because it's on tap, because the frustration drives one to drink. Very sneaky, very sneaky...

I'm sticking with bottles for now.

[Beer-lord]

RedBEERd and I bottled 5 gallons yesterday, the first time I've bottled in 3 years (other than beer gun bottling) and I don't miss it at all. The fact that there were 2 of us made it easier and we used a ton of bombers which sped things up as well but still, I could have kegged 6-8 kegs in that same time.
Yes, I do like to open a home brewed bottle from time to time but I could never go back to bottling every batch. If I didn't get, I'd brew a whole lot less.