I got 49 bottles done in 40 minutes today. Not bad, but that’s the last time I bottle beer; going to build me a kegging system.
How fast do you force carbonate? Do you leave your beer still in the keg for 2 weeks or so before pressurizing it? CO2 interferes with yeast activity, which can change how a beer ages I guess. On the other hand, you could just rack to secondary and let the beer age for a couple weeks before kegging.
Because of aging issues with cider, I may invest in a pair of conicals and always keep some 30 gallons on hand, tapping a keg off the fermenter when needed, just because I’ve yet to make a cider that was any good before it was 3 or 4 years old.
have not made a cider, but I don’t think most people wait a couple years to drink. post a recipe and we can see what’s up with that.
My regime usually goes something like, 1-3 weeks primary, crash cool for a couple days, into the keg and force carb with gentle shaking then start drinking the next day. Only some beers need an ageing period and some others really don’t want that (wheat beers, low gravity session ales) as they want to be fresh when consumed.
Generally speaking, ferment 2 weeks in primary, 3 weeks if I’m dry hopping. Keg, and force carb at 20psi for 3-4 days. This carbing schedule has been fool proof.
Let your beer ferment out. Keg cold beer and set to your serving pressure. Leave it on the gas for app. 7 days, you’ll be good. You can always shake the keg too, but never shake a keg with pressure over your serving pressure, you risk over carbonation.
Huh. So you guys don’t let the beer sit longer? How’s that work when you skip the whole bottle conditioning phase and go straight to carbonated? Doesn’t change the beer?
I let the beer decide when it’s finished which is generally around 1-2 weeks depending on yeast strain and amount of sugars to be fermented. Then I like to let the beer condition for a few more days before I crash cool. At that point I’ll keg the beer and force carb at 30-50psi for 1-3 days depending on the set pressure. I then set the pressure to the desired level for style to reach equilibrium.
I make a regular cider, simple just like the above post. 5 gallons apple jucie, 1 pack of Red Star Montrachet yeast, ferment for 4-5 weeks. Keg, chill, carb, enjoy!
I apply CO2 at anywhere from 8-13 psi depending on storage temperature and preferred volumes of carbonation. Seems like it takes 1.5-2 weeks for most of my beers to get where I like.
Just keeged a dry stout, a amber lager, and an Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest and lager have been lagering 3 and 4 weeks respectivly. Now that it is kegged, do you FC now or wait till it’s done conditioning (another 2 months at least)?
I am a shaker as well. ;) I think the best advise is to let the yeast tell you when it is done. Read the specs on the yeast you are using and figure out what final gravity you are looking at, but just because it reaches final gravity does not mean it is done. Most yeasts will need some extra time to “clean up”…
2-3 weeks in primary, into the kegs and into the fridge with the first keg, unless it’s a lager and both kegs go in. I let the kegs sit a couple of days, then hook the gas at serving pressure. After 2 or 3 days I drink a pint of the flat beer. A pint a day seems to make the keg carb faster so that after 5 days the beer is perfectly carbed.
I like to carbonate around 10 psi and wait. I think its easier to dial in the carbonation (by sampling daily after 4-5 days). If I overshoot and have to degas, I almost always pick up a little yeast bite, especially with lighter beers.
P.S. Its a LOT easier to wait for this method if you have a few other beers on tap already ;D
I guess what i was wondering is do you lager at serving pressure, or should you condition (sometimes months depending on style) at ambient (ie. airlock)? Or are lagering and conditioning two different animals?
I usually keg, co2 burp, chill overnight and hook up to co2 tank at 25psi and shake both kegs for about 10 minutes. I let it rest overnight at 25 psi and burp again the next day and set it at around 12 psi. It’s ready to go right then and there but usually takes about a week to have the ideal carbonation and mouthfeel.
Sure carbonation changes the beer (makes it better!), but doesn’t affect how it is conditioned.
I’m fond of priming the kegs with cane sugar and let sit at room temp for a week or two and then usually sticking them in the serving fridge to crash and serve.
Often though I’ll just crash the keg and hit it once or twice a day to 45psi until I like the carbonation. As Corky suggests, leaving more headspace in the keg allows it to carb faster.
It should take ~3 days to get to the recommended psi at the given temperature. In a bind, I will crank up the pressure and shake, but if I have the time I adjust to the appropriate psi and temp and let it alone.
In a pinch I have put 2 gallons of cold beer into a 3 gallon corny that was CO2 purged. Put 30 PSI on it. Unhook and then shake it with vigour. Repeated 2 more times. Waited just a little, put 10 PSI on it, and it poured with appropriate carbonation. Bottled for a competition, no comments on the carbonation that I can remember.