Ok so I’m about finished with my collar build ( different thread) and Its Friday…Woo wooo!
So…
Currently 5. 5 gallons of oatmeal stout & American Amber that has been in primary for a month!
I cold crashed @ 35F for 1 week “Saturday 5th Dec thru tonight” (4th week) I was supposed to add gelatin @ cold crash start but things came up; ie life…LOL
Ok so now that Im ready to keg and i think I understand what the basics this is going to be my procedure tonight or tomorrow
1. sanitize all beer lines and kegs (need to set up clean lines as I only have 2 kegs and dont have another spare as my sanitized star san filled keg to flush lines out and faucets…) only have 2 kegs and I have 2 beers ready to be transferred (so I need to clean out everything before I use up the 2 kegs for my 2 5.5 gallon beers)
2. Ready the gelatin mix… and add to empty 5 gallon ball lock kegs (2)
3. purge air out of kegs with some co2
4. open keg lids and carefully transfer cold crashed beer onto gelatin mix
5. Attach lid and ADD SOME CO2 >>>bleed/ displace oxygen with some co2 >>purging out of keg 3 times or more @ bleed valve
**6.**Add Co2 till gauges read 30PSI then >>>>Disconnect CO2 line in
7.wait 24 to 48 hrs
8. THEN >> BLEED KEGS BEFORE reconnecting GAS LINE,>> “Reconnect” gas line CO2 and set pressure to style of beer and temp at serving which i think for my taste will be around mid 40’s" (42F)
9. Leave GAS LINE CONNECTED @ 42F/ pressure for style settings for approx 1 week to 2 weeks
10. Then enjoy->>>>. Hopefully
OH and leave DISCONNECTED beer serving line till im happy with carbonation levels
Add Co2 till gauges read serving pressure then >>>> Shake keg as often as possible for several hours
Pressurize keg to serving pressure and wait 24 to 48 hrs
THEN >> BLEED KEGS BEFORE reconnecting GAS LINE,>> “Reconnect” gas line CO2 and set pressure to style of beer and temp at serving which i think for my taste will be around mid 40’s" (42F) and serve beer
Also, if you have the hardware on hand, you can siphon from the fermenter directly into the liquid-out post, with a disconnect on the gas post. That’s a nearly oxygen-free transfer.
Be sure to do the soap bubble test on all the connections in your new kegorator. When I built my first one, I lost a couple of 20 lb CO2 tanks within the first 2 weeks due to small leaks. You will too, if you don’t fully check every single connection from the tank all the way to the keg connector.
Just get a quart bowl and put about a pint of water in it. Squirt some dishwasher detergent in and mix it to make bubble juice like you played with as a kid. Connect up your gas line(s) to the CO2 tank but leave them disconnected from your keg(s). Then, at every connection point along the way, brush on some of the “bubble juice” and look for bubbles increasing in size. Be generous with the juice. Tighten up every connection and when you are sure there are no bubbles forming, you will be good to go. Check it again the same way in a few days to verify it.
I was laying in bed and thought too myself let me check website if I have any new comment’s …lol glad i did i went into garage just now and did the soap bubbles test on the connections…based on your suggestions
I would be so salty if i woke up to a empty CO2 tank!
Would the beer go bad, assuming I don’t open the kegs? Would I have time to go get a replacement tank like a week later?? …I’m leaving out of town for a week…hence the delay in getting a new filled co2 tank… I’m gonna keep all my digits crossed!
Both beers had been sitting in primary fermenters for 5 weeks now this Sunday 12.13.2015. The last week, 5th was cold crashed @35F for 1 week
I racked both cold beers Beers (35F) into 2 kegs OVER gelatin solution for 5 gallon batches…Bled the oxygen 1st, etc… before racking
Decided against rolling and forcing the 30 psi for 48 hrs or so as suggested … REASON >>>>Because I knew I had to leave this week ; ie out of town for 1 week till this Friday and I couldn’t attend to the kegs and do the whole lower thee pressure / roll/ etc…
So I set the Kegs to serving PSI too let the beers carb slowly…
**Keg 1:**American Amber 5% abv @ 12 PSI keg 2: Oatmeal stout 5% abv @ 10 PSI
being that this is my 1st time kegging, will they be ready, kind a close or now way in chili bean hell…LOL ???
Did i mess this one up… :o
I have to wait any ways since im out of town… ;D :o
All other things being equal, your two beers should be mostly if not fully carbed within a week if you leave them at serving pressure.
That is my procedure (set it and forget it). Works every time.
I did sneak a taste of the beer as I poured the 1st or so oz of trub out of the fermenters … waited till the beer started flowing clear and then snook in a taste of both beers…
Both the Stout and Amber tasted very clean, no weird off flavors. They tasted great in short!
So hyped to taste these in draft system!!
Your last sentence has me bummed out: “After a week of head pressure only, though, I don’t expect them to be fully carbonated”
Too bad I couldnt take your advice(s) and do the whole 24/48 hrs at 30 psi/ force carb… I wanted too…
Ok so since im away for the week and no shake them for a few hrs during week… Is it possible to get home on friday and shake them for an hr. ebing that they ahve been on pressure for the week?
would that help speed thing sup a bit… Id leave the pressure alone just shake Friday and maybe Saturday???
Not like in ahurry BUT I Am like a kid who wants to see what my 1st kegged beer taste like…LOL
I just kegged my first beer last Wednesday night, set it and forgot it…until I got antsy Saturday night. Tried to pour a lil out but it only trickled out, determined I might have clogged it with the messy hop yeast trub. So I put the gas on the dip tube side and blew that out. Poured another and it was a little flat, but Monday it was pretty well carbed. Not 100% there but very drinkable.
I think the CO2 bubbling up from the bottom helped speed the process instead of the CO2 just chilling at the top.
