Condition Time

rummynose27 · Mar 27, 2017

Hi guys I've got a question about conditioning my brew is in a king keg ready for conditioning I think, what temp do u guys condition at? Also if beer seems a bit flat is there a way to get it un-flat again? Thanks [emoji482]

Clint · Mar 27, 2017

Have you primed with sugar? Usually a couple of weeks at 20ÃÂ°c will do it...but the keg has to be air tight.

rummynose27 · Mar 27, 2017

Clint said:
Have you primed with sugar? Usually a couple of weeks at 20ÃÂ°c will do it...but the keg has to be air tight.

Hi Clint yeah used sugar I syphoned into keg n then put sugar in, left it for 7 days at 20C and then put in fridge at 14C to condition. Should I have put sugar in keg first or does it not matter?

Clint · Mar 27, 2017

Set the temp to 20 and leave it for another week. Then draw a little bit to see if it's carbing up.

Dutto · Mar 28, 2017

rummynose27 said:
Hi Clint yeah used sugar I syphoned into keg n then put sugar in, left it for 7 days at 20C and then put in fridge at 14C to condition. Should I have put sugar in keg first or does it not matter?

If it's flat after 7 days at 20 degrees it's almost certain that you have a leak! Sorry.

The usual culprit is the keg cap seal.

There is still a chance to nip it up (I use a wood-clamp) and it may still carbonate sufficiently to serve a few pints before needing to use CO2 capsules.

In future, I recommend that you check that the beer is carbonating after a few days by just running 100ml or so into a glass. If it's not foamy then it ain't carbing up.

If it doesn't carb up this time then you will need to remove the cap, smear Vaseline around the "O" ring and the cap threads, re-prime the keg with (I suggest) no more than 50g of sugar (for a 23 litre brew), re-seal the cap, tighten it up, put the keg back in a nice warm place at 20 degrees and check in a couple of days as per above.

Personally, I always dissolve the sugar in water, bring it to the boil, cover it with tinfoil, let it cool and then add it to the keg and very gently stir it in before closing up the keg. (Just a few grains of sugar around the cap will screw-up the seal and this method avoids that situation.)

terrym · Mar 28, 2017

@rummynose27
As Dutto says the cap is leaking somewhere, it should be nearly full pressure after 7 days at 20*C.
Try this for more....
Guide to a Standard Home Brew Pressure Barrel

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

Thanks guys for help I'll check in a couple of days and see what crack is, should a brand new keg leak??

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geetee · Mar 28, 2017

Don't forget it can also leak from the tap AND sometimes tightening too much will distort the seal and cause a leak.
I had one that would not seal so bought a new cap, filled the threads with vaseline and just hand tightened it.

I also used a different tap that was probably not sealing so put the KK drum tap back on + vaseline and no problems since. Have a keg on the go since Christmas still holding!

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

I might have tighten to much I did turn it as much as possible only by hand though, how tight is tight??

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geetee · Mar 28, 2017

rummynose27 said:
I might have tighten to much I did turn it as much as possible only by hand though, how tight is tight??

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Tighten it hand tight until you feel it is sealing than just a fraction more to confirm, in the past I have made a wooden bar to tighten and un tighten like a medieval torque wrench and probably overtightened.

Practice with some water in the keg almost full and a blast of CO2 if you have it to confirm the pressure for your keg. When fully gassed put a bit of fairy liquid around teh potential gaps and it it blows bubbles then it's leaking.

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

I did the water and co2 test when I first got barrel but did not put washing up liquid round cap. DOH!! Might have to try that, once the barrel is empty of course lol

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

Dutto said:
If it's flat after 7 days at 20 degrees it's almost certain that you have a leak! Sorry.

The usual culprit is the keg cap seal.

There is still a chance to nip it up (I use a wood-clamp) and it may still carbonate sufficiently to serve a few pints before needing to use CO2 capsules.

In future, I recommend that you check that the beer is carbonating after a few days by just running 100ml or so into a glass. If it's not foamy then it ain't carbing up.

If it doesn't carb up this time then you will need to remove the cap, smear Vaseline around the "O" ring and the cap threads, re-prime the keg with (I suggest) no more than 50g of sugar (for a 23 litre brew), re-seal the cap, tighten it up, put the keg back in a nice warm place at 20 degrees and check in a couple of days as per above.

Personally, I always dissolve the sugar in water, bring it to the boil, cover it with tinfoil, let it cool and then add it to the keg and very gently stir it in before closing up the keg. (Just a few grains of sugar around the cap will screw-up the seal and this method avoids that situation.)

Should I use brewing sugar?

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Sandimas · Mar 28, 2017

As you've got a King Keg, it should have an S30 valve on top to enable you to squirt some CO2 in?

If so, get a small CO2 cylinder (Hambleton-Bard) and give it a quick squirt immediately after priming. If there are any seal leaks you will hear them and be able to tighten / loosen any seals.

Priming these kegs and waiting 7 days is just leaving things to chance and, given how often people post on here about leaky seals, it's a risk I wouldn't be prepared to take. I always give my kegs a quick squirt immediately aftre priming, I'd say 60-70% of the time I hear a leak and have to re-seal.

Sandimas · Mar 28, 2017

And/or fit a pressure gauge so you can see if it gasses up, you should see pressure after a day or so

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

darrellm said:
And/or fit a pressure gauge so you can see if it gasses up, you should see pressure after a day or so

Great advice thanks, would I need a new cap for pressure gauge??

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rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

Think I've sorted it guys thanks for the advice the cap wasn't tight enough so gave it an extra tight tighten injected a bit of co2 also put a load more vasaline round seal and cap.

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rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

From this
View attachment DSC_0033.JPG

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

To this

View attachment DSC_0034.JPG

rummynose27 · Mar 28, 2017

Happy days just need to condition now [emoji2]

Dutto · Mar 28, 2017

rummynose27 said:
Should I use brewing sugar?

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I've used DME, Brewing Sugar and ordinary table sugar and can't say that I have noticed any significant difference in the carbonation or the taste.

Obviously, ordinary table sugar is the cheapest so I use that most often! :thumb:

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