still a little confused with using cornies

helluvatractor · Apr 16, 2014

hi all, i brewed a coopers ipa, left it in the FV for 11 days, then transfered it into my corny yesterday.

i purged the oxygen 4 times by filling with c02, disconnecting gas, pulling pressure valve., filling, disconnecting, pulling etc etc.

finally i put 30psi of co2 in , disconnected the gas, then left it in the fridge for 24 hours.

today i force carbonated by setting pressure to 30psi, leaving gas connected, then rolling it back and forth with my foot for 4 minutes.

6 hours later i very carefully pulled the pressure valve, released the co2 (or most of it), then i hooked it back up to the co2 and put in about 15psi.

now, i'm not sure whether to keep the co2 connected or disconnect it, it wont be ready to drink for a few weeks (if i dont get impatient), so is it ok to keep it in the fridge disconnected, and connect up at 15psi now and again or should i keep it connected?

its this storage part that is confusing me a bit. also if i am doing anything wrong beforehand, would be happy to hear from you guys.

Fil · Apr 17, 2014

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...=xbA22cKg6g1riDhoRe225w&bvm=bv.58187178,d.ZG4

Sounds like u have a keg fridge sorted, so sus out the level of co2 u want in your ipa, 1.8-2 vols ? and lookup the fridge temp or your ideal serving temp and the pressure to set in the linked chart (sorry they all seem to be prepped by yanks so are in F temps .. ho hum..)

the over pressurising and rolling are tricks employed to fast condition a beer - get it fizzy in the same day, if u have a few weeks u can take the set n leave approach, as your gas pipe work should be gas tight setting and leaving the gas on is the norm afaik.

also dont confuse conditioning with maturing, some beer do need time to mature, tho in my limited experience beers tend to mature faster in kegs than in bottles..

corny king · Apr 17, 2014

Hi I think you are confused about using your corny keg.
personal I ferment my beers out in know more than 7days, then transfer to a plastic keg and do a small second ferment only a couple of oz of brewing sugar this allows the beer to prime and condition on.

I do this so I have bright beer in the corny keg as it's only 36 pints and I don't want any sediment in the keg. this also means I can more the keg where ever I need.

once the beer is ready I release the pressure and transfer it in to the corny there is no need to waste Co2 purging the keg as when you transfer your bright beer the first part the splashes in to the bottom of the keg will release its Co2 this will follow beer up to the top of the keg.

if the beer does not have enough gas in it as we all like it differently the add more gas and shake the keg to dissolve it into the beer.

Then just use enough gas to dispense
hope this helps
dave

helluvatractor · Apr 17, 2014

thanks guys, big help there.

i've made a right balls up of the ipa. turns out my fridge (or thermostat) is knackered and chilled the beer far too cold, so when i force carbonated it, it overcarbed and turned into a overcarbonated keg of froth.

then i watched a video on youtube where you put the gas onto the beer out post and pull the prv a few times, (this is supposedly supposed to de-gas the beer) - all i did is made a mess with beer flying out the prv. !!!

teach me to watch american youtube videos !!

i have learnt a lot from this, mainly not to force carb, get a new fridge and keep a close eye on temperatures - dont guess !!

but, in the mean time, what can i do about the frothy, overcarbed ipa?

Fil · Apr 17, 2014

just give the keg a lil agitation to encourage co2 release and vent, and just keep repeating to de condition the beer.. letting it warm up will speed the process up.

when serving dont forget to balance the keg pressure with restricting flow control devices inline or a length of 3/16" microline.. with a target of 1-2psi gradient or drop in pressure at the tap point

the stc100 or similar controllers are the bees knees when controlling fridges for kegging, 11-13c for beers and 5-8C for lager inho..

helluvatractor · Apr 19, 2014

Thanks, I have dumped the broken fridge and have converted a small chest freezer, (put a wooden collar to make it taller ) am getting stc 1000 in a couple days, so should be good.

Not sure what to use on the heating side though. A brew belt maybe ?

Fil · Apr 19, 2014

do u need heat?

helluvatractor · Apr 19, 2014

maybe not. i was wondering that, do you mean just utilize the cooling side (plug the freezer into that), and leave the heat side with nothing?:thumb:

that would be better to be honest, as although i'll probably only tap in 2 cornies for now, it will fit four though, but very tight squeeze.:thumb:

also, where would be the best place to attatch the temp sensor? was thinking of positioning it on the lid, in such a position that when the lid is closed it is dangling in the freezer, not touching anything, or is it best to put it in a glass or water ?

cheers, in adavance

Fil · Apr 20, 2014

helluvatractor said:
maybe not. i was wondering that, do you mean just utilize the cooling side (plug the freezer into that), and leave the heat side with nothing?:thumb:

that would be better to be honest, as although i'll probably only tap in 2 cornies for now, it will fit four though, but very tight squeeze.:thumb:

also, where would be the best place to attatch the temp sensor? was thinking of positioning it on the lid, in such a position that when the lid is closed it is dangling in the freezer, not touching anything, or is it best to put it in a glass or water ?

cheers, in adavance

if u want to serve beer at a temperature above the ambient temp wher u store tye freezer then u may need heating, the 60w tube heaters and reptile ceramic heaters tyhat fit in lampbulb fittings are 2 popular choices.

temp probe in the freezer as u suggest sounds fine

one thing to consider is condensation in side, freezers dont generally have a drain and letting water pool may encougrage rot/mould.. bung a towel in and change it weekly to absorb any condensated water (easy) or drill a drain hole (dangerose as u could hit a cold pipe.. )

lookin forward to a summer of cold beer on tap :)

helluvatractor · Apr 20, 2014

Cheers mate. I probably won't need a heater as I like beer served on the cold side.

Thanks for the heads up about the towel too.

still a little confused with using cornies

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