Some questions about kegging

[Brewnaldo]

Kegging seems like a natural progression and something that interests me in my quest to cut down time from brew to glass.

I cant see me having space for, or drinking enough, to justify a multi keg system, kegerator or whatever so.....

Are kegs easy to use/setup/clean?

How long does beer stay fresh in a keg?

Can you force carb and then bottle from a keg removing the need for any priming and presumably cut down on sediment, and get beer into bottles faster?

Does anyone use some sort of portable set up to take a chilled keg and dispenser gun round to a mates or whatever? Does that work?

What other advantages/disadvantages exist?

Guess I am looking for a hybrid model with the least kit possible but to give me a bit of flexibility. Any feedback appreciated

 

[foxy]

Kegging seems like a natural progression and something that interests me in my quest to cut down time from brew to glass.

I cant see me having space for, or drinking enough, to justify a multi keg system, kegerator or whatever so.....

Are kegs easy to use/setup/clean?

How long does beer stay fresh in a keg?

Can you force carb and then bottle from a keg removing the need for any priming and presumably cut down on sediment, and get beer into bottles faster?

Does anyone use some sort of portable set up to take a chilled keg and dispenser gun round to a mates or whatever? Does that work?

What other advantages/disadvantages exist?

Guess I am looking for a hybrid model with the least kit possible but to give me a bit of flexibility. Any feedback appreciated

Just get a mini keg, I prefer the squat version like the grenade kegs, I have the taller ones which are top heavy and prone to toppling over.

This is a 6 litre grenade keg.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Have a look at our forum sponsor Gareth from Darkfarms site 5L Mini Keg Homebrew Draught Beer System with CO2 Dispenser

Below it says offer end April 5th 2020 but he may be open to offers.

-----

Hey guys and gals,

We are offering a 10% discount on all mini kegs and taps orders over £100 on our online shop darkfarm.co.uk.

If you want the code please email me at [email protected]

Offer end April 5th 2020

 

[Brewnaldo]

Should follow this up here.... Now have the 10 litre and the 5 litre mini kegs from dark farms. They really are beautiful bits of kit. One slight issue with delivery which was speedily resolved by Gareth having struck a wee deal that suited us both so top Mark's for quality and for service. Would not hesitate to recommend them.

Naively expected force carbing to be a bit quicker than it is..... My 10 litres of lager is on its 3rd co2 bulb and isnt as fizzy as I would like it yet but it's getting there. I was hoping for a 2 or 3 day turnaround. Not to worry... Dontind waiting for the pleasure of pouring a crystal clear pint.

 

[TheStyler]

@Brewnaldo - I’ve just purchased kegs also from Dark Farm, but was interested in the questions raised in your initial post before I get started with them, now you’ve had a bit of time are you able to answer your own initial questions to help me ! Thanks

 

[Hoagie]

Should follow this up here.... Now have the 10 litre and the 5 litre mini kegs from dark farms. They really are beautiful bits of kit. One slight issue with delivery which was speedily resolved by Gareth having struck a wee deal that suited us both so top Mark's for quality and for service. Would not hesitate to recommend them.

Naively expected force carbing to be a bit quicker than it is..... My 10 litres of lager is on its 3rd co2 bulb and isnt as fizzy as I would like it yet but it's getting there. I was hoping for a 2 or 3 day turnaround. Not to worry... Dontind waiting for the pleasure of pouring a crystal clear pint.

If you want to speed things up, crank the pressure up - I typically set it at 40psi for for 2 days then turn the regulator off, bleed the keg and turn the regulator back on to serving pressure. Pretty much done then but if not, I’ll set it to 30 psi for another day and repeat the off/bleed/serving pressure bit. This gets me to just a standard ipa/lager level carbonation.
You can shake it too for a few mins, but have a lot less control then.

oh and that’s always starting when the beer’s cold. If it’s warm, it’ll need much higher pressures and more co2.

 

[TheStyler]

Thanks

I presume force carbonating over conditioning would avoid potential sediment but is this really an issue? Whilst benefits of being able to pour sooner, is it not better to leave in the keg to condition for a while like you would a bottle? Presumed the same principles would apply?

 

[Hoagie]

Thanks

I presume force carbonating over conditioning would avoid potential sediment but is this really an issue? Whilst benefits of being able to pour sooner, is it not better to leave in the keg to condition for a while like you would a bottle? Presumed the same principles would apply?

Yeah, there’s less sediment because there’s no secondary fermentation (albeit a tiny one with the priming sugar). Even less if you can crash cool your beer before transferring.

Conditioning? Depends on the style really. I genuinely find if you pitch enough healthy yeast, allow to ferment at an even temperature, give it a couple of days after reaching FG and crash cooling before kegging, you’re probably good to go as soon as it’s carbonated for a 5% pale ale or something. Obviously if you’re doing a 7% stout (probably wouldn’t keg anyway) you’d want to give it more time.

It seems to get to its best quicker in the keg in my experience - I assume because it’s cold conditioning straight away, rather than refermenting for 2/3 weeks first