Fatty Matty Brewlog

May 27th, 2008

Here is a pretty good article about how to force carbonate a corny keg, instructions included explain how to force carbonate in a hurry.

“These 5-gallon stainless steel kegs are ideally suited for dispensing home brewed beer. Their pressure rating of over 100psi makes them far safer and more reliable than plastic pressure barrels, their improved taps retain the condition in the beer and if looked after properly they will last a lifetime.

As these kegs are stainless steel they can be easily cleaned. A chlorine-based cleaner such as VWP can be used, but keep the contact time down to 15 minutes and rinse well. Do not use Sodium Metabisulphite (or Campden Tablets) on stainless steel!

Do not prime the beer in these kegs, as this will produce a sediment and will result in a cloudy beer, and may also block the small diameter discharge tube. It is preferable to force carbonate the beer with CO2. The beer must be both fully fermented and crystal clear before kegging. The best way to achieve this is to rack the beer from the primary fermenter into a secondary fermenter such as a glass carboy fitted with an airlock. Then fine the beer using Brupaks BeerClear which is a top grade kieselsol fining developed for Carlsberg which gives a brilliantly clear beer without affecting head retention. Rest the beer in the secondary fermenter for 2-3 days until it is crystal clear.

Remove the keg cover and gently pass CO2 into the sterilised keg to displace the air, as you don’t want to spoil a good beer by oxidising it at this stage. Then gently rack the beer into the keg keeping the outflow from the pipe close to the keg bottom. Don’t just let the beer splash in from the top!
Replace the sealing cover on the keg, and add just a small amount of gas to check that you have made a good seal. Then slowly raise the pressure to 20psi using the gas bottle. You will now have a keg of flat beer with 20psi of gas pressure. Lay the keg on its side and roll it back and forth for 5 minutes or so topping up the gas to 20 psi as necessary. Then drop the pressure to 10-15psi and again shake the keg well. Finally reduce the pressure to 6 psi and leave the keg upright for 24 hours.

Attach the tap and draw off some beer. The first few glasses may be cloudy, but the beer should then run clear. 6 psi is a good starting point, but you may well want to vary this between say 4 and 12 psi depending on the style of beer.

The benefits of kegging over bottling include:-

Less work as there are no bottles to wash, sterilise, rinse, fill and cap.
No sediment in the bottom, so the keg can be taken to a party without clouding the beer
The beer is ready to drink 24 hours after kegging as no secondary fermentation is needed
Superior taps ensure that you don’t get a glass of foam that collapses into a flat beer
You won’t need a bottle opener!”