Norris! Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Well after a very fast ferment, I guess to be expected at 1.040, my first batch of AG is ready to be kegged. I was going to dry hop this but since I won't bottle any I decided to keg hop it with 10g of centennial and 15g of azacca. I have found keg hopping to be pretty full on so I will go with this amount and up it if I think it needs some. I am interested in the outcome as I was going to drop 7g/l in there. I checked the gravity 3 days ago to see when to dry hop and it was at 1.010 already, today it was 1.010-1.009. I honestly usually do a 10 to 14 day cycle but this is 5 days. It tastes like I expected, floral and citrus aroma with a tartness from the wheat with a hardly noticeable bitterness. The dry/keg hop should round it out with a little more aroma and flavour while accentuating the short boil additions. So with all that, I am going call this a success with plenty of room to improve. Like getting 23l instead of 16l. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Yeah keg hopping is full on. If I keghop I work on 60% of the equivalent dry hop. Good luck with it Norris 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Cheers Greeny. So that would be about 80g to 90g, I have 3 tea balls that fit about 25g each so that will get me close. Cannot wait. Cheers Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 First time I keg hopped it was the first time using vic secret. I put in like 90g. I should have put in 50g it was so full on. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Azacca has a lot of oils in it, centennial has a fair bit also, not like azacca and Vic secret, I think I will try the 50g, 2 balls and adjust from there. That is what is awesome about keg hopping, if need be add more. I have put off kegging this tonight, the kids beds got in the way, another day won't hurt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Norris! said: Cheers Greeny. So that would be about 80g to 90g, I have 3 tea balls that fit about 25g each so that will get me close. Cannot wait. Cheers Norris I guess I can wait. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Make sure the tea balls can actually fit through the keg opening first. The only ones I have that fit hold about 15g hops at most. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 So I decided on 50g of centennial in 2 balls, the balls split open so I only usually fill one half of the ball. Not sure how big others balls are but my are big enough for that load and fit in my kegs, I guess I am lucky. I skipped the azacca because I did all centennial in the kettle/cube so why not let it shine, I tend to like centennial a lot anyways, so it wasn't a tough choice. It finished at 1.008 and tasted pretty good. It is carbing up now at 40 psi for a day and then we will have a sip on Saturday night. It won't be ready due to the keg hop...but I will get some intense hop bite. Maybe I might wait until Tuesday or Thursday on second thought. Maybe even Friday. Who am I kidding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 The first part of that could be taken out of context... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 10 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: The first part of that could be taken out of context... Norris certainly seems infatuated with balls right now.... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy81 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 11 hours ago, Norris! said: Not sure how big others balls are but my are big enough for that load and fit in my kegs, I guess I am lucky. Weird place to put your balls Norris 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 3 hours ago, Hoppy81 said: Weird place to put your balls Norris They glide in with the new bamboo underwe... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 No beer on tap at the moment. This gives me an opportunity though, to try to figure out why the keg fridge isn't chilling as effectively as it used to. Given where it now resides, I think ventilation is the main issue, not on the sides but at the back. Wherever it sat before I had the bar, it had nothing covering it. I'm currently doing another temperature test with a glass of water but this time I have a fan blowing air around the back of it to provide some ventilation for the compressor. I put the water in about 4.5 hours ago and it's currently at 7.5 degrees down from an initial 21, sitting in the spot where the front right keg usually sits, along with the empty stout keg still in place at the rear. Whenever I empty the soda water, I'll turn the fridge off for a couple of days to defrost it, dry it out and give it a bit of a clean inside, then do the testing again with the addition of some calcium chloride in a container at the back to soak up excess moisture, as well as plugging up the gas line hole at the back. Hopefully I can get this crap sorted with these changes, especially with summer coming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 As of now it's only managed to get to 6.1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said: As of now it's only managed to get to 6.1. Thermostat problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 I made the mistake of putting some water on the tap I had spare over the last couple of months and now Mrs Hairy is demanding that one tap is used for water full time. I think I may have to change it to a three tap setup. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Not sure, it will go colder if I set it lower than where it is but that then causes it to ice up inside around the cooling plate. I remember a couple of years ago testing a glass of beer on the second pour which measured 1 degree, on the same settings it's currently on. If it doesn't improve after a defrost and clean among those other things I'm gonna do, maybe it's time to simply replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Could also be that the inbuilt fan has shat itself. I'll have a look at that today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellScott Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) What's the best way to age ales in kegs? I've got my ESVA '19 going into the keg soon and want to age it for atleast a month or two. Is it best to store at fridge temps or ambient? Edited September 3, 2019 by MitchellScott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 48 minutes ago, MitchellScott said: What's the best way to age ales in kegs? Great question, I have one aging now that i have at ambient that I have done a secondary in. My logic was as i could not leave it on the gas at serving pressure I added 40g of sugar, topit it of with CO2 burped it and then gave it a hit of gas again. I have left it at ambient and should go on the tap in another week or so. That was a 23L keg i have will fill 2 19l today or tomorrow and do the same ... I don't know if it is the best way to do it but that is what I have done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) Good question. I'd say around cellar temps would be the best but not easily achieved with ambient temperature unless you have a cellar. Mine unfortunately have to be subjected to ambient temperature once filled because I have no fridge space to store them. However, if I get a new kegerator I might keep the old one for storage if I can find somewhere to put it. Maybe in the laundry and put the clothes dryer on top of it if it doesn't block the doorway. In any case I don't bother putting sugar in them. I just purge the headspace and leave them on gas for a couple of hours. There's still enough pressure inside them to keep the lid sealed. Edited September 4, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellScott Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 30 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said: Good question. I'd say around cellar temps would be the best but not easily achieved with ambient temperature unless you have a cellar. Mine unfortunately have to be subjected to ambient temperature once filled because I have no fridge space to store them. However, if I get a new kegerator I might keep the old one for storage if I can find somewhere to put it. Maybe in the laundry and put the clothes dryer on top of it if it doesn't block the doorway. In any case I don't bother putting sugar in them. I just purge the headspace and leave them on gas for a couple of hours. There's still enough pressure inside them to keep the lid sealed. Thanks lads, I guess I'll purge it out and leave at ambient somewhere in a dark place to try and minimize temp fluctuations. Should be okay at this time of yeah, not too sure about in summer though Mitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 13 hours ago, MitchellScott said: What's the best way to age ales in kegs? I've got my ESVA '19 going into the keg soon and want to age it for atleast a month or two. Is it best to store at fridge temps or ambient? EVSA is bottle conditioned. Id naturally carbonate it. Throw 80gm of sugar in the keg and rack the beer on top of it. Dont need to purge the headspace. The secondary ferment will eat up the oxygen in the headspace. In 2 or 3 weeks it will be ready to drink after being chilled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 On 9/4/2019 at 7:38 AM, Otto Von Blotto said: Could also be that the inbuilt fan has shat itself. I'll have a look at that today. The fan still runs although it's not really very powerful, but it's no different to how it always was. I talked to dad yesterday and he thinks it might be low on refrigerant, which was something I also read last night while looking online about it. Another thing mentioned was the area around the compressor at the back could be clogged up with dust or something preventing the condenser fan running properly, so that's another thing I'll look at tomorrow after I clean the keg, as there is a bit of dust and spider webs in the compartment that it sits in. I'm hoping that's what the problem is because it's free to fix it... Once all that's done I'll fill the clean keg with water and put that in there with the temp probe in it for 2-3 days, lid covering the top but not sealed. That should give me a better idea what temp the kegs actually get to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 On 8/28/2019 at 6:46 PM, Beerlust said: Hi Mitch. It's all about balance. Balance between line length, line diameter, & pressure as to how it pours. Check out the following link. It'll explain things to you in a very easy to understand way. Keg Line Length Balancing - The Science Of Draught Beer I hope that helps, Lusty. Works great! Trimmed my line to 4' from 8'. Perfect beers day after day. Thanks for the link, Lusty. Just my 2 bobs worth... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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