It's Kegging time 2022

[Tricky Micky]

Okay, a big shout out to those who helped me to get up to speed with my first ever attempt at kegging a brew. Mate, @ozdevil Ozzie, can't thank you enough.

7 days in and the fizz is a bit underwhelming but I know I've got to be patient - right? Kegerators at 0 degrees, and the psi is around 15.

The beer which is a very simple Coopers based extract lager  tastes remarkably good for just 7 days in the keg. Good head and retention. I'm only running two kegs at the minute but I also note one keg is carbonated more than the other, I'm running the gas through a KL 4 x gas splitter/manifold. 

I'll try another taste test at around 10-12 days and see if carbonation has improved.

[Classic Brewing Co]

7 minutes ago, Mickep said:

Okay, a big shout out to those who helped me to get up to speed with my first ever attempt at kegging a brew. Mate, @ozdevil Ozzie, can't thank you enough.

7 days in and the fizz is a bit underwhelming but I know I've got to be patient - right? Kegerators at 0 degrees, and the psi is around 15.

The beer which is a very simple Coopers based extract lager  tastes remarkably good for just 7 days in the keg. Good head and retention. I'm only running two kegs at the minute but I also note one keg is carbonated more than the other, I'm running the gas through a KL 4 x gas splitter/manifold. 

I'll try another taste test at around 10-12 days and see if carbonation has improved.

Looks awesome Mick, nice colour, clear & drinkable 

[Tricky Micky]

5 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Looks awesome Mick, nice colour, clear & drinkable 

Yeah this is a simple extract lager, as simple as you can make I think Phil.  Coopers lager tin, with a Liquid LM tin and a bit of extra dry LM added with about 300grams of Dex and a 100g of Malto....Iv'e done this in the bottle may times and to be honest I'm a bit shocked at how good it tastes in the keg after just 7 days - in the bottle it took more than 3 weeks before it was drinkable...And NO sediment woohoo, at least none that I can see..

Edited March 17, 2022 by Mickep

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, Mickep said:

Coopers lager tin, with a Liquid LM tin and a bit of extra dry LM added with about 300grams of Dex and a 100g of Malto

Simple maybe @Mickep... but (if yer not AGing) I say Simply the Best 

You got the Simply the Best KnK Trio which took me a long KnK time to work out haha!

a) Coopers Kit Tin

b) Coopers Liquid Malt Tin

c) Some dry stuff... dry malt a bit of Dex and a bit of Malto... below I mention BE2:

I have now made up a little diagram for mates to send to for ease...  of the Coopers KnK Simply the Best Trio and the Pale Ale in my example being used : )

Cheers and Good Brewing

Edited March 17, 2022 by Itinerant Peasant

[Classic Brewing Co]

18 minutes ago, Itinerant Peasant said:

Simple maybe @Mickep... but (if yer not AGing) I say Simply the Best 

You got the Simply the Best KnK Trio which took me a long KnK time to work out haha!

a) Coopers Kit Tin

b) Coopers Liquid Malt Tin

c) Some dry stuff... dry malt a bit of Dex and a bit of Malto... below I mention BE2:

I have now made up a little diagram for mates to send to for ease...  of the Coopers KnK Simply the Best Trio and the Pale Ale in my example being used : )

Cheers and Good Brewing

I can second that, always a success 

[iBooz2]

Kegged up OzDevils USPA #2 today and also got 8 x 345 ml stubbies as travellers.  The sip of the sample tube confirms its a good batch.  Back filled with a dirty batch of the next one #3 out of the cube direct onto the US-05 trub at 18 C.  It will occupy the brew fridge for a few days whilst I do a yeast starter for the Budweiser clone then it will get the flick to ambient out on the bench for the duration of the ferment.  Keg is being forced carbed for 18 hours at 40 psi.

Edited March 17, 2022 by iBooz2

[Shamus O'Sean]

9 hours ago, Mickep said:

Looks outstanding to me Mick.  Always nicer out of a kegerator.  My kegerator brews are not as carbonated as a commercial beer.  But they still have fizz the whole beer through.  Just checked mine and my regulator is on about 17psi.

I also use a 4 x manifold.  I find that the tap gassed by the gas line furthest from the gas bottle flows fastest and is the most carbonated.  Each subsequent tap is a bit less.  This could be due to a slight difference in the length of my beer lines to each tap too.

[kmar92]

3 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Looks outstanding to me Mick.  Always nicer out of a kegerator.  My kegerator brews are not as carbonated as a commercial beer.  But they still have fizz the whole beer through.  Just checked mine and my regulator is on about 17psi.

I also use a 4 x manifold.  I find that the tap gassed by the gas line furthest from the gas bottle flows fastest and is the most carbonated.  Each subsequent tap is a bit less.  This could be due to a slight difference in the length of my beer lines to each tap too.

Just for some thought, the common KL manifolds that incorporate a non-return valve, have a pressure drop over them of approximately 2 psi so your gas reading at the regulator is 2psi higher than what is delivered to the keg.

[iBooz2]

9 hours ago, Mickep said:

I'll try another taste test at around 10-12 days and see if carbonation has improved.

@Mickep , Liar, liar, pants on fire.  I bet you cannot help yourself and have another before then. ha ha...

[Shamus O'Sean]

28 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

Just for some thought, the common KL manifolds that incorporate a non-return valve, have a pressure drop over them of approximately 2 psi so your gas reading at the regulator is 2psi higher than what is delivered to the keg.

Plus I have a KL Duotight non-return valve in the line too.

17psi is about as high as I have seen my regulator.  I should dial it back just a little.

[kmar92]

I think that this brew would be classified as a Bohemian Pilsner, not 100% sure of that. Anyway it is basking in the new psychedelic fermentation fridge @ 23° under 15 psi pressure. Saaz for a short boil and I will do a saaz hop tea when kegging it. Dubbya (W34/70) doing the heavy lifting in the kegmenter.

 

 

[stquinto]

14 hours ago, Mickep said:

Okay, a big shout out to those who helped me to get up to speed with my first ever attempt at kegging a brew. Mate, @ozdevil Ozzie, can't thank you enough.

7 days in and the fizz is a bit underwhelming but I know I've got to be patient - right? Kegerators at 0 degrees, and the psi is around 15.

The beer which is a very simple Coopers based extract lager  tastes remarkably good for just 7 days in the keg. Good head and retention. I'm only running two kegs at the minute but I also note one keg is carbonated more than the other, I'm running the gas through a KL 4 x gas splitter/manifold. 

I'll try another taste test at around 10-12 days and see if carbonation has improved.

4 taps Mick ? What a beauty ! Beer looks awesome too !

[ozdevil]

3 hours ago, stquinto said:

4 taps Mick ? What a beauty ! Beer looks awesome too !

@Mickep  is now thinking of upgrading his kegerator to series X plus   that is 8 tap kegerator lol

we like to go big and hard in Australia   nothing like a 4 tap kegerator as minimum standard lol any thing under
your just not brewing enough

[Shamus O'Sean]

Hi @iBooz2 and @kmar92, two things I have been meaning to ask about the Kegmenter FV's.  By way of background: I use a couple of PET pressure FV's and their (possibly) main advantage is being able to see through the walls of the FV.  I once had the intake of the floating dip tube sticking out above the liquid level.  I did not realise this until I tried to transfer.  However, with the clear walls it was easy to see what the issue was.  It did take a while to shake the tube enough to go under the surface.  A couple of other times, the tube has seemed to get stuck on the wall, so even though the float was sinking as the liquid level dropped the tube stayed still and eventually poked up above the liquid level and the transfer stopped.  Again, I was able to diagnose the issue and deal with it.

To my questions (and these apply to anybody who uses a non-see-through pressure FV, like a corny keg):

1. Have you ever had similar situations with the Kegmenter FV's? and
2. How did you diagnose and deal with them?

Cheers SOS

[kmar92]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi @iBooz2 and @kmar92, two things I have been meaning to ask about the Kegmenter FV's.  By way of background: I use a couple of PET pressure FV's and their (possibly) main advantage is being able to see through the walls of the FV.  I once had the intake of the floating dip tube sticking out above the liquid level.  I did not realise this until I tried to transfer.  However, with the clear walls it was easy to see what the issue was.  It did take a while to shake the tube enough to go under the surface.  A couple of other times, the tube has seemed to get stuck on the wall, so even though the float was sinking as the liquid level dropped the tube stayed still and eventually poked up above the liquid level and the transfer stopped.  Again, I was able to diagnose the issue and deal with it.

To my questions (and these apply to anybody who uses a non-see-through pressure FV, like a corny keg):

1. Have you ever had similar situations with the Kegmenter FV's? and
2. How did you diagnose and deal with them?

Cheers SOS

No, I have never had a problem with the floating dip tube so far. I guess that if I did have a problem a good shake of the FV may do the trick, as has been your experience. It is a disadvantage not being able to see what is going on, but it is only a minor problem. The pressure gauge tells you if it is fermenting and in reality that is the most important thing to know.

[Tricky Micky]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:41 PM, Greenyinthewestofsydney said:

Yup the one @kmar92 linked is the one I use. As you say though you can top it up with gas anyway once you start drinking it. If I'm naturally carbonating I usually put in 80gm of sugar in the keg. That's enough to eat anything in there then I let the forced carb at serving pressure add the rest of the carbonation.

@Greenyinthewestofsydney,Greeny mate, How do you add the sugar mix into the keg - just chuck it in the keg before the beer transfer?

[Red devil 44]

Kegging my AG Session Ale & German Lager today, been CC for 6 days.

‘Plus I need the fermenting fridge space for the next 2 brews.

‘Another AG Samuel Adam’s Boston Lager Clone & a Bavarian Wheat Beer. 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

47 minutes ago, Mickep said:

@Greenyinthewestofsydney,Greeny mate, How do you add the sugar mix into the keg - just chuck it in the keg before the beer transfer?

Yep. No need to dissolve.

So in short

1. Clean keg thoroughly and sanitise

2. Throw in the sugar or dextrose

3. Gas up the keg and purge oxygen. That should leave a decent co2 blanket for transfer.

4. Hose on the fermenter and down to the bottom of the keg 

5. Once full close her up and purge with co2

6. Leave at ambient for about 10 days and she will be carbed

Point 5 sometimes I have not done  the purge and just let the yeast eat any oxygen in the headspace. I haven't noticed any oxidation but doing the purge would be better practice.

 

 

[Tricky Micky]

8 minutes ago, Greenyinthewestofsydney said:

Yep. No need to dissolve.

So in short

1. Clean keg thoroughly and sanitise

2. Throw in the sugar or dextrose

3. Gas up the keg and purge oxygen. That should leave a decent co2 blanket for transfer.

4. Hose on the fermenter and down to the bottom of the keg 

5. Once full close her up and purge with co2

6. Leave at ambient for about 10 days and she will be carbed

Point 5 sometimes I have not done  the purge and just let the yeast eat any oxygen in the headspace. I haven't noticed any oxidation but doing the purge would be better practice.

 

 

Thank you mate, cheers.

[Classic Brewing Co]

4 hours ago, Red devil 44 said:

Kegging my AG Session Ale & German Lager today, been CC for 6 days.

‘Plus I need the fermenting fridge space for the next 2 brews.

‘Another AG Samuel Adam’s Boston Lager Clone & a Bavarian Wheat Beer. 

Busy boy RD sounds good I love the Bavarian Wheat Beer, I have only ever made extract version but from know on that will change.

[Red devil 44]

45 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Busy boy RD sounds good I love the Bavarian Wheat Beer, I have only ever made extract version but from know on that will change.

I still like the MJ,s Bavarian Wheat Beer Pouch, it’s not bad plus the Juicy IPA. 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Red devil 44

[Liambeer]

On 3/17/2022 at 11:44 AM, Mickep said:

Okay, a big shout out to those who helped me to get up to speed with my first ever attempt at kegging a brew. Mate, @ozdevil Ozzie, can't thank you enough.

7 days in and the fizz is a bit underwhelming but I know I've got to be patient - right? Kegerators at 0 degrees, and the psi is around 15.

The beer which is a very simple Coopers based extract lager  tastes remarkably good for just 7 days in the keg. Good head and retention. I'm only running two kegs at the minute but I also note one keg is carbonated more than the other, I'm running the gas through a KL 4 x gas splitter/manifold. 

I'll try another taste test at around 10-12 days and see if carbonation has improved.

Should be carbed after a week. Good way to test is turn off the bottle and see if tha gauge drops over a few hours. If it does it needs longer 

[Liambeer]

All in fwk summer ale riptide. Us05 and no dry hop. From hoppy days brewing supplies 

used gelatine finings and two weeks in the keg. 
 

bloody ripper and soooooo easy

[Classic Brewing Co]

20 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

I still like the MJ,s Bavarian Wheat Beer Pouch, it’s not bad plus the Juicy IPA. 

ATM I am drinking the MJ can of Bavarian Wheat Beer I bought in a boxed kit, it came with a 1.7 pouch of Wheat Malt, Tettanang hops & WB-06, bloody marvelous, beautiful creamy head & excellent taste. After 2 weeks it was ready to drink, now nearly 4 weeks & of course better.

[Stickers]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:58 PM, Mickep said:

And NO sediment woohoo, at least none that I can see..

you'll see the sediment on keg cleaning day