When your beer is done fermenting, there are two basic ways you can package it–it could either be bottling or kegging. Some people choose either of them for reasons unique to them. Bottling may be pretty stressful because of the time spent cleaning each bottle; kegging will save you from much stress involved in packaging. For kegging, all you need is to get the necessary equipment.
You need to fully understand what fermentation is to know the best time to keg your beer. After pitching your yeast or starter, there is usually a short lag phase. This short lag phase usually lasts for about 24 hours, and this is also the period when your yeast consumes oxygen and reproduces plenty of cells to ferment the sugar in your wort.
The exponential growth phase comes after the lag phase. This is when active fermentation occurs. Here, yeast converts sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast usually eats sugars from the sunset to the most complex. The yeast produces its flavor and aroma during this period. Ensure you create a suitable fermentation environment for the yeast because this is when many off-flavors are made.
The yeast eventually goes into a ten-day clean-up phase. This is when the krausen falls out and yeast flocculators before it goes to the bottom of the fermenter. The yeast cleans up the diacetyl and hydrogen sulfide that is produced during the fermentation. If the required gravity of your beer has reached, you can go ahead to either keg or bottle it. Here, the yeast doesn’t ferment more sugars, and they instead start dropping out. You may attain final gravity after a week; make sure your yeast flocculates out and clean up before you begin kegging it. Some brewers allow their beer to settle for up to two weeks after fermentation before they keg it so that the beer won’t be cloudy and taste yeasty.
Many brewers prefer kegging to bottle because it is straightforward to clean and fill a keg. With kegging, you can force carbonate your beer, and that means carbonating without adding priming sugar. With force carbonation, your beer will have fewer sediments, and it will clear very fast, which means you can consume your beer almost immediately.
Kegging is the best option for any brewer that wants to control the level of carbonation in his beer. You can maintain the level of carbonation to any level you want when you force carbonate in a keg.
Another advantage of using the kegging system of storing beer is that most filtration systems need a keg system, and with a kegging system, you will be free to use a counter-pressure bottler.
With kegging, you need to be prepared to spend more than bottling. You will need fittings, keg, hoses, a carbon dioxide tank, and regulator, and a dispenser.
If you intend kegging your beer, then you need to find a way of cooling it. It will be great if you have a unique cooler that you use for solely refrigerating your beer. Kegging is not like bottles that you can just easily put in your fridge without bothering about space.
So, what are the things you need for kegging your beer? Check them out below.
A keg
Your keg is the first piece of equipment you should have. A lot of brewers use the 5-gallon stainless steel kegs m that are commonly called corny kegs. There is the pin-lock keg and the ball-lock keg. The fittings they have and the type of disconnects they use are the basic things that distinguish them. Because they come with different connectors, you wi need to have duplicate sets of quick-disconnects in case you mix keg types.
You will also need a carbon dioxide tank. You can either buy or rent one. You can buy a new or reconditioned tank, a steel or aluminum tank. You can also find them in different sizes. Usually, larger tanks last longer, but they can be cumbersome.
A regulator for your carbon dioxide tank is another thing you will need. There are single-gauge and double-gauge regulators. The single-gauge regulator has only one gauge showing the pressure applied to the keg with an adjustment knob that sets the pressure, while the double-guage regulators have more than one guage that displays the tank pressure.
A piece of equipment for dispensing beer is another thing you need. You can either use a faucet or a picnic tap. A faucet is a type of tap that you can find at your local pub. A picnic tap can also be called a cobra tap, and it is attached to the end of a hose, and you hold it in your hand. Compared to faucet taps, picnic taps are less expensive, and you can quickly set them up.
Another important thing you need is a hose to help you connect the carbon dioxide tank to the keg and the keg to the tap or faucet. It would be best if you used small hose clamps to secure the hose to the fittings. And the tubing for the gas should be able to withstand at least 50 PSI.
Essential things you should know about kegging beer.
Filling Kegs
Before you start to fill your keg, put carbon dioxide in it first. It will stop the oxidation of your beer during the transfer. Let the pressure be released before you remove the lid and pour about five gallons of beer into the keg.
Carbonating
A simplified way of carbonating a keg is to sit with carbon dioxide pressure on the beer.
Kegs will offer you the option of serving your beer faster. You will need to cool your beer first, then turn the pressure up to 20 PSI or higher before shaking the keg to ensure the carbon dioxide dissolves easily. After the carbon dioxide stops fizzing out of the tank, allow the keg to settle for about an hour or more before turning down the carbon dioxide pressure to your serving pressure during this time and pouring it away. Carbonating your beer through this method will make it lose out on the benefits of aging, and you won’t be able to monitor how much carbon dioxide was initially dissolved in your beer.
Prime and condition is the last method for carbonating beer. Priming in kegs is the same thing as the priming in bottles. All you need to do is treat the keg like a big bottle and use proportionally less priming sugar. Like using one-third to half a cup of priming sugar for every five-gallon (9L) batch, that is all that’s required of you. If you go beyond that measurement, you will end up getting too much foaming. But this method has a disadvantage in it, you will see yeast sediment at the bottom of the keg, but after you fill the first two glasses with beer, the residue will go away. To ensure stability in the level of carbonation, after you start pouring the beer, connect your carbon dioxide tank and push out the rest of the beer.
Dispensing
For dispensing, you need to make sure your beer has a reasonable amount of foam so you can give it a good head. The foam in your beer should not be too much.
The fittings, hose, tap and dip tube in the keg, and other things between your beer and glass will stop the flow of beer out of the keg. It would be best if you were careful when pouring your beer so that the quantity of restri needs to match the pressure in the keg perfectly. For 91cm of 0.48cm ID hose between your keg and your tap, 9 PSI of restriction is provided. It will be easier for you to have a regulator on your carbon dioxide tank set to around 9 PSI.
How to keg beer after fermentation.
- To keg, your beer, start by pouring hot water into your barrel before adding a reasonable quantity of cleaner to it. Add some carbon dioxide in it, too, before place the lid of the keg on it and seal.
- Shake the mixture in the keg thoroughly so all the corners of the keg can be touched with the cleaner solution. After doing this, allow the keg to stand for about ten to fifteen minutes.
- After that, shake the keg again very well before pouring the cleaner solution out using the liquid-out line.
- Release the pressure on your keg before you remove the lid to pour out the remaining cleaner solution out of the keg.
- Fill the keg with hot water and pressurize again before shaking and running the water out using the liquid-out line.
- Create a sanitizer solution before pressurizing and shaking the keg again.
- Let your keg soak in the sanitizer solution before you shake it up and allow the sanitizer solution out of the liquid-out line.
- Once you are done cleaning and sanitizing your keg, transfer your beer from the fermenter to the keg using a clean and sanitary siphon before clipping the lid on.
Below are some kegging methods you can use as a homebrewer.
- Set and forget method
This method is highly recommended, and most homebrewers use this method for carbonating their beer. It is effortless and less stressful. With this method, you won’t have to bother about over carbonation or having beer shoot back up your gas line as you connect a new keg. Also, you will need about a week to get there, but it is still faster than sugar-based carbonation.
You need a balanced kegging system for this method. A balanced system is a connection between the refrigeration temperature, the length and inner diameter of the beer line, and the PSI of carbon dioxide used. A lot of kegerators help you to set this up, but if you don’t have that, you can use an online calculator.
2. Medium-speed method
This is a faster method than the set-and-forget method. You should hook up your gas to the chilled-down keg before you set the regulator to about 30PSI for two days. When these two days elapse, wind back your regulator to your normal serving pressure, then after some more days, it will reach its normal carbonation levels.
The previous high PSI pressurizes more carbon dioxide into the beer. The period of standard PSI allows the system to get equalized before serving.
3. Quickest method
Just like the name implies, this method is rapid, and you can drink your beer that same day, but you might suffer a high risk of over-carbonation.
With this method, you need to set your regulator to approximately 40PSI, and you also need a chilled down keg. If you can achieve that, shake your keg from side to side gently or roll the barrel on the floor for approximately fifty seconds. As you do this, you will hear the hiss of the gas going into the keg from the bottle.
Some brewers will also connect the gas to the beer out connect that forces the carbon dioxide through the beer from the bottom of the keg. They do this because it helps the carbonation process, but it is not necessary.
When you do that, allow your keg to rest for about ten minutes before you vent the keg to expel the built-up carbon dioxide and serve some amount so that you can view the carbonation level.
This method is a very risky way of carbonating your beer. Most times, you will experience over-carbonation. You need to be very patient when using this method. You might also require some tests and adjustments to your system so you can get it right.
All of the methods, the set-and-forget method is the best. You don’t have to stress yourself over many things that other merhods find it challenging to handle.
Conclusion
Packaging your beer in either bottles or kegs is the next thing that happens after your beer ferments. If you love to consider kegging your beer as a homebrewer, there are simple steps outlined earlier to help you achieve that.
Ensure your beer is well fermented before you attempt kegging it. It would be best if you allowed it to reach the required gravity before you go ahead to keg it.
Always keep your kegs clean and other equipment that aids the kegging process. Always sanitize and preserve the environment where you produce your beer clean.