Rjezowski75
Brewer
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- Feb 6, 2013
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I'm keg conditioning for the first time. Does anyone have any tips/tricks/warnings or a good web page I can reference in hopes of not killing my batch?
durrettd said:I'm paranoid about oxidation. I scrub my kegs, fill them with StarSan, then push the StarSan out with CO2. I drain my fermenter into the clean, depressurized keg through a liquid-out fitting so the fermented beer isn't exposed to oxygen - release the gas-in fitting frequently so the pressure doesn't stop the flow. (I once hooked a pressurized keg to the fermenter. When I connected the drain hose to the keg, the pressure blew the lid across the room, showered me with beer, and thoroughly roused the sediment.) Once the keg is filled I pressurize and release the pressure a couple of times to dilute the small amount of oxygen remaining. After some additional aging I cold crash for a few days and rack to another cleaned-sanitized-purged keg using a liquid-out - liquid-out jumper and drink.
I carbonate with about 30 PSI for 48 hours, then adjust by bleeding off or additional time at 30 PSI.
The beer is exposed to very little oxygen and the small amount of sediment transferred settles out nicely. By the time I've finished the keg the beer is beautifully clear.
Dry ice should accomplish the same thing, maybe more effectively, but I have the CO2 so I use it. If you're going to use dry ice, do the arithmetic carefully so you don't over-pressurize the keg (don't trust the pressure relief valve) or over-carbonate the beer.