Kegged my first beer...What can I expect?

[TheDarkSide]

So I kegged my first beer today

Here's what I did ( although I'm not sure I did it right ):
1. Normal cleaning/sanitizing steps
2. Racked beer into keg, but did not chill it down first. Beer was probably about 67F
3. Sealed keg and hit it with 30psi and vented - 3 times
4. Turn it up to 30 PSI and shook it about 100 times
5. Turn regulator down to 10 psi and vented
6. Put it into chest freezer set at 40 ( 10 psi at 40F = 2.3 volumes )

Since I started the gas when it was warmer than 40, will this carbonate properly? Will it equalize to 2.3 volumes over a couple days?

Next time, I'll chill it down first before racking and just set at my pressure for a week.

Thanks.

[Bruck]

It is better they say to cool it down first before you carbonate, but I don't always do this. I follow the process you did and leave it for a couple days. Then I bleed it down to the serving pressure and have not had a problem. Good luck.

[BDawg]

It will be fine.

Pre-chilling helps drop more yeast before kegging. It will still be fine.
RDWHAHB

[Junket]

Of all the things you can screw up in brewing, kegging must be one of the most tolerant steps. As long as your kegs are clean (and the rubber parts don't smell like soda), the rest is a piece of cake. Because I have fridge space and enough kegs, I never bother with shaking a keg or force carbonating at high psi. Instead, I focus on brewing more, so that I'm never in a hurry to push a beer through the process so that I have something to drink. I can understand that a brewer with limited time/space/resources might want to rush the carbonation process, but I think it's better to have patience even at the end stages of kegging. I definitely believe in "bottle shock", though kind of in the same way as I believe in "that other show": I can't explain it, I don't understand it, it shouldn't happen, it's unpredictable, intangible, and undesirable - but somehow it shows up. I've found that my beers taste better when they've had the chance to mellow for a week or more in the keg. Premature drinking often brings out some weird green flavors and aromas. So I just keg them at whatever temp, purge the headspace a few times, throw them in the fridge, attach gas at serving pressure (or a few psi higher), and forget about them for a week or more.

[Bugeater]

I generally keg my beer a week or more before I have room in the kegerator for it. I keg at room temperature, hit it with 30 psi and let it sit. I am fortunate enough to have an extra regulator and tank so I will often consult the carbonation chart and do the carbonation at room temperature. That's usually somewhere around 70° and 30 psi. Just let it sit hooked up like that for a week or two. When you stick it in the kegerator, don't bleed it or hook up the CO2 until it is completely cooled and the carbonation should be very close to right.

Wayne

[funkenet]

So how did it go? I just kegged my first beer last night. It was also my first time using starsan. How do you get all the starsan foam out of the keg before racking into the keg? I just did my best but there was still some foam. Will this be an issue?

Also, if the head space is pressuring up is it safe to assume there are no leaks?

I'm just going to figure out the right pressure and let it sit until it is carbonated. Does anyone know how long this will take?

[ajdelange]

You can get CO2 dissolved in beer pretty quickly by shaking under pressure but to get the gas to "meld" with the beer takes weeks. By "meld" I mean bond in such a way that tiny bubbles and a tight, meringue like head are formed. If I had a better word than "meld" or any clue as to what the physics involved here might be I would tell you but I don't. Maybe it's all my immagination.

[HighCountry]

How do you get all the starsan foam out of the keg before racking into the keg? I just did my best but there was still some foam. Will this be an issue?

Also, if the head space is pressuring up is it safe to assume there are no leaks?

I'm just going to figure out the right pressure and let it sit until it is carbonated. Does anyone know how long this will take?

Don't worry about the StarSan. It breaks down into yeast nutrients. In that amount, there's nothing to worry about.

If the head space pressure is holding, you can be sure you don't have a BIG leak. But there's a small chance you could have a small leak. But it's most likely fine.

I agree with AJ. (I could say that all day, probably, and always be right.) I try not to think about the final step as 'carbonation'. It's better to refer to it as 'conditioning'. There's something else here going on besides dissolving CO2 into solution. The beer flavors integrate with the right amount of time. The CO2 bubbles reduce in size, increasing the surface area of the beer and bringing out additional aromatics and flavor. The head tightens and everything comes together. So the answer to the question is that it probably takes longer than you want to wait.