First Keg

[bcmaui]

OK - have a cleaned used keg with brand new gaskets. Filled it with Star-San. Not set up to transfer under pressure yet (or don't even know if that is possible from a carboy) so will sterile siphon to freshly drained keg. Well - maybe tommorrow - looks like I need to purchase some 1/2" ID tubing to attach to the sterile siphon.

My gravity reading tonight is 1.018 after 19 days at 68F and the OG was 1.066 (I was 2/3 of gallon short on my initial water so overshot the recipe target OG of 1.061) . Recipe (B3's Mike's American Amber) does not indicate what final gravity should be targeted at. Does not taste sweet.

After transfer just leave this in the keg for another few weeks at 68 to condition without CO2? Or should I let it hang out in the carboy more and see if it drops to the lower teens?

[straight cash homey]

you should drink that. you are unbelievably patient. 19 days is great for the primary, 14 days would probably been enough, but nothing wrong with another week or two. at this point, crash cool it if you want, or dont, and transfer to the keg. chill to serve temp and set psi to 25 for two days then turn down to 10-11 for about 5-6 days. drink. your beer is ready, you shouldn't need more conditioning. my 0.02c.

[Mylo]

19 days should be well enough to ferment and condition. 1.018 is not a great FG for an amber - but it is close. 1.010 – 1.015 is the range. You might try raising the temp up to 73 or so for another few days, and maybe rocking or swirling the carboy a little bit to rouse the yeast. Did you do an appropriate size starter? How about the oxygen. Maybe next time - a bit bigger on the starter. You should be fine, though. Don't worry.

You now have two choices for carbonation. You can keg condition (at room temp) by making up a sterile corn sugar solution and racking on top of it. There are a few online calculators for determining the right amount of sugar. Problem is that the first pint will be all yeast. Or, you can force carb it. If you decide the latter, I would crash it down to serving temp in the carboy - then rack. Remember when the beer cools, the pressure inside will drop (and suck the airlock liquid into the beer). Whenever I cool, I revert to sanitized aluminum foil. Then it is just temperature and pressure. For an amber, I would say about 2.4 volumes is good. The online tools will probably have a tool for force carbing too. It will be around 12 PSI at 40 degrees. You can just set it for 12 and wait the week or so, or you can shake it. I do a hybrid. I shake it for a bit at a higher pressure, then slowly move it down - making sure by the end I can still hear gas going in around 12. Then it's ready in a day or two.

As far as a good racking method to a keg: Fill your keg up completely with starsan (5 gal), purge the headspace, and put it on a bathroom scale to determine the 'full weight'. Shake it up a bit, then push it all out with CO2. Then hook up a liquid disconnect to your racking hose on your sterile siphon. Bleed off all the pressure and twist your pressure relief valve to stay open. Then (and only then ), hook up your disconnect and start your sterile siphon. Stop the flow by closing the PRV, and lifting the siphon out of the beer. Purge the headspace of the fresh keg. Spray some starsan on the posts. Then start your carbing method of choice.


Mylo


Mylo

[bcmaui]

19 days should be well enough to ferment and condition. 1.018 is not a great FG for an amber - but it is close. 1.010 – 1.015 is the range. You might try raising the temp up to 73 or so for another few days, and maybe rocking or swirling the carboy a little bit to rouse the yeast. Did you do an appropriate size starter? How about the oxygen. Maybe next time - a bit bigger on the starter. You should be fine, though. Don't worry.

Mylo

No starter, but used two vials of yeast. Did 3 separate blasts of pure oxygen in the first 12 hours before any noticable activity. Have not touched the carboy for the 19 days, but will rouse now! Even if your starting gravity is higher than expected (with my too little water screw up), you should reach the lower levels? It seems like 1.010-1.015 is highest most recipes shoot for, and I guess it makes sense, I have the same amount of sugar, but might have worked the yeast with the stronger than expected wort.

Am getting set up to make starters as I know it is critical, but need to make clean area to have it happen with temp control.

Just pulled the blowoff tube out of my second carboy and the rubber plug with the 3 piece airgap doesn't stick as tightly as the first one. Too much star san left on the rubber? Ok to wipe it off or is that containimation? I can try to push it down tighter tomorrow as it dries off. It is bubbling through the airlock, but not as snug as the other one.

Thanks for all the other feedback as well. BN Army rocks!

[bcmaui]

Read many references to sanitized alumimum foil. You just drop some foil in boiling water and store it in a baggy? Or straight out of clean package?

And I will try the force carb method above. The only other person I know here that brews uses bottles, so the BN is my club for learning the tricks of kegging. I am bypassing bottling completely at this time. He even was with me during my second brew and asked why I did things a certain way and passed on the knowledge I learned here to him.

[Henning1966]

right out of clean package is good

[Sent From My iPhone]

A spray bottle of Star San is handy to have around too.

[Mylo]

I am bypassing bottling completely at this time.

You are a better man for it... (see my signature)

He even was with me during my second brew and asked why I did things a certain way and passed on the knowledge I learned here to him.

I hope you told him that in order to brew award winning beer, you must be pantless....

And as far as your apparent attenuation is concerned - you are at 72% right now (66-18/66). Certainly not shabby. You didn't mention yeast strain, but I am assuming WLP001 which is usually up >= 75%. What temp did you mash at? Oh, and BTW - if you overshoot your OG in the future (and you have the headspace), you can top off with some sanitized water.

+1 a spray bottle of starsan is your friend....


Mylo