Bulk Priming in the keg

[gibbocore]

Hey guy's, my coopers sparkling is nearly ready for racking and iw as considering bulk priming in the keg this time round rather than forced carb as i have a ful keg of another beer still and there's no real rush, i was wondering how this is done?

[lethaldog]

Basically the same as bulk priming just calculate the grams of sugar you need for the size keg that your using, mix it with about 250-300 ml of boiling water from the kettle, put the sollution in the keg and rack onto it..

For eg.

18 litres of beer at 2.7 volumes co2 sitting at 20*C will need 133 gms of dextrose or 126 gms of white sugar ( go with dex cos its better)

Have a play with this calc, its pretty handy
http://www.geocities.com/lesjudith/AlcoholChart/PrimingCalculator.html

[Hashie]

18 litres of beer at 2.7 volumes co2 sitting at 20*C will need 133 gms of dextrose or 126 gms of white sugar ( go with dex cos its better)

Don't know how your kegs are gassed lethal, but mine are primed with only 75 grams sugar. Any more and it is way over carbonated. May as well make ice cream if you are to use 126 grams.

[lethaldog]

Mine are gassed with Co2 the way i think a keg should be

Check out the calculator, im just the middle man and ive used the calculator for just about every batch ive ever put into bottles and they have all been spot on, the amount of priming sugar your talking bout is less than most put in stouts, which is fine if you like it that way

[gibbocore]

so do i do this in the keg? or do i do it in the secondary?

[lethaldog]

I have never naturally carbed but if i did i would brew, rack to a second after 1-2 weeks and leave for another week or 2, then rack onto sollution in the keg and leave it sit at room temp for a couple of weeksor more like bottles, im not sure if this is exactly correct but at a guess its what i would do

[OldBugman]

I'm sure Ive read you use alot less sugar in a keg

[lethaldog]

I'm sure Ive read you use alot less sugar in a keg

I cant understand why but i could be wrong, i would imagine that stored at the same temp as bottles and calculated then by rights it should be the same shouldnt it, like i said ive never done it but logically we bulk prime so we can put into different size containers and still have consistent priming ( as well as ease) so why isnt a keg just simply a bigger container?

I think ill be sticking with the gas

[Hashie]

I cant understand why but i could be wrong, i would imagine that stored at the same temp as bottles and calculated then by rights it should be the same shouldnt it, like i said ive never done it but logically we bulk prime so we can put into different size containers and still have consistent priming ( as well as ease) so why isnt a keg just simply a bigger container?

I think ill be sticking with the gas

http://www.coopers.com.au/homebrew/hbrew.php?pid=4

Natural Conditioning

1. Clean and sanitise the keg thoroughly.
2. Prime with sugar at the rate of 4g per litre.
3. Rack via a piece of sanitised, flexible tubing so that the beer runs to the bottom of the keg. Leave 5- 10 cm of headspace at the top.
4. Seal the keg and purge the headspace with CO2 then give it a shake.
5. Maintain brewing temperature for a week, then allow the beer to condition for at least several weeks.
6. Refrigerate for a week then pressurise at required pouring pressure 35-100 kPa, depending on your system. (Fifty litre kegs through a temprite or miracle box may require up to 300 kPa).

I wasn't trying to have a go at you lethal, just posting my own experience.

EDIT, added link.

[lethaldog]

I have just checked out the beersmith and it seems i was actually wrong ( if you can believe that ) smithy says that it is alot less than bottling and it would seem that even hashie is up the higher end of carbonation, smithy reckons about 55 grams

It doesnt seem logical to me but im sure there is a reason for it, anyone care to explain?

[Hashie]

Can't explain, but I know it works

[lethaldog]

I cant understand why but i could be wrong, i would imagine that stored at the same temp as bottles and calculated then by rights it should be the same shouldnt it, like i said ive never done it but logically we bulk prime so we can put into different size containers and still have consistent priming ( as well as ease) so why isnt a keg just simply a bigger container?

I think ill be sticking with the gas

http://www.coopers.com.au/homebrew/hbrew.php?pid=4

Natural Conditioning

1. Clean and sanitise the keg thoroughly.
2. Prime with sugar at the rate of 4g per litre.
3. Rack via a piece of sanitised, flexible tubing so that the beer runs to the bottom of the keg. Leave 5-10 cm of headspace at the top.
4. Seal the keg and purge the headspace with CO2 then give it a shake.
5. Maintain brewing temperature for a week, then allow the beer to condition for at least several weeks.
6. Refrigerate for a week then pressurise at required pouring pressure 35-100 kPa, depending on your system. (Fifty litre kegs through a temprite or miracle box may require up to 300 kPa).

I wasn't trying to have a go at you lethal, just posting my own experience.

EDIT, added link.

Your right mate, thats the beauty of a forum and i dont mind admitting when i am wrong( actually i hate it alot ) im just glad i wasnt the only one who gave advice cos the poor bugger could have blown the shed up

From now on my keg advice is to use gas

[Hashie]

You're one up on John Howard and the Fonz. Neither of those 2 can admit they are wrong

[lethaldog]

We all know though

They are just plain wrong in general

[gibbocore]

cheers guy's, just got back from the home bew shop, he reckons to not bother with keg priming and i don't like the odea of having a keg out of commision for 4-5 weeks.

[lethaldog]

If you dont have the room in the fridge or something then you can just fill and burp it with some CO2 and let it sit till you have room, as long as its sealed properly

[Tipsy]

It doesnt seem logical to me but im sure there is a reason for it, anyone care to explain?

Would it be because you also have co2 for pouring?

[lethaldog]

Possibly, not sure though, i didnt think of that

[Rysa]

Was chatting to the homebrew king of where i work (everyone says his is better than the pub) and he never bulk primes. Well, actually never primes at all just brews then kegs. Could possibly be better with racking but he has never bothered with it and has great results.

[Trough Lolly]

cheers guy's, just got back from the home bew shop, he reckons to not bother with keg priming and i don't like the odea of having a keg out of commision for 4-5 weeks.

I'm surprised your HBS bloke was talking himself out of selling you some sugar! Keg priming is a good way to extend the life of your CO2 supplies - using sugar to carbonate and CO2 to pour the keg will make a bottle of CO2 last quite a long time. Some brewers also like to use natural carbonation to balance out a beer that may be a bit too thin for their liking - for example, you might prefer to naturally carbonate your Imperial Stout with some dark malt extract rather than dextrose or sucrose...

...And as long as your PRV is in working order, you shouldn't be able to blow your keg and brewshed up anyway!

Cheers,
TL
Edit: sp.