Carbonating And Serving Beer From Kegs

Draught beer is the dream of many home brewers who aim to serve their beer as it is done in pubs.  Systems have been developed using soda stream carbonators and bulbs, however these fall far short of the mark.  The best and easiest system to use is one using 18 or 20 litre stainless steel kegs.  This sheet outlines a basic procedure to follow for carbonating and serving beer from post-mix soft drink kegs.

Cleaning, Filling and Carbonating

1 Sterilise your keg by filling it with the same type of sterilising mix you use to sterilise your beer fermenter.  We use and recommend BREWCHLOR.  Into this place the tubing you will be using to fill the keg.  Replace the lid and allow the keg to sit for 20 to 30 minutes.  Do not leave Brewchlor or other bleach based sterilisers in contact with your keg for any longer than this time.

2 Drain the keg, and rinse it and the tubing thoroughly.

3 Purge the keg of all its air by sealing the lid and connecting the gas line from the gas cylinder, to the gas inlet on the keg.  Turn the gas bottle on and set the pressure to 100 kPa (15Psi).  Allow the gas to flow for 30 seconds and then vent the keg by opening the safety valve to release all the pressure.  Do this three times, to ensure that all the air is removed from the keg before filling.  This is done to lower the risk of the beer becoming oxidised which will affect its flavour.

4 Release all the pressure via the valve and open the lid of the keg.  Don't be worried that the gas will escape as enough will remain due to it being heavier than air.

5 Fill the keg from your fermenter using food grade tubing, taking care not to splash the beer, as this may also cause oxidation.  Fill to within 50 - 75mm of the top of the keg.  Replace the lid on the keg. 

6 Connect the gas line to the gas valve on the keg and blow out any remaining air that still may be in the keg.  Do this by venting the air/gas through the safety valve as you did when you purged the keg in Step 4.  Close the safety valve and pressurise the keg for 10 seconds.

7 Chill your keg  in the fridge to 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.  This will normally take overnight.  The reason the keg is chilled is to allow the gas that is to be added to the beer to be more easily dissolved.
 

8 Connect the black liquid disconnect disconnect to the gas line from the bottle.  Turn on the gas and make sure the gauge is still set to 100 kPa.  Connect this disconnect to the liquid valve on the keg (the only valve that will take the liquid disconnect).  Leaving this connected, you can then dissolve the gas a lot faster by rocking the keg backwards and forwards.  This forces the gas to dissolve into the beer.  Rock the keg up to 100 times. 

9 Allow the keg to sit in the fridge for 24 hours and repeat this process.  This will allow plenty of time for the first lot of gas to dissolve into the beer.

10 Repeat Steps 8 and 9 over the course of three to four days.  Don't be concerned about over gassing the beer as the pressure set on the gauge will ensure this doesn't occur.
 

Dispensing The Beer

The easiest way to dispense the beer from the keg is to firstly turn on the gas  and make sure the gauge is set to 100 Kpa.  Then connect the gas line, with a white gas disconnect attached, to the gas valve on the keg.  This is how the pubs dispense their draught beer.  This pressure will ensure a smooth easy pour and no carbonation will be lost.  It is extremely important to note that the beer line should be 4mm diameter and 2.4 meters long or 3.3 meters long with 5 mm line.

Apart from smooth pouring and uniform carbonation this method also means no more adjusting your regulator as you will be both carbonating and pouring at the same pressure.

So there you have it.  Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.