Barrel Priming

[kane]

Hey guys,
I usually bottle my brews, but tody i thought i would have a change and give kegging a try.
I've got a budget barrel and the small co2 cartridges for now.

It seems people generally prime the kegs/barrels and then top up with co2 as and when required for dispensing.

This might seem like a stupid question, but Is there any other purpose to conditioning in this way apart from saving the co2?

Wouldnt it be quicker to 'prime' with a burst of co2 when the keg is first filled and let this be absorbed, then top up again like when trying to force carbonate? Or is there some reason the low pressure wont allow it?
I guess there wouldnt be much maturation time either.

Cheers,
kane

[eclipse]

I use casks so i am no expert on kegs however I was readying a post on here yesterday and someone has the same question. The response was generally that you dont need to do a second fermentation in the keg, just charge with co2 - I could be wrong though

[darkonnis]

Which keg you using?
I just got some easy kegs, (5L with built in tap) and the general consensus from the other thread was about 10g or sugar in each keg to prime it.
I'm also fairly certain it says in John Palmers brew-grail that you can't call something draught if it comes out of a bottle, and that a keg provides ideal conditions, (dark, sunlight proof & cool).
Atleast thats IIRC, please someone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

[Wezzel]

This is my routine:

I add a maximum of 50g of dextrose when kegging, disolved in a little of the brew, stirring the brew very gently when adding so as not to introduce air. I did try 75g but found that keg pressure got too high within a couple of weeks.

After adding beer to the keg and screwing the lid down firmly I give it a very brief blast of CO2, wait for a few minutes to check for leaks and then gently release most of the pressure by pressing the release valve. This should bleed out the unwanted air that will have risen to the top.

I then leave somewhere at room temperature for about a week before moving to a colder environment for conditioning. It's worth opening the tap and drawing off a small amount at this stage just to make sure that you still have pressure.

Like several others on this forum, I have added a car tyre valve to the cap of my barrels so that I can keep a check on the pressure with a cheap digital tyre gauge. This way I can make sure that the pressure doesn't get too high as the pressure relief valves on these kegs are not terribly reliable. The kegs are normally rated at 10psi but I recently checked mine and it was 14psi.

[kane]

Thanks eclipse, i'll have a look, i should have searched before posting (i hate it when people don't do that haha).

Thanks wezzel and darkonnis for your replies also, however i had already primed it, i just wondered why people seem to prime when they use extra CO2 for dispensing...

Cheers,
Kane

[darkonnis]

Alot of people prefer the beer to work under its own steam and get natural carbonation and fizz, then just use the CO2 to "assist" it out of the keg.... or is that not what you asked? I go straight from the FV into the keg myself!