The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Kegging Your Beer

Kegging replaces washing, priming, filling and capping 60 bottles with cleaning one keg. This has been widely regarded as the single greatest advance in home brewing since someone first noticed that bread left in water does something interesting.

• DifficultyEasy, once it is set up
• Hands-on timeAbout an hour
• Ready in2–10 days
• You’ll needA keg, CO2, a regulator and fridge space

Why Anyone Would Do This #

Bottling is not a bad process. It is simply a process designed by people who have never had to wash 60 bottles on a Sunday afternoon while the cricket is on. Bottles must be cleaned, sanitised, primed, filled, capped and then left in a cupboard for two weeks, during which time they are guaranteed to be forgotten, knocked over or opened early by a brother-in-law.

A keg is one big bottle that you clean once, fill once, and carbonate with gas from a cylinder rather than with sugar and hope. The beer is clearer because there is no yeast sediment in every glass. It is ready days sooner. And you can pour exactly as much as you want, which is either a great convenience or a serious design flaw, depending on who you ask the following morning.

This guide covers getting beer into a keg and fizzy. Setting up the regulator and gas side has its own guide, because regulators are the sort of thing that deserve your full attention and a cold beer. And if you would rather start small, with a small PET keg and a SodaStream bottle instead of stainless and a big cylinder, see Kegging on a Budget.

What You Need #

You need five things: a keg, gas, a regulator, two disconnects and a way of getting beer out. Everything else is either optional or a spare O-ring, and you will eventually own a drawer full of spare O-rings regardless.

Job	Examples	Notes
The keg	Kegland 19L Corny Keg	Stainless and lasts forever. Holds about 19L, so a 23L brew leaves a few litres over. Bottle those, or keep them in a small Oxebar keg
The keg (budget)	Oxebar 20L Amber PET Keg, 8L Oxebar Keg, 4L PET Oxebar Keg	Light and cheap. You will still need fridge room, often with a shelf or two removed. Neoprene jackets keep them cold at a BBQ
Gas	2.6kg CO2 Gas Cylinder, 450g SodaStream Bottle, 74g CO2 Cartridge	2.6kg for a kegerator. SodaStream or cartridges for small kegs and portable setups
Regulator	MK 4 Regulator (Type 30 or Type 10), Mini 360 Core Actuator Regulator	See the regulator guide. On SodaStream gas, the Mini 360 is the one we recommend
Gas disconnect	Premium Ball Lock Disconnect Grey/Gas, or Duotight 8mm Disconnect – Gas	Grey (red on Duotight) goes on the gas post. Always
Liquid disconnect	Premium Ball Lock Disconnect Black/Liquid, or Duotight 8mm Disconnect – Liquid	Black (yellow on Duotight) goes on the beer post. Also always
Beer and gas line	EVA Barrier 5mm ID x 8mm OD	Pairs with Duotight fittings; cut cleanly with the Tube Cutter
Tap	NukaTap SS Punisher Edition, Nuka Tap Mini FC Disconnect Kit, Bronco Picnic Tap	The Mini FC kit has flow control, which turns a foamy pour into a well-behaved one
Cleaning	Sodium Percarbonate, StellarSan or HS No Rinse Sanitiser	Percarb to clean, sanitiser to sanitise. They are not the same job
Spares	Ball Lock Keg Seal Kit, Keg Lid O’Ring, Keg Post O’Ring	Buy these now, before you need them on a Saturday night

Other brands work the same way. If you're after one we don't carry, ask us.

The colour rule is the most important line in this guide: on standard ball lock disconnects, grey is gas and black is beer. Duotight decided to be different, so theirs are red for gas and yellow for beer. Whichever you have, the gas one goes on the gas post. Put a liquid disconnect on the gas post and you will learn several new words and one new floor-cleaning technique.

Which Keg Is Which? #

Not all kegs are created equal, and they are certainly not all created compatible. Before you buy a keg, second-hand or otherwise, check which kind it is.

Keg	Where you will meet it	What connects to it
Ball lock corny keg (the “Pepsi” keg)	The homebrew standard. Our Kegland 19L Corny Keg is ball lock	Ball lock disconnects (grey/black) or Duotight (red/yellow)
Pin lock corny keg (the “Coke” keg)	Older second-hand kegs. Usually shorter and fatter, with little pins on the posts	Pin lock disconnects only. Ball lock ones will not fit
Oxebar PET keg	Small, light homebrew kegs	A Tapping Head Kit gives it standard ball lock posts
Commercial keg, A-Type	Most beer from the big Australian breweries	An A-Type Keg Coupler
Commercial keg, D-Type	Many craft and imported beers	A D-Type Coupler
Commercial keg, S-Type	Many European beers	An S-Type Coupler

A coupler is what a pub uses instead of two disconnects. It clicks onto the single valve in the top of a commercial keg and handles gas in and beer out in one fitting. You only need one if you want to pour a commercial keg through your own gas and tap, say for a party. The coupler must match the keg, and the type is usually stamped on the valve. If in doubt, take a photo of the top of the keg and bring it in.

Buying a second-hand corny keg? Make sure it is ball lock. Pin lock parts are hard to find, and we stock ball lock.

Step 1: Clean, Then Sanitise #

A keg must be clean before it is sanitised, because sanitiser cannot kill bacteria hiding under a layer of last batch’s yeast. Sanitising a dirty keg is like vacuuming a room while the dog is still in it.

1. Rinse out any old beer and sediment with warm water.
2. Dissolve Sodium Percarbonate in warm water (follow the packet rate) and fill the keg part way. Seal it, give it a slosh, and leave it for 30 minutes or so.
3. Push the cleaning solution out through the liquid post and dip tube, so the bits you cannot see get cleaned too. Rinse well.
4. Every few batches, pull the posts and dip tube and check the O-rings. A cracked or flattened O-ring is the usual cause of a slow leak, and they cost less than a schooner.
5. Sanitise with a no-rinse sanitiser (we stock several). Slosh it around every inside surface, including the lid, then push some out through the dip tube. No rinsing needed. That is rather the point.

Foam from no-rinse sanitiser is harmless. Do not fear the foam. Fearing the foam leads to rinsing, and rinsing undoes the sanitising.

Step 2: Get the Beer In (Gently) #

Your beer is ready to keg when the gravity reads the same on 2 days in a row. Not when it looks ready. Not when the airlock stops bubbling. When the hydrometer says so. Kegging unfinished beer does not ruin it, but it does give it a head start on becoming a fire extinguisher.

The enemy at this stage is oxygen. Beer that meets too much air goes stale and tastes faintly of wet cardboard, a flavour nobody has ever requested on purpose.

1. If you can, cold crash the fermenter first (explained just below). It is optional, but your first few glasses will be much clearer.
2. Optional but clever: purge the empty, sanitised keg with a shot of CO2 first. CO2 is heavier than air, so it sits in the bottom and pushes the air out as beer goes in.
3. Run a sanitised hose from the fermenter tap to the bottom of the keg, so the beer fills from underneath without splashing. Splashing is for swimming pools, not beer.
4. Fill to just below the top of the gas dip tube. Leave a few centimetres of headspace for gas to do its work.
5. Leave the sediment behind. It has done its job and does not need to come along for the ride.

What on Earth Is Cold Crashing? #

Cold crashing means putting the whole fermenter in the fridge for two or three days before you keg. That is genuinely all it is. The name makes it sound like something involving a helmet and a stunt coordinator, but it is closer to putting leftovers away. Our clear beer guide has more on it, including finings.

Why it works: when fermentation finishes, millions of tired yeast cells and tiny haze particles are still floating around in the beer, like guests who have not noticed the party is over. Chill the beer right down and they clump together, get heavy, and sink to the bottom. Your beer goes from cloudy to clear, and the gunk stays in the fermenter instead of following the beer into your keg.

How to do it:

1. Wait until fermentation has properly finished (the same gravity reading on 2 days in a row). Crashing too early sends the yeast to sleep before it has finished its job.
2. Put the fermenter somewhere cold, ideally 0–4°C. A spare fridge works, or a fermenting fridge run by a temperature controller.
3. Leave it for 2–3 days. Longer is clearer, with diminishing returns.
4. Keg straight from the fridge, moving the fermenter gently so you do not stir the sediment back up.

One trap: as the beer cools, it shrinks slightly and can suck the liquid out of the airlock back into your beer. Swap the airlock for a piece of sanitised foil, or keep sanitiser rather than tap water in the airlock, so anything that does get sucked in is harmless.

No spare fridge? Skip it. The beer will still clear in the keg once it is cold; the first glass or two will just be cloudier. Nobody has ever been turned away from a barbecue for a slightly hazy first pour.

Step 3: Seal, Purge and Carbonate #

Carbonation is simply CO2 dissolving into cold beer under pressure. The colder the beer, the more gas it will take up, which is why every kegging problem eventually turns out to be a temperature problem in disguise.

Seal and purge #

1. Fit the lid and connect the gas (grey or red) disconnect.
2. Give it a firm blast, around 30 PSI, to push the lid up against its seal. A lid that is not seated will hiss at you, in the manner of an offended cat.
3. Pull the pressure relief valve for a second, then let it refill. Do this three or four times. Each pull vents the air sitting in the headspace and replaces it with CO2.
4. Spray the lid and posts with sanitiser or soapy water. Bubbles mean a leak. No bubbles mean you may proceed.

Then pick your carbonation method #

Method	How	Ready in	Best for
Set and forget	Keg in the fridge at 2–4°C, regulator at around 10–12 PSI, gas left connected	About 7–10 days	Anyone who owns patience. Hardest to get wrong
Burst carbonation	Keg cold, around 30 PSI for 24–36 hours, then vent and drop to serving pressure	2–3 days	Anyone whose guests arrive on Friday
Natural (spunding)	Fit an Integrated BlowTie Spunding Valve near the end of fermentation and let the yeast build the pressure	With fermentation	Pressure fermenting in an Oxebar or similar

Whatever you do, do not shake the keg to speed things up. It does work, and it also produces a beer that is either flat or a geyser, with very little warning about which.

After burst carbonating, pull the pressure relief valve to vent the keg before you turn the regulator down. Otherwise the keg is at a higher pressure than the gas line, and gas, or beer, can push back towards the regulator. A Duotight 8mm One Way Check Valve in the gas line stops that for good, and costs a lot less than a new regulator.

If in doubt, set and forget. It is the one method in this guide that rewards doing nothing, which is a rare and beautiful thing.

Exact PSI for your fridge: our keg carbonation calculator works it out from your beer temperature.

Step 4: Pour, and When It Goes Wrong #

Serve at around 8–12 PSI with the beer cold. Connect the liquid (black or yellow) disconnect, open the tap fully and quickly, and hold the glass at an angle. Half-opening a tap does not pour half a beer. It pours a full glass of foam, slowly.

The first glass or two may be cloudy. That is the sediment that settled around the bottom of the dip tube, and it clears quickly. Drink it, give it to the brother-in-law, or pour it on the garden as an offering.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
All foam	Beer too warm, pressure too high, or line too short	Check fridge temperature first. Then drop the pressure, or fit a flow control tap like the Nuka Tap Mini FC
Flat beer	Not enough time, or pressure too low	Give it more days at 10–12 PSI. Carbonation cannot be rushed by staring at it
Gas cylinder empty overnight	A leak	Soapy water on every joint, lid and post. Replace the suspect O-ring from your Ball Lock Keg Seal Kit
Lid hisses	Lid not seated	Pull it up firmly with 30 PSI, or lube and replace the Keg Lid O’Ring
Off flavours over time	Dirty lines or tap	Run Brewmaster Beer Line Cleaner through between kegs, or use the Gas Free Ball Lock Line Cleaning Kit

Nine times out of ten, the answer to a foamy pour is “the beer is warmer than you think”. The tenth time, it is also usually that.

Don’t Panic: The Short Version #

• Same gravity reading on 2 days in a row
• Keg cleaned with percarb, then sanitised (no rinse)
• Beer transferred from underneath, no splashing, sediment left behind
• Lid seated at 30 PSI, headspace purged 3–4 times, leak-checked
• Carbonating cold: 10–12 PSI for 7–10 days, or burst at 30 PSI for 24–36 hours
• Serving at 8–12 PSI, tap opened fully

If something goes wrong, bring the keg, the regulator or simply a description of the noise it is making into either of our shops at Nerang or Oxenford, or send us a photo and a message. We have heard most of the noises before.

Happy brewing, and may your first pour be more beer than foam.