This video is in two sections, in the first we discussed how to clean Sanke kegs and readying them for filling. In this second section, we discuss how to how to fill them. We are using Sanke D kegs (which are the most common commercial kegs throughout North America) but the principles are the same for other commercial and homebrew kegs.

How to fill Sanke beer kegs

This video is in two sections, in the first we discuss how to clean Sanke kegs and readying them for filling, and in the second section we show how to fill them. We are using Sanke D kegs (which are the most common commercial kegs throughout North America) but the principles are the same for other commercial and homebrew kegs.

Chapters:
Filling kegs
10:12 Sanitize Keg Racking Hose and fermenter port
10:30 Flush out racking arm
10:55 Connect coupler to keg
10:59 Connect gas to fermenter
11:47 Place keg on scale and fill (keep some gas space at the top)
12:40 Remove coupler
13:00 Rinse and sanitize keg spear
13:11 Cap keg for storage

Equipment used in this video:

BREWHA Manual Keg Washer product page
BIAC complete microbrewery system product page

To fill Sanke kegs, follow these steps:

1. Sanitize the keg racking hose and fermenter port Clean and sanitize the Keg Racking Hose and ensure that the racking port on the fermenter is clean/sanitized. Sticking a pot of boiling water over the fermenter racking valve for two minutes can heat sanitize the valve, and then spray the valve out with Star San or other sanitizer.
	2. Flush out the racking arm Close both shutoffs (liquid and gas) on the coupler and connect the Fermenter to Keg Racking Hose to the fermenter. Then open the fermenter valve, and temporarily open the liquid shutoff on the coupler to empty about 0.5L/L or quart into a pot to flush yeast/sediment out of the racking arm. (To send liquid 'backward' through the coupler, the check ball and gas check need to be removed.
3. Connect a Sanke coupler to the keg Connect the coupler to a sanitized keg ready to be filled.
	4. Connect gas to the fermenter Ensure that CO2 is connected to the 4-in-1 fermenter to maintain pressure in the fermenter (about 12psi is recommended). Then open the liquid shut off valve on the coupler and start filling the keg. The gas release valve on the coupler will need to be cracked to allow CO2 to escape, otherwise the keg will not fill. Don't open it fully and empty all the gas, or the beer will start to foam inside the keg and make filling more difficult. It is best to control the beer filling speed by partially closing the gas release shutoff on the coupler (beer should be able to enter faster than gas can escape so that the pressure of 12psi is maintained in the keg).
5. Place the empty keg on a scale and fill the keg The keg should either be on a scale to fill by weight (which is what we are doing in this video; 1L of beer weighs very close to 1kg so a 59L keg, will weigh 59kg plus the tare (empty) weight of the keg and filling apparatus.), or leaned against something solid while filling so that there is a pocket of gas at the top of the keg that won't fill with beer (as the keg fills, gas will be trapped in the space above the neck of the spear). This ensures that there is a small amount of space that remains in the keg that can absorb pressure changes. If a keg is filled right to the brim, and the beer warms up, pressure will rise rapidly in the keg, and very likely the keg will leak beer. (Gas compresses much more than liquid, so with the gas space in the keg, pressure won't change very much when the keg experiences some temperature fluctuation.)
	6. Remove the keg coupler When the keg is full (by weight or the beer starts to spray out the partially closed gas shutoff valve--a hose can be connected to direct the beer into a bucket), the keg is full. Close the gas shutoff valve on the coupler, close the liquid shutoff valve on the coupler, and disconnect the coupler from the keg and move to the next keg. Once the kegs are filled, they can be topped up with CO2 (same method as discussed for purging the kegs as mentioned earlier) but if the beer is carbonated and cold and pressure was maintained in the keg when filling (by note releasing pressure too quickly) there shouldn't be any need.
7. Rinse and sanitize the keg spear The top of the keg spear should be rinsed off with hot water to remove residual beer (that microbes would love to grow in!) and then spray sanitized (with Star San or similar sanitizer).
	8. Cap the keg for storage And finally, the keg can be capped for storage (standard 2" TC caps work pretty well or keg caps can be purchased from keg suppliers).

And that's it—beer is ready to be served!