After you have cleaned and sanitized your homebrew keg, you are now ready to put your own beer in it. These instructions below will show you how to fill a keg with homebrew beer. It will guide you step-by-step through the process of moving beer from your fermenter into a Cornelius style keg.
I’ll admit that the first time I used a homebrew keg system I was a little nervous. Something about all that pressurized CO₂ gas made me feel uneasy. But it’s not as complicated as you might think. The main things to look out for are A) safety, and B) leaks. Any time you open the keg, vent it first through the pressure relief make sure the keg is not under any pressure. Whenever you are preparing to fill your keg and after you’ve filled it, check for leaks. CO₂ can be costly. I’ll walk you through how to check for leaks in the instructions below.
Even though there are some mandatory steps you must take, the benefits of using a kegging system heavily outweigh any regiment you must endure.
Without further ado, how to fill a keg with homebrew!

1. After you have cleaned and sanitized your homebrew keg, reassemble it. To review how to clean and sanitize your a keg, visit our how-to instructions for cleaning and sanitizing your homebrew keg.

2. Attach your CO₂ tank and regulator to the keg by connecting the gas quick disconnect to the gas-in post.

3. Use a sponge and soapy water to test for leaks by dabbing the sponge around all the CO₂ connections, posts, and lid.

4. Set the regulator pressure to a low setting, about 5-8 psi, and then open the regulator valve. Any leaks should produce bubbles where you dabbed the soapy water. If needed, tighten connections, replace o-rings, or use Teflon tape to ensure a tight seal. Keg lubricant can also be used around o-rings for a better seal.

5. Vent the keg through the pressure relief valve 3-5 times to expunge air from the keg. A 100% CO₂ environment will improve the “shelf life” of your homebrew.

6. Turn the valve on your regulator into the “off” position and vent all pressure from the keg. Double-check that you vented the keg completely.

7. Remove the lid. Since CO₂ is heavier than air, your keg should still be full of CO₂.

8. Using a sanitized siphon, transfer your homebrew into the keg. I highly recommend an auto-siphon if you don’t have one already. This will help you to get the siphon started without a lot of commotion.

9. Replace the lid by pulling vertically on the lid and holding it in place, and then apply CO₂ pressure. The CO₂ pressure will push the lid into a good fit. Now clamp the lid into place.

10. Switch your regulator to the “on” position and apply 5-10 psi of CO₂ to the keg.

1. Your homebrew is now ready to be carbonated! There is more than one way to go about carbonating a keg beer. Force carbonation is the most common method, but you can also carbonate a beer in a keg by conditioning. Here’s some information on how to carbonate your homebrew in a keg.

And that’s how how to fill a keg with homebrew. Do you keg your homebrew? What tips do you have to share about filling your homebrew keg?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

The last thing you want after waiting several weeks for your homebrew to ferment is to spoil your beer by putting it in a dirty corny keg. The easiest and most efficient way to clean your keg is with a Keg and Carboy Washer, which will spray the inside of your keg or carboy with a jet of cleaner or sanitizer solution. It’s an easy first-step to cleaning corny kegs.
For those of you without the Keg and Carboy Washer, read the steps below for cleaning and sanitizing your keg.
*Note: Whenever you finish off a keg of beer, rinse the corny keg well with hot water and soak in a brewing cleanser bath for up to 24 hours. This will make cleaning and sanitizing your keg much easier when it comes time to use it again.

How-To Instructions For Cleaning Corny Keg

1. Vent pressure from the keg by pulling up on the pressure release valve on top of the keg. This is a safety precaution – don’t skip this step!

2. Remove the lid from the corny keg by pulling up on the handle that holds the lid onto the keg. If needed, give it a 90º turn to remove it. Set the lid aside in a cleanser bath.

3. Using a socket wrench or crescent wrench, remove the connect posts from the corny keg. Be careful not to strip the screws. Also, take care not to lose the poppets valves. These are the spring mechanisms inside the posts. Place these parts in the cleanser bath, as well.

4. Remove the dip tubes by pulling from the topside of the keg. There is a long one for beer and a short one for gas. Set the long one inside the keg (through the lid) and the short one in the cleanser bath.

5. Inspect your corny keg O-rings (there are 5 total: 1 for the lid, 2 for the posts, 2 for the dip tubes). Clean them with a damp cloth or replace them if needed.

6. Using a damp cloth, clean all keg parts. A line brush can be helpful for getting inside the dip tubes.

7. Rinse and dry all parts according to the directions on your cleanser of choice.

If this is a used corny keg and it’s the first time you are using it, then these steps are a must. You should get in the habit of cleaning corny kegs inside and out before using it for the first time.

How-To Instructions For Sanitizing A Corny Keg:
Repeat all steps using your sanitizer of choice (Iodophor or Star San). When finished, reassemble your keg. Be sure to put the right dip tube with the right post. Check for leaks by applying soapy water to each of the posts, around the lid, and to all connections on your CO₂ setup. Hook up the gas disconnect to the gas-in post, turn on gas at the tank, then turn on gas at the regulator. 10 psi should be ample pressure to check for leak, which will be indicated by bubbles at the various connections. You may need to tighten the connection or replace the O-ring.
There’s more than one way to go about cleaning corny kegs – how do you clean and sanitize yours? Any tips, tricks or secrets you’d like to share? Here’s some more of our kegging tips.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.