kegged cider wont carbonate at 12PSI

Im new to kegging and have only used the "set and forget" approach. I kegged a cider 10 days ago at 12 psi and it just isnt carbonated. I confirmed that its under pressure and pours from the faucet just fine. It's just flat.

What gives? Will it ever carbonate?

GenIke said:

Im new to kegging and have only used the "set and forget" approach. I kegged a cider 10 days ago at 12 psi and it just isnt carbonated. I confirmed that its under pressure and pours from the faucet just fine. It's just flat.

What gives? Will it ever carbonate?

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If it's flat, then there is something wrong. Either it's not really flat, and something is impeding the appearance of carbonation (like a short serving line or an occluded diptube), or there is a leak. What is the temperature of the keg? If it's above 40 degrees, then it needs a higher pressure.

It's in my keezer next to two beers that are carbonated fine at ~38-40 degrees. All three kegs are hooked up to the same regulator and CO2 tank. Everything has 10' lines. I dont think there is a leak as I still have CO2 in the 5 lb tank and the beers are definitely carbed.

I'm not sure what occluded diptube means?

I think there is slight (very slight?) carbonation. It gets pushed out of the faucet fine.

give it time. with my ciders i've noticed they take long then beer. I had one that took about 2 1/2-3 weeks to fully carb.

Iceman2197 said:

give it time. with my ciders i've noticed they take long then beer. I had one that took about 2 1/2-3 weeks to fully carb.

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Did you just let it sit at serving PSI?

GenIke said:

Did you just let it sit at serving PSI?

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yes

GenIke said:

Im new to kegging and have only used the "set and forget" approach. I kegged a cider 10 days ago at 12 psi and it just isnt carbonated. I confirmed that its under pressure and pours from the faucet just fine. It's just flat.

What gives? Will it ever carbonate?

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Turn down the temp and or turn up the pressure.

highgravitybacon said:

Turn down the temp and or turn up the pressure.

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Exactly

oregonbrew541 said:

Exactly

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So turn my temps below 38 and turn my pressure higher than 12 PSI...? I'm not sure you guys read all my posts. If I do either I'm gonna mess up the two beers I have on tap.

An update: Still very little carbonation in my cider. The two beers are fine and have been fine. The cider gets pushed fine but just doesn't want to carb up. Is this maybe something similar to when I read about people having soda or root beer on tap but at much higher PSI?

You likely need a little more time or a little more pressure on the cider. That being said I'm sipping a graf right now that was set it and forget it at about 40 degrees for a week and I am comfortable with the carb lvl.

Spray down your keg with sanitizer and look for bubbles. A small leak around the lid can easily keep it from carbing up.

I usually let mine go two full weeks at 35º and 16psi and it comes out fine. I like mine really fizzy.

I have the exact same situation with the same results. My regulator is hooked up to a beer in one keg and cider in the other. The beer is just fine at 10 PSI but the cider has been there for a month and a half and is barely carbonated. I'm on my 3rd keg of beer vs one keg of cider (my wife drinks the cider and doesn't drink as fast as me). I'm just under the impression that ciders require a higher pressure.

Rockindaddy said:

I have the exact same situation with the same results. My regulator is hooked up to a beer in one keg and cider in the other. The beer is just fine at 10 PSI but the cider has been there for a month and a half and is barely carbonated. I'm on my 3rd keg of beer vs one keg of cider (my wife drinks the cider and doesn't drink as fast as me). I'm just under the impression that ciders require a higher pressure.

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I'm fighting the same issue. Beer on tap is perfectly carbed after about a week. The cider has little carb. I have a single regulator with a two way split. I'll shut off the beer line, and up the carb level on the cider to 35-40 and burst it for a few minutes. Then I'll reset it to see in level (15 as its a summer beer that needs some fizziness) and go about my day. It seems to be working. Iirc, my first cider did take longer to carb than my beer, almost 3-4 weeks to be perfect using a similar method.

If there's a better way, I'm all ears. My wife will be super happy if I can get her cider ready asap.

Pull cider keg and c02 tank out of keezer, hook regulator up to keg, turn regulator up to about 45 psi and open valve, roll and shake the hell out of the cider for a few minutes. Beverage is now carbed

Yooper said:

(like a short serving line or an occluded diptube),

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i've never kegged and i know nothing about it - are you saying the length of the line plays a part in how liquids carb up? how is this possible?

aellis said:

i've never kegged and i know nothing about it - are you saying the length of the line plays a part in how liquids carb up? how is this possible?

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It doesn't play a part in the carbing of the liquid. However, if your serving lines are too short it will cause a pressure difference as you want sufficient serving line length to provide enough resistance to the carbonated beverage to keep the co2 in solution. If your serving lines are too short the gas in the liquid will seek the lower pressure which will cause the gas to leave solution and you will wind up pouring a glass of foam instead of the carbonated beverage you were looking for.


Sent from somewhere to someone

If you are stil having this problem it may help to check out Craig on Craigtube. Has a kegging series where he shows how to quickly force carb a keg within 20 min. Check it out it may just help you out!

-Cheers

I am having a similar issue. I have kegged mine at 40F at 30 PSI then backed down to 12 PSI to serve. I am getting extreme foam on pouring but then the cider is left with almost no carbonation. My lines are only about 3 feet long so maybe that has something to do with it.

Is it possible to age in a corny keg? I have my co2 coming in this week for my kegging so I want to move my big batch of cider that's been in secondary for 2 weeks over to a keg to age. Is there any problems with that? Do I just put a few lbs on it and sit it somewhere with a constant temp for a few weeks?

acemannw said:

I am having a similar issue. I have kegged mine at 40F at 30 PSI then backed down to 12 PSI to serve. I am getting extreme foam on pouring but then the cider is left with almost no carbonation. My lines are only about 3 feet long so maybe that has something to do with it.

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Yes, at 40 degrees you probably need 10-12' of line to serve at 12 psi and if it was at 30 psi before that, it may need even more line. Generally, I've found that at fridge temps most moderately carbed beverages do best with 1 foot of beerline per psi.

-Fusion said:

Is it possible to age in a corny keg? I have my co2 coming in this week for my kegging so I want to move my big batch of cider that's been in secondary for 2 weeks over to a keg to age. Is there any problems with that? Do I just put a few lbs on it and sit it somewhere with a constant temp for a few weeks?

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Actually, a keg is the perfect aging vessel for everything. It's stainless, so it's impermeable to light and with a little positive pressure (c02), it's impermeable to oxygen.

Yooper said:

Yes, at 40 degrees you probably need 10-12' of line to serve at 12 psi and if it was at 30 psi before that, it may need even more line. Generally, I've found that at fridge temps most moderately carbed beverages do best with 1 foot of beerline per psi.




Actually, a keg is the perfect aging vessel for everything. It's stainless, so it's impermeable to light and with a little positive pressure (c02), it's impermeable to oxygen.

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Good! Do I just put it at 5psi or serving pressure to let it age?

-Fusion said:

Good! Do I just put it at 5psi or serving pressure to let it age?

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It doesn't matter- you can put the gas on it while it ages, or not. Whatever is most convenient for you. If you put the gas on it now, it will be carbed up when you're ready.

Yooper said:

It doesn't matter- you can put the gas on it while it ages, or not. Whatever is most convenient for you. If you put the gas on it now, it will be carbed up when you're ready.

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That would be nice..... Should I age at room temp or in the kegerator? from my understanding room temp will age quicker, is that correct? And should I just put it on 12 psi and age? This is all pretty new to me, I just got my leg equipment today and will get gas tomorrow.