Keg Force Carbing Methods Illustrated - Page 21

**Jubilee** · 09-27-2010, 05:26 PM

This has been a fantastic thread....thanks to the OP and other contributors!

Please correct me if I'm wrong here (for the non-shaking method):

1) Cool the purged/filled keg to serving temp.
2) Set at 30psi for a couple days.
3) Vent, set at recommended chart temp.
4) Wait a week or two, drink beer.
5) Start with approx 10' keg-to-tap line (adjust if necessary) to get desired beer:foam ratio.

One slightly off-topic question: exactly how would one dry hop in a Corney keg?

Thanks again!

**Brewer3401** · 09-27-2010, 05:44 PM

I dry hop in the brite tank, or secondary fermenter.

If you don't do that, I would put the hops in a hop bag so it does not clog up your lines.

**Jubilee** · 09-27-2010, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewer3401

I dry hop in the brite tank, or secondary fermenter.

If you don't do that, I would put the hops in a hop bag so it does not clog up your lines.

Thanks for the reply.

That's what Mac and Jack's does with their African Amber...they attach a bag of hops to the stopper on the side of their kegs.

phatuna · 09-30-2010, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewer3401

I dry hop in the brite tank, or secondary fermenter.

If you don't do that, I would put the hops in a hop bag so it does not clog up your lines.

thanks all, great thread bobby

Brewer, you put the hops in a hop bag, then just leave them in the keg for as long as it takes to finish the keg?

or, do you dry hop while carbing, wait a week or so, then purge, open keg, fish out hop bag, close keg, presurize and finally serve?

**Bobby_M** · 09-30-2010, 01:23 PM

If I'm dryhopping in a relative session beer like an American Pale, I'll put whole hops in a nylon bag with some large stainless ball bearings and just drop it in until it's done serving. If it's a bigger beer like a barleywine or an IIPA that may stick around a bit longer, I'll close the bag by twisting the end of a 23" long piece of stainless wire. The bag goes to the bottom and the wire just gets tucked under the top of the keg so that I can fish it out in 2 weeks. In this case, I leave the keg warm and delay carbonation until I fish it out.

phatuna · 09-30-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

If I'm dryhopping in a relative session beer like an American Pale, I'll put whole hops in a nylon bag with some large stainless ball bearings and just drop it in until it's done serving. If it's a bigger beer like a barleywine or an IIPA that may stick around a bit longer, I'll close the bag by twisting the end of a 23" long piece of stainless wire. The bag goes to the bottom and the wire just gets tucked under the top of the keg so that I can fish it out in 2 weeks. In this case, I leave the keg warm and delay carbonation until I fish it out.

Icewalker · 10-09-2010, 07:33 PM

I hope this is the right place to pose this one. If not my apologies in advance.

This is another one of those ..... "Have I ruined my beer?" Questions. Three weeks ago I tried my brew for the first time and it was awful .... a very foamy ... but flat ESB.

I did a force carbonation (also lacked the power of reading and initially kegged with priming sugar as well)

So after much reading and looking at everyone's 'kegging guide' I decided that my beer was probably beyond salvage.

Unfortunately business got in the way of cleaning up the keg, emptying the beer etc.

Fast forward to today .... I went to bleed the keg before dismantling it .... hold up? There's an awful lot of pressure in there?

So me being the adventurous type (read fool hardy and suffering from the flu) ... I poured out a glass .... hmmmm it doesn't taste bad at all??? So I connect up the CO2 and pour out some more. Still a wee bit foamy but now at least I can actually see the beer without having to wait for the foam to dissipate.

So the question I have for the learned beersmiths out there ..... Is my beer ok to drink? It's been sitting in a New England garage for 3 weeks not connected up to the gas and not really refrigerated.

Thanks in advance

jaobrien6 · 10-09-2010, 08:58 PM

Your beer is 100% absolutely OK to drink.

Icewalker · 10-09-2010, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaobrien6

Your beer is 100% absolutely OK to drink.

Thanks .... 5th pint in and no ill effects to report. One thing I have noticed is that the beer now is less carbonated (almost to the point of being flat)? Yet there is plenty of foam

**Brewer3401** · 10-11-2010, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icewalker

Thanks .... 5th pint in and no ill effects to report. One thing I have noticed is that the beer now is less carbonated (almost to the point of being flat)? Yet there is plenty of foam

Carbonation is not the only thing that has an influence on head and head retention.

Also, try pressuring up on your cold beer and see what psi reading you get when you hear gas going into the keg (at 35F, you should not hear any gas until you get over around 12 psi - for a middle range carbonation)

You may have an O-ring leak, or some other type of leak.

Are you leaving your pressure at dispensing pressure all of the time ?

When not dispensing, you have to bring the pressure back up to the level that you carbonated initially - around 12 psi or so.