SudsyGeraldine

Recipes 

I have a batch done and in the keg. I usually carbonate over a few days but don't have that luxury right now. My gut tells me to just turn up the pressure to about 50psi, lay the keg on its side and rock it back and forth for about 20 minutes. It also tells me that I could really over carbonate this way and screw up my beer. Im looking for confirmation of any better ideas. Your thoughts are appreciated.

AndrewD

Recipes 

35 psi. Get yourself a chair next to the fridge. Rock the keg for a few minutes in your lap. You can even do "curls" with it if you want to "workout". I like to check the beer every few minutes so I don't over carb, so I leave a picnic tap hooked up to the keg. Of course the samples will come out foamy but you can still get a decent picture of the carb level. I think I do it in about 10-15 minutes.

dbrewski

Recipes 

First off, this is risky as you've already stated, and if there is any trub or gunk in the keg it won't have time to settle. Having said that I have gotten the keg down to at least 40F in advance, and set the reg to 30 psi. Lay keg on lap and roll back and forth for 100-120 seconds! Not sure where 20 minutes came from, but maybe you are thinking room temp. CO2 dissolves much better in cold beer, chill it for six hours to get it cold first.

JRems

Recipes 

Look at the temp/co2 volumes chart. Then shake at the pressure that equals the amount of carbonation you want. You can't overcarb this way. Shake for a good 5 minutes. Let it set an hour then shake again. Let it sit a few hours before serving and it should be fine.

__________________

Aspenextreme

Recipes 

Been there due to poor planning. Good luck and hope it works out for you. Never again for me

SudsyGeraldine

Recipes 

Thanks for all the help folks. I ended up splitting the difference and rocked it for about five min at 32 PSI at just over 40 degrees. Cooler beer definitely accepts CO2 at a faster rate than warmer beer. I didn't let it sit long enough so I had a seriously tough time setting the regulator for dispensing. Had to give it little shots of gas and pour really slowly. If I find myself in the same situation again I will try jrem's method but give it at least half a day to sit.
BTW...the beer (schwarzbier) was actually fantastic and carbonated well.

2bluewagons

Recipes 

Next time you are in a hurry, try this. Once you can no longer hear the CO2 going in, you have reached the desired carb level. Also, you can set the regulator while disconnected from the keg. Once you connect it, the gauge may go up but the regulator setting has not. As you continue to pour and the headspace pressure comes down, the reg will add CO2 as needed to maintain the set pressure. Just make sure you connect to the gas in post, and a check valve is not a bad idea either.

jbsengineer

Recipes 

If I need to carb in a day I connect the gas line up to the OUT connection. Lay it on the ground. Turn the PSI to around 30 and rock it back and forth for no more than 1 minute. You can hear it absorb the CO2. Disconnect. Relieve the internal pressure (it gets messy, have some paper towels handy). Then put 10-12 PSI onto it. Work great! Ready the next day.

__________________
Electric Brewery Build

2bluewagons

Recipes 

I keep seeing this and this is even how the guy I bought my setup from recommended it be done. But I just don't get it. Sure, the gas connect will fit on the OUT post, but it's clunky and to me just doesn't seem like a good idea.

If you want to hear the CO2 bubbling into the beer, roll the keg just a few degrees either direction so that the gas in post is submerged. Much better to put on your knee and roll and rock back and forth.

And again, the high psi is just not necessary. If you are rolling and shaking anyways, the difference in time for the CO2 to be absorbed at 12-15 psi versus 30 psi is negligible.

Anyhoo, fairly noob kegger here but I keep seeing this and just wondering why it continues to be propagated since there is no science behind gas going in the dip tube being a better way to dissolve CO2 in beer. To each their own I suppose.

dbrewski

Recipes 

As a noob how many times have you successfully burst carbed like this? The combination of time and pressure level are an attempt to quantify a way to get a certain amount of CO2 onto solution in a very short time. Going from 30 down to 15 psi over a 100 second time frame is a huge difference. It is easy to way under or over carb beer this way, these details matter.