Hey, new to kegging... and homebrewing in general... and building kegerators so I'm going through a crash course here... wondering what the advantages and disadvantages to the 3 different versions of carbonation that I'm aware of... 1. dump some sugar in the keg to prime it... 2. force carbonate by rolling the keg on the floor with 40psi of co2 pumping into the keg... and 3. carbonate for a few days in the fridge at 10-30psi??/// help me out here haaa
Kegging - Prime or Force Carbonate
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BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
You'll get 10 different answers.
I don't like to use priming sugars as I seem to always taste it in my beer. Whether this is all in my head I don't know.
I like to set and forget. That seems to be the best way for me if I have the time. Set it to 12 psi and let it sit for 10-14 days. I will also set to a higher PSI and let it sit for about a week. Force carbing works ok but ideally one will have a solid pipeline and not have to carb beer overnight.
I don't like to use priming sugars as I seem to always taste it in my beer. Whether this is all in my head I don't know.
I like to set and forget. That seems to be the best way for me if I have the time. Set it to 12 psi and let it sit for 10-14 days. I will also set to a higher PSI and let it sit for about a week. Force carbing works ok but ideally one will have a solid pipeline and not have to carb beer overnight.
Docjowles
Well-Known Member
1. I don't think there is any advantage to naturally carbing kegs. To me it's error prone and another chance to get bacteria in your beer.
2. The only downside to force carbing is you can screw it up. If you leave the pressure on too high for too long your beer will come out as pure foam. You can fix it but you'll waste a bunch of beer. Once you get the hang of it it works fine.
3. This one is totally idiot proof but takes a couple weeks.
2. The only downside to force carbing is you can screw it up. If you leave the pressure on too high for too long your beer will come out as pure foam. You can fix it but you'll waste a bunch of beer. Once you get the hang of it it works fine.
3. This one is totally idiot proof but takes a couple weeks.
Agreed, except space can be an issue. I naturally carb dark beers when I don't have any more room for kegs in the fridge.
buzzkill
Well-Known Member
I count the week(or two) of set it and forget it to carb as conditioning time.
Just set it to the appropriate psi for your beer. Really just about any beer is good at 12 psi. 10 to 14 days to fully carbonate and settle. Since you're probably cold conditioning anyway, these take place simultaneously.
Docjowles
Well-Known Member
There are charts that tell you what to set your PSI to. A good safe number would be like, 10-12. Usually a recipe will say "carbonate to 2 (or whatever) volumes". You look at the chart and see what PSI it takes to reach 2 volumes at your fridge's temperature.
Just google beer carbonation chart.
Just google beer carbonation chart.
Nuggethead
Well-Known Member
10-14 days @ 12psi= good beer
21 days @ 12psi= better beer
30 days @ 12psi= really good clear beer
0-30 days of natural carbed and kegged beer=not as clear as it could be and for my taste, not as clean tasting as the above beers.
21 days @ 12psi= better beer
30 days @ 12psi= really good clear beer
0-30 days of natural carbed and kegged beer=not as clear as it could be and for my taste, not as clean tasting as the above beers.
Ace_Club
Well-Known Member
As the first replier mentioned, you will get lots of different answers on this one.
Personally, I like to prime with sugar (really no bacteria risk as, like with bottling, you are boiling the sugar in some water prior to adding to the keg). This allows me to free up fridge space by having the kegs carbonate and condition in a different location. I also have not had any issues with clarity.
Personally, I like to prime with sugar (really no bacteria risk as, like with bottling, you are boiling the sugar in some water prior to adding to the keg). This allows me to free up fridge space by having the kegs carbonate and condition in a different location. I also have not had any issues with clarity.
artguy
Well-Known Member
So, how does this work? Do you not even have to hook the naturally carbed keg up to the CO2 tank at all? (This is probably a dumb question, but I'm not yet kegging, just considering making the move, so I'm trying to picture the whole process).
Docjowles
Well-Known Member
Nope. CO2 stops going into the keg once it's the same PSI inside as you set the tank to.
Docjowles
Well-Known Member
Good luck! Kegging is awesome :rockin:
Ace_Club
Well-Known Member
Not dumb at all. I had to read to learn about it prior to kegging myself. To naturally carb a keg, you boil the priming sugar/water mixture and let cool. Then you add it to the keg, siphon the beer into the keg and seal it up. You then pressurize the keg to 30 psi. This adds enough pressure to ensure a nice tight seal on the keg. Then you stick the keg in a corner for a week or a month or for however long you need it to sit.
benharper13
Well-Known Member
Not trying to hijack this thread. But I tried naturally carbing my last beer after a week hooked it up to the co2 left it a few days and its not good yet so I'm wondering can I take it back out and put it in the closet a few more weeks? Will it still carb up?
Ace_Club
Well-Known Member
It should.
ultravista
Well-Known Member
So ... you can prime and push CO2 at the same time? What happens if you prime and push 10-12 PSI? I would like to add malt-extract instead of sugar to give a maltier taste.
mojotele
Well-Known Member
Well...you can. You won't get good results. Likely the priming sugar won't ferment since the yeast is too cold. So, after a week or so, you'll have carbonated beer that is slightly sweeter. If you were to take it out of the fridge you'll have over-carbonated beer in 1-3 weeks.
If you prime your keg, you do it just like you would your bottling bucket except you use about half the amount of sugar (there are calculators out there). Then you pressurize it to 30psi or so, take it OFF THE GAS, and let it for a couple weeks at room temperature (just like bottles).
I prime my kegs because I like to age my beer and, if I'm going to let it sit at room temperature, it might as well get carbonated while it sits. Force carbing green beer makes for perfectly carbonated green beer. I find the carbonation is usually too low, but that is fixed easily once you hook it up to the gas.
Ace_Club
Well-Known Member
Exactly.
BrewFrisco
Well-Known Member
3-Day Method
Don't know why this is never discussed but this how I learned and it seems to work perfectly...two batches now both perfect carbonation.
Day 1 - set keg (full of new beer) in fridge to reduce the temps down - if your beer is already at fridge temps - skip this step.
Day 2-3 - adjust regulator on co2 to 30psi. turn the co2 on - let sit on 30 psi for exactly two days or 48 hours.
Day 4 - remove co2 from keg - purge co2 from the keg - reset the regulator for 12psi - now let it sit for 1 day and that is it.... you can probably grab you a cold beer at this point if you are eager - it wont hurt anything and will probably be carbed already.
I have noticed that the carb seems to get better over the next few days but not by much. I don't know about the clear part - my beer tastes good so I really don't care about the clarity at this point.
Don't know why this is never discussed but this how I learned and it seems to work perfectly...two batches now both perfect carbonation.
Day 1 - set keg (full of new beer) in fridge to reduce the temps down - if your beer is already at fridge temps - skip this step.
Day 2-3 - adjust regulator on co2 to 30psi. turn the co2 on - let sit on 30 psi for exactly two days or 48 hours.
Day 4 - remove co2 from keg - purge co2 from the keg - reset the regulator for 12psi - now let it sit for 1 day and that is it.... you can probably grab you a cold beer at this point if you are eager - it wont hurt anything and will probably be carbed already.
I have noticed that the carb seems to get better over the next few days but not by much. I don't know about the clear part - my beer tastes good so I really don't care about the clarity at this point.
do you use a secondary though? i think the additional time that was discussed here was trying to combine the conditioning and carbing simulataneously...
Force carbing your beer in less than a week doesn't give it much time to clear up. As BrewFrisco mentioned, he doesn't wait for clarity so the "conditioning" is unnecessary. He may have already let it sit for an extra long time in the primary or even used a secondary (though if kegging, using a secondary fermentation chamber would be redundant).
Also, some beers just don't need much time to condition. I like two weeks of cold conditioning but that's just me. It's not crucial and most of the time it will be OK without it.
BrewFrisco
Well-Known Member
I just kegged my Oatmeal Stout and it is sitting on 30psi right now. This beer has been sitting the the secondary for a few weeks now.
It is a real dark beer so it doesn't need to be clarified (although it is fairly translucent anyhow).
I am just impatient but not to the extent of 'Force Carbing' 3 - 4 days and I am drinking beer. Hell - I will pull wort out before that and drink flat!
It is a real dark beer so it doesn't need to be clarified (although it is fairly translucent anyhow).
I am just impatient but not to the extent of 'Force Carbing' 3 - 4 days and I am drinking beer. Hell - I will pull wort out before that and drink flat!
Nothing wrong with skipping secondary.
I won't prime because I prefer my beer without sediment or yeast. I like to condition my kegged beer at room temperature (65F in my basement) for 2 to 3 weeks. I either hit them daily w/25lbs CO2 or leave them hooked up. Then when I put them in the keezer and get them to temp they are ready to drink.
