Any liquid post people sharing why they do it.
I hook up normal (gas side0 and let sit for 3 weeks. No rush, no fuss.
well the theory is that when gas slowly trickles into the dip tube on the liquid side, it bubbles up from the bottom and agitates the whole column of beer on its way up. it doesnt work nearly as well as if you were using a carbonation stone, the bubbles are too big. however the fact that it causes the beer to move around some would probably promote faster carbonation. how much faster than just putting gas in from the top? probably not too much. it might not even be a noticable difference, but the theory makes sense atleast.
also if you are shaking the keg, the longer dip tube on the liquid side puts more of a distance between the beer and your CO2 line, so its harder to get beer to splash up in the line and contaminate it. if you shake the keg while its hooked up to the very short gas dip tube, its possible for beer to splash up into the gas ball/pin lock, and i know i dont clean the gas fittings nearly as much as the liquid ones... its not really possible for beer to splash up 20-something inches of liquid dip tube and reach the gas system while shaking.
all that being said- i just hook my kegs up the normal way and let them carb on their own.
i hook up to the gas post and give the keg 48 hours at 30 psi (no shaking), then back the regulator down to normal carbonation/serving pressure. Carbonation is totally acceptable the next day and is dialed in at around 5-7 days.
I hook up to the gas post and give the keg 48 hours at 30 PSI (no shaking), then back the regulator down to normal carbonation/serving pressure. Carbonation is totally acceptable the next day and is dialed in at around 5-7 days.
I gas liquid side, shake and drink 20min later.
So, your both saying carbonating from the Gas side is normal. Anyone know where this came from?
Yes, i realize it says Gas on it but gas also is used to serve, so its not clearly saying both gas steps are for one post.
I can't recall for certain, but, wasn't the majority of the carbonation produced by soda fountains done inside the faucet itself?
I found the liquid side much quicker, however I WILL NOT Use the liquid side again! Let me preface that I was not thinking when I did the following, and I (stupidly) DO NOT have check valves on my manifold! I have a gas outlet between the regulator and the gas manifold, so I can easily purge kegs, bottles, etc.
The other day, shortly after I hooked up a newly kegged beer to the gas via the liquid post, I used the gas outlet to purge a carboy with CO2. Shortly after opening the valve on the outlet, beer started coming out of the gas tube purging my carboy! Yikes! If I hadn't had the gas connected to my liquid side, I wouldn't have had this issue.
So, I'd only recommend using the liquid side to force carb if you have check valves on your manifold.
I have two ways to carb up my beer, after much trial and error. One is the good old fashioned easy way- stick my beer in the keg, and my keg in the kegerator with the other kegs and put it on the gas (12 psi). In about 7-10 days, it's good but improves for about three more days.
If I'm in a huge hurry, I stick it in the kegerator at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purge and reset to the same as the rest of the kegs (12 psi). It's ready the next day.
I will never shake again as I've had a few foamy cloudy beers by doing so and I hate that. It also tends to have a carbonic acid "bite" from doing that.
The thing is, even in 10 days in the kegerator, the beer may still be a bit cloudy so I still like to wait until the beer is clear. The beer I'm drinking at this moment was kegged on Saturday, and it's pretty clear (and well carbed) but not 100% there yet. But I was desperate for homebrew as I was out, and the beer is a hoppy APA that is very good young. The yeast strain I used (Denny's favorite) is not flocculant, though, and it takes about 10 days at fridge temps to really clear. It's still good, but it's really not as good as it's going to be in about4 more days. I can't imagine drinking this beer 20 minutes after shaking it! It would be very cloudy, and there would be sediment in it. That's not something I want in my beer.
well the theory is that when gas slowly trickles into the dip tube on the liquid side, it bubbles up from the bottom and agitates the whole column of beer on its way up. it doesnt work nearly as well as if you were using a carbonation stone, the bubbles are too big. however the fact that it causes the beer to move around some would probably promote faster carbonation. how much faster than just putting gas in from the top? probably not too much. it might not even be a noticable difference, but the theory makes sense at least.
I'm thinking about getting one of the carbonating lids and giving it a ahot soon. If only for when I dknt have any carbonated kegs ready and a faucet runs dry.
I will never shake again as I've had a few foamy cloudy beers by doing so and I hate that. It also tends to have a carbonic acid "bite" from doing that.
The idea that forcing gas through the liquid diptube carbs your beer any faster is a myth. In fact, if you don't put pressurize the keg prior to connecting gas to the liquid post, it will actually force some of the residual CO2 out of solution and slow the carb process slightly.
If you're able to break the gas into super tiny bubbles through the use of something like an airstone, then pushing gas from the bottom of the keg will carb it much faster. The size of the bubbles coming through the liquid diptube however are so large that there's not appreciably more time or surface in contact with the gas than just using the gas diptube.
Since it takes extra time and effort, and make no difference in carbonation speed, I don't use the liquid post for carbonating, but to each their own. I have however bubbled gas through the liquid side while pulling the pressure relief valve to instantly degas overcarbonated kegs. It works like a charm.
The agitation actually knocks a tiny bit of CO2 out of solution. It's the increased surface area and contact time that's supposed to help speed the process. IMO whatever minor differences they make pretty much cancel each other out, and the beer carbonates at the same speed either way.
I bought an extra SS airstone when they went on clearance at my LHBS. I connected it to the gas post on one of my corny lids with about 20" of silicone tubing to make my own carb lid. I've only used it a couple times since I'm a fan of letting my beers condition with the set and forget method, but it will carb up a beer nicely in just a couple of days without any worry about overcarbing.
With 40k posts it's not that much of an honor.