Shaking Keg for carbonating?

Do you need to shake a keg to get it carbonated?

I kegged a batch yesterday, turned the psi up to 30 and threw it in my kegerator. Its been in there 24 hours now. I did not shake it though.

Should I?

My plan is/was to keep the psi at 30 for 48 hours and then release it and test for carbonation.

I personally have never force carb'd a keg longer than 24 hours due to the possibility of over carbonation and a large build up of carbonic acid. If I were you I would bring the pressure down to your intended long term carb level and let it go from there. 48 hours seems to be quite long.

The whole shaking of the keg is a viable option, many people do this to increase the intake of co2 into the beer.

30 psi first 24 hours 20 psi for 48 then drop to serving pressure. Works out well with my system . I don't shake the keg either . Only had 1 overcarb because I forgot about it and went away for the weekend with it at 30 psi .

I cool for a couple of days, hit it with 30 psi and shake 100 times and then lower to serving pressure. You mileage may vary.

What works for me is: Cool keg for 12 hours. Then hit it with 30psi for 24 hours. Then drop to serving pressure (for me 12psi) and go from there. I'd shake if in a pinch but that hasn't happened yet.

Don't shake it unless you're in a real rush to carbonate it as it gives the beer a carbonic bite. Follow the advice up above and allow it to carbonate steadily over 3-4 days then store until ready to drink.

Three basic methods:

1. 30 psi and shake for 30 minutes.
2. 30 psi and sit for 48 hours.
3. Serving pressure for a week.

If you use the first two, you need to give the beer a week to adjust to the pH change carbonating causes.

Any of the methods, do you need to bleed off the pressure , when reduced to serving pressure?

david_42 said:

Three basic methods:

1. 30 psi and shake for 30 minutes.
2. 30 psi and sit for 48 hours.
3. Serving pressure for a week.

If you use the first two, you need to give the beer a week to adjust to the pH change carbonating causes.

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humm...so then that begs the question.... Why even bother doing the first 2 eh.

david_42 said:

Three basic methods:

1. 30 psi and shake for 30 minutes.
2. 30 psi and sit for 48 hours.
3. Serving pressure for a week.

If you use the first two, you need to give the beer a week to adjust to the pH change carbonating causes.

Click to expand...

mhermetz said:

humm...so then that begs the question.... Why even bother doing the first 2 eh.

Click to expand...

After the beer is carbonated you can take it off pressure and start another . Some set ups only have one or two gas lines to keep the pipe line going you need to force a couple and let them age . I don't need to force them as I have the capacity for 12 kegs on gas . Not enough room for 12 in the kegerator but I can have 3 going at one time

Julohan said:

Any of the methods, do you need to bleed off the pressure , when reduced to serving pressure?

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whutever said:

Then drop to serving pressure (for me 12psi) and go from there.

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What I left out was after I drop to 12psi I bleed off the pressure. Then turn on the gas and go from there. This way it's not rocketing out of the tap at the speed of light.

If I force carb the keg by shaking and let it sit off the line for a few days, should I bleed the pressure off while waiting to be on tap?

springer said:

After the beer is carbonated you can take it off pressure and start another . Some set ups only have one or two gas lines to keep the pipe line going you need to force a couple and let them age . I don't need to force them as I have the capacity for 12 kegs on gas . Not enough room for 12 in the kegerator but I can have 3 going at one time

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I have a one keg set up for my 4912 mini fridge and don't plan on buying any additional lines, splitters, etc.(cheap and simple) but I have two kegs I'd like to keep in rotation. Using the above quoted info I know I can use the shaking method on a room temp keg at say 40+psi to make up for non-cold beer. My question is... If I take the room temp carbed keg off my co2 (so I can keep serving my cold beer in the fridge) and leave it at room temp, cheking it once a day or so for carb level, will it age properly over the next week as if it were cold? And, yes, I know I will have to adjust the pressure and purge as it ages over a the week and when I cool to serving temp once I do put it in the fridge. Thanks guys. Cheers.

If I'm in a hurry......I have done this on my last couple and worked out OK. I hook up my gas at 10 - 12 psi (based upon style) and lay the keg on its side with the 'in' post closest to the floor - you can hear the C02 entering solution (bubbling sound). I then roll it back and forth for a minute and stop and listen - I still hear bubbles - and then continue to roll it back and forth, stopping every minute to listen for the bubbles. On average, I roll from 20 - 30 minutes, which at that point, the bubbling sound stops...which leads me to believe that C02 has completely saturated the beer. I then let the beer settle for a day, at which point it is good to tap.

I prefer to use the slow method, but if for some reason I'm strapped for time (like a quick brew for a party), this seems to work well!

bobbrewster said:

I have a one keg set up for my 4912 mini fridge and don't plan on buying any additional lines, splitters, etc.(cheap and simple) but I have two kegs I'd like to keep in rotation. Using the above quoted info I know I can use the shaking method on a room temp keg at say 40+psi to make up for non-cold beer. My question is... If I take the room temp carbed keg off my co2 (so I can keep serving my cold beer in the fridge) and leave it at room temp, cheking it once a day or so for carb level, will it age properly over the next week as if it were cold? And, yes, I know I will have to adjust the pressure and purge as it ages over a the week and when I cool to serving temp once I do put it in the fridge. Thanks guys. Cheers.

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Well, it might work but it might give you very foamy beer or undercarbed beer. It's hard to say, since the force carbonation charts depend on a constant source of co2.

If you're going to keep a keg at room temperature for a week or two (or longer), why not prime it like a bottle and let it carb up while it's waiting for its turn in the kegerator?

Yooper_Brew said:

If you're going to keep a keg at room temperature for a week or two (or longer), why not prime it like a bottle and let it carb up while it's waiting for its turn in the kegerator?

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Thank you for your response. I know that if I naturally carbonate a keg it will take two weeks or more before it is drinkable (aged properly regardless of carbing technique) let alone fully carbed. I'm familiar with all the C02 volume charts and know how to carb the keg at room temp. What I'm specifically getting at is the scenerio of having only a week or less before my drinkable keg is empty and I've just transferred my fully fermented beer from my secondary to my patiently waiting second keg. I realize that I will, even if the new keg is carbed at room temp, have to let it sit for at least a few days in the fridge and equalize at serving pressure. I'm just curious if it will age the same warm carbed vs cold carbed before I put it in the fridge? Thanks again, Cheers!