Keg not carbonating

Hey all,

I have a clone of Curieux that has been in the kegerator for a month now and has not been carbing up. I've checked for possible leaks several times, I've bumped up the gas to 20 psi for 2 weeks - with minimal carbonation noted. So I turned it up to 30 psi for another week and will check it later today. Is this beer resistant to carbonation because of the ABV/Jim beam or do I have a leak, or should I just be patient and wait longer?

You haven't found a leak, but is your CO2 tank emptying? What temp do you have it at? What is your ABV? I'm not aware that alcohol content inhibits carbonation. Since you aren't relying on your yeast to do the work, it should carbonate just fine.

Tanks got plenty of gas, temp is 42 F. I took the big o ring out and reapplied keg lube just in case. ABV 12.5%. It's a mystery to me too seeing that it's got a lb of maltodextrine/Carapils in it.

Does your keg have any pressure in it? Pull the vent a couple of times to see if the keg is getting gas. You could have a blockage inline.
Do you have the valves open on your regulator?

I had a similar issue that ended up being a faulty (stuck or wasn't seating correctly) poppet valve. Checked everywhere under the sun for leaks and never found any. Took the posts off, cleaned everything, then re-installed and it carbed up normal.

Try rolling the keg on your lap for a couple minutes. You should hear bubbles inside, that will let you know if your carbonating.

Smashing said:

Does your keg have any pressure in it? Pull the vent a couple of times to see if the keg is getting gas. You could have a blockage inline.
Do you have the valves open on your regulator?

Click to expand...

Yeah it's holding pressure, purges normal and everything. It has some carbonation, but very minimum. Valves are open. I can hear the keg pressurizing but the beer itself has minimal carbonation and zero head.

I figured it out. Like so many things in brewing- patience. It's getting there.