Keg of Clipper City Loose Canon

I bought a keg of Clipper City Loose Canon and hooked it up last week. I've set the PSI to 9 then 12 then 10 now back to 12. For some reason, it just doesn't taste close to the taste I get from the bottle. Am I missing something here? I'm new to kegging so maybe I'm not doing something correct. The temperature in my kegerator is around 44.

Second - when you change the PSI from say 10 to 12, how long does it take for the beer to reflect this change?

reflect what change? change in carbonation level?

it should be properly carbed from the brewery.

Reflect the change in PSI. I'm still trying to understand kegging and carbonation. I know the keg should be properly carbed from the brewer but doesn't changing the PSI on the regulator also affect the carbonation level? So if the beer tastes too carbed at 12 PSI I can lower it to 9 PSI and see if thats better. Or am I totally off? Thanks.

I find it generally takes at least several days for the beer to adjust to a new PSI setting - when increasing the PSI. In order to properly decrease the PSI if the pressure is too high, you need to unhook it from the CO2 and the release the CO2 in the keg and let it set for a day or two and then hook it back up. This is kinda hard to do with a commercial keg, so if it is now overcarbed, your best bet is to unhook the CO2 and have yourself a couple pints until the pour speed slows down. Now let it set for a couple days to re-equilibrate and then hook it up with the regulator and the new (lower) PSI.

The carbonation level certainly can affect the flavor, but also freshness could be an important factor - especially in an IPA. I might expect the kegged version to be fresher, but that will depend on turnover at your beer store. A keg of Loose Cannon might not be a quick mover so it could have actually sat around for a while.

yeah, so the change in PSI happens immediately. so, you dial up the PSI from 10-12, the pressure is immediately at 12. carbonation level does not change immediately. the rate at which that happens depends on a number of things. so, you increase the PSI and at first the only thing that happens is that more CO2 gets put into the headspace. Slowly that will start to diffuse into the beer (or out, going down).

going down in PSI is a bit different. think of a balloon with a straw in the opening. so, you blow it up to 12 PSI. then, you take your lips off the balloon but still keep the opening closed. The balloon is still at 12 psi even tho you took the "gas" off. So in order to go down you're gonna have to let some gas out of the keg. I'm not quite sure why pjj2ba said it's hard to do with a commercial keg as my coupler has a bleeder valve on the gas inlet....

anyway, freshness might be an issue. my local beer store usually doesn't have micro kegs in stock, you have to order 3 days in advanced for this reason. but, that's not to say the distro isn't sitting on them....

motobrewer said:

going down in PSI is a bit different. think of a balloon with a straw in the opening. so, you blow it up to 12 PSI. then, you take your lips off the balloon but still keep the opening closed. The balloon is still at 12 psi even tho you took the "gas" off. So in order to go down you're gonna have to let some gas out of the keg.

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How do you know how much gas to let out of the keg?

well, look at your gauge. usually I just let a bunch out, then go up until i hit the target

VictimKBrew said:

How do you know how much gas to let out of the keg?

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You close the CO2 valve to the keg and pull the safety valve til it stops hissing. turn CO2 back on, its now 10psi. Guaranteed.
carb levels..whole different story.

Ok so since the keg is from a distributor its already carbed correctly. If I set the PSI to 12 for a few days and realize I like it better at 10 PSI, I turn the valve on the regulator to 10, close the gas valve on the keg, purge all of the CO2 out of the keg until it stops hissing, open valve, turn CO2 back on and its at 10 PSI.

Does 2 PSI really make a difference in taste?

VictimKBrew said:

Ok so since the keg is from a distributor its already carbed correctly. If I set the PSI to 12 for a few days and realize I like it better at 10 PSI, I turn the valve on the regulator to 10, close the gas valve on the keg, purge all of the CO2 out of the keg until it stops hissing, open valve, turn CO2 back on and its at 10 PSI.

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yes

VictimKBrew said:

Does 2 PSI really make a difference in taste?

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probably nothing.