Why won't my keg carb up?

I've been using the set-it-and-forget-it method forever with no problems (12.5 psi). A little over a week ago, I threw in a new keg of RIS and while it will push out the beer through the tap no problem, it isn't hardly carbed at all. I had just kegged a beer a week before this RIS and it's carbed and drinking nicely (after only a week or so of being on the gas). As per the gauge the gas, the tank has co2 in it, and I can confirm this by purging the keg and hearing CO2 move back in to replace what was let out. I doubt the keg is leaking, because if it was, I'd have an empty co2 tank. What gives? Ideas?

Whats the final gravity on the RIS? I have a rather heavy brown ale that didn't carb up that well in the keg. I'm thinking it has something to do with the gravity.

cpz28 said:

I've been using the set-it-and-forget-it method forever with no problems (12.5 psi).

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If this is the case, you should know that it takes two to three weeks minimum to get full carbonation.

wildwest450 said:

If this is the case, you should know that it takes two to three weeks minimum to get full carbonation.

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+1 for the full 2 weeks plus..just give her some more time

I had the exact same problem a few weeks ago and even after three weeks it was not carbed. I had another keg of the same recipe and it carbed no problem so I blended the two and everything was fine. The beer in the keg that did not carb has a high fg so maybe that ended up being the problem.

Eric

Well, I've been using this method on my system for a longtime, so I kind of know how carbed it should be at a certain point. Usually it's pretty close to perfect after a week, This one is taking forever in comparison, and as I mentioned, the previous keg I threw on there carbed up in the normal time. The beer does have a high FG, but so did other beers I brewed and they carbed up fine. Does anyone know why a beer with a high FG would take longer to carb up?

+1 on the 5-7 days to carb at 13psi.

edie said:

+1 on the 5-7 days to carb at 13psi.

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-1 on that. Not possible. Not fully and properly carbed.

I'm a total newby but I would check my keg for leaks. The other day I had a small leak on the out fitting on one of my kegs. Just enough to allow a tiny bit of beer to well up on top of the fitting in the course of a day.

Just a thought.

I had a double IPA do this as well. It had a low FG of 1.009 and I don't know if it was because of a hop oil slick on top that was creating a barrier or what but it just wouldn't carb. I use flare fittings and ended up switching the disconnects around and carbed it through the "out" diptube and it did the trick. If you go this route be sure you don't cause a negative pressure situation in the keg so beer doesn't flow back through your co2 line.

wildwest450 said:

-1 on that. Not possible. Not fully and properly carbed.

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It's just a misunderstanding between "carbed" and "carbed to equilibrium". No doubt the beer will be carbonated to some level at 10 days, just not a known or final level.

So I know MoreBeer has the keg lid with the carb stone (http://morebeer.com/view_product/18212//Carbonating_Keg_Lid) but why can't you just attach a carb stone to a length of line and slip it on the gas dip tube and leave it there for the duration of serving the keg?

And is the carbonation stone method actually useful or more of a gimmick that only cuts a day off of carbing time?