Force carbinng a witbier

Just put filled my first keg and am force carbing a witbier at 9 psi ( per the chart) at 35 degrees in my kegarator. Does that sound about right? How long should it take? Thanks.

Might want to check out this page, where you'll find a CO2 pressure calculator widget that you can find numerous styles of beer with the associated carbonation ranges. You can then use the "canned" value for any style, or you can manually set the desired carbonation level and temperature, to pop out the right pressure to use.

Witbiers classicly approach four (yes, 4) volumes of CO2, making it one of the most effervescent of styles. At a carbing/dispensing temperature of 35°F you could set a pressure as high as 26 psi. That said, it's always brewer's choice in such matters.

Pretty much regardless, if you use steady pressure at dispensing temperature it'll take a good two weeks to fully carb a five gallon corny keg of beer of average FG (add more time for big FG beers like imperial anything)...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Might want to check out this page, where you'll find a CO2 pressure calculator widget that you can find numerous styles of beer with the associated carbonation ranges. You can then use the "canned" value for any style, or you can manually set the desired carbonation level and temperature, to pop out the right pressure to use. Witbiers classicly approach four (yes, 4) volumes of CO2, making it one of the most effervescent of styles. At a carbing/dispensing temperature of 35°F you could set a pressure as high as 26 psi. That said, it's always brewer's choice in such matters. Pretty much regardless, if you use steady pressure at dispensing temperature it'll take a good two weeks to fully carb a five gallon corny keg of beer of average FG (add more time for big FG beers like imperial anything)... Cheers!

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Guess I was off just a bit. Thanks for the help.

Yikes. You REALLY don't need to go anywhere near 26 psi to carb a wit. At your temps, 10 psi is plenty for the set-it-and-forget-it carb method.

billl said:

Yikes. You REALLY don't need to go anywhere near 26 psi to carb a wit. At your temps, 10 psi is plenty for the set-it-and-forget-it carb method.

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How long will it take to carbonate at 10 psi?

billl said:

Yikes. You REALLY don't need to go anywhere near 26 psi to carb a wit. At your temps, 10 psi is plenty for the set-it-and-forget-it carb method.

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Did you actually read that post? Doesn't seem like you did...

Cheers!

"Did you actually read that post? Doesn't seem like you did..."

Yes. I read you post and just completely disagree with it. Unless the OP plans on installing 40 ft of beverage line, all that 26 psi is going to get them is a spitting rocket of foam.

The carbonation table is a fine starting point if you stay just stay in the green range. Once you get much outside that, it starts getting really questionable. I have no desire to have a completely flat mild even if it is technically to style.

"How long will it take to carbonate at 10 psi?"

Somewhere around 2 weeks usually. If you are in a rush, you can turn it up to 30 for a day and then back to 10.

billl said:

"Did you actually read that post? Doesn't seem like you did..." Yes. I read you post and just completely disagree with it. Unless the OP plans on installing 40 ft of beverage line, all that 26 psi is going to get them is a spitting rocket of foam. The carbonation table is a fine starting point if you stay just stay in the green range. Once you get much outside that, it starts getting really questionable. I have no desire to have a completely flat mild even if it is technically to style. "How long will it take to carbonate at 10 psi?" Somewhere around 2 weeks usually. If you are in a rush, you can turn it up to 30 for a day and then back to 10.

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Oops. Turns out I started carbing the hefeweizen instead of the witbier. The carbonation chart calls for 24.9 psi so does that mean I should dial up 25 psi and let it set for 7-10 days?

billl said:

"Did you actually read that post? Doesn't seem like you did..."

Yes. I read you post and just completely disagree with it. Unless the OP plans on installing 40 ft of beverage line, all that 26 psi is going to get them is a spitting rocket of foam.

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So you didn't actually comprehend it.
That's ok, it happens...

Cheers!

maplemontbrew said:

Oops. Turns out I started carbing the hefeweizen instead of the witbier. The carbonation chart calls for 24.9 psi so does that mean I should dial up 25 psi and let it set for 7-10 days?

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If you desire carbing to the high end of the style, then yes, for your beer temperature you'd set your pressure to 25psi and let it sit like that until it has fully carbed. As I said earlier, in my experience it takes at least two weeks for "set and forget" carbing to fully carb (or nearly so) a 5 gallon corney keg of beer.

Now, wrt to mister billl's comments: your dispensing system has to be able to handle whatever carb level(s) you choose for your brew(s). Most folks typically abandon any pretense of carbing higher than "average" level of around 2.5 volumes of CO2 regardless of the style of beer being dispensed. That usually means setting CO2 pressure around 10-12 PSI. 3/16" ID tubing in a home dispensing application will exhibit a line resistance around 1 psi/foot, which in turn means most folks will get by using 10-12 foot beer lines.

Otoh, if you chose to carb to a higher level than that 2.5 volume average, you have to account for the higher CO2 pressure used (in your case, potentially 25 psi). A 10-12 foot beer line isn't going to provide adequate resistance to that bubbling a brew, and indeed you'd have a ***** of a time dispensing it. Otoh, if you switched the line for one that was 25 feet long, you'd be back in balance and good to go.

It's "dealer's choice", as I said earlier.
You pays your money and you makes your choices...

Cheers!

"Oops. Turns out I started carbing the hefeweizen instead of the witbier. The carbonation chart calls for 24.9 psi so does that mean I should dial up 25 psi and let it set for 7-10 days?"

If you haven't tried this before, seriously, don't be a slave to the chart. Despite day tippers condescending tone, you absolutely do not have to go over the top for a very effervescent brew. 4 volumes is practically jumping out of the glass and you'll be "in style" at 2.6. 4 volumes is bottle bomb territory for standard bottles.


In terms of timing, if you just set it at your serving pressure, it generally takes 2 weeks or so.

Yup, you clearly didn't comprehend my first post. It happens.
Stating what any good guideline shows for a style is not advocating, it's simply relating fact...

Cheers!

Thanks guys. This was super helpful as I did not understand the dispensing side of things. Enjoy your thanksgiving!

I believe witbiers' carbonation is overestimated because the high wheat content results in such thick voluminous head.

I don't know charts.

25 psi for set and forget seems crazy. It would be like drinking alcasetzler.

If I had little time i would dial up to 35 psi for 48 hours then down to 17 or so. Wait a day then drink.

If I had a lot of time i would leave it at 17 for a week.

billl said:

"Oops. Turns out I started carbing the hefeweizen instead of the witbier. The carbonation chart calls for 24.9 psi so does that mean I should dial up 25 psi and let it set for 7-10 days?" If you haven't tried this before, seriously, don't be a slave to the chart. Despite day tippers condescending tone, you absolutely do not have to go over the top for a very effervescent brew. 4 volumes is practically jumping out of the glass and you'll be "in style" at 2.6. 4 volumes is bottle bomb territory for standard bottles. In terms of timing, if you just set it at your serving pressure, it generally takes 2 weeks or so.

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Apparently I have a bad post on my keg and after 3 days of carbonating there was no pressure. Can I just replace the post and start over or has the beer gone bad?

Beer doesn't "go bad" just because it hasn't been carbonated.

You can certainly disconnect your gas QD, release the head space pressure, remove the post and poppet and replace them (sanitized, of course) then put everything back together with a schmear of keg lube and be good to go again.

But what makes you think the post is at fault?

Cheers!

Couldn't seem to get a good tight seal. When I attached the carb hose to another keg it fit fine.