How do YOU carb your kegs?

This goes along with ask 10 brewers and get 12 answers idea... but i have seen so many option on carbing, as there seems to be alot of different options.

Just kegged our first batch on Friday, force carbed it with 30 PSI, was going to use the out to do it thru the Dip tube, but we had an issue with it getting the Co2 on and it started leaking around the connector, so we put it on the gas In for 12 hours, had to disconnect it for 4 hours as we went to swap the Co2 tank as ours was low and we wanted to really start our kegging adventure with a full one. Put it back on for another 12 hours or so again at 30, and then let it sit at about 12 psi since late Sat Night, seemed to be balance nicely on Sunday night.

Just curious how you do it? Force/Natural how much PSI/Sugar/Time

I put the keg on at serving pressure, twelve PSI for me, and wait. 7 days on the nose, and it's perfect. I mainly do this because I can't be bothered with the shaking and/or purging, and purging, and purging. Plus, most beers will greatly benefit from the extra week of conditioning.

I used to do the high pressure shake and hope for the best, but like Sea, I've found that the serving pressure and temperature combo for 7 days is foolproof.

I only force carb.

I made a T for my CO2 line so that I could run 2 kegs, but did not use separate regulators, so I cannot keep one at a different pressure than the other. (I tried it once and blew a liter of stout thru my co2 line onto a cream ale.... stupid move)

I use the set and forget method.... don't know if my system has ever been off 9 lbs.

Natural carb, 2/3cup dextrose and 3 weeks at room temp.

I set it at about 12PSI for a week or so, then bleed off the excess and set it at serving pressure depending on what's in the keg. It is usually around 6PSI for serving.

I always chill my keg for 24 hours (or more), put it on 30 psi for 48 hours, bleed off CO2 from the keg, set at 8-12 psi and serve. Perfect every time. I never shake.

Baldy_Beer_Brewery said:

I used to do the high pressure shake and hope for the best, but like Sea, I've found that the serving pressure and temperature combo for 7 days is foolproof.

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Like Sea and Baldy, I just put it on the gas at serving pressure and wait.

I haven't dialed in my system yet but I have found that setting it at 30-40psi for 1 day plus a few days at 12psi works well. I have tried shaking it out of need but it always has a carbonic bite to it for 2 days that sucks.

thanks guys, gives me options of ways to try... going to go natural way for ones i have time to age, and experiment on the force methods depending on my timeframes.

BadgerBrewer said:

I always chill my keg for 24 hours (or more), put it on 30 psi for 48 hours, bleed off CO2 from the keg, set at 8-12 psi and serve. Perfect every time. I never shake.

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Cant beat this.

i force carb at 12-15psi thru the liquid-out post for 5-7 days. i hate shaking kegs so i gave up that technique a while ago..

Holycrepe said:

thanks guys, gives me options of ways to try... going to go natural way for ones i have time to age . . . . .

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A good trick is to turn it upside down after it's filled to make sure there are no leaks, then purge the air after a day or so. Or, you can connect to gas and purge the air, test for leaks with soapy water, then disconnect and store.

Most of these force carbing methods work but if you have time to wait you will get conditioned carbed beer as opposed to green carbed beer.

Brew on my friends

My system has the co2 set at 12 psi for almost all of my beers. That seems to work best.

If I'm in a big hurry, I'll set it at 30 psi for 36 hours, purge and reset. I have four kegs in my kegerator, so I usually don't mess with it. I just set it at 12 psi and leave it there.

why do some people carb kegs through the liquid out tube?

nootay said:

why do some people carb kegs through the liquid out tube?

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Because they don't know any better.


.

I chill my keg for 2 days and then force carb at 14-15psi for 3-4 days and then set to 10psi to serve. This gives a light level of carbonation I am happy with.

why do some people carb kegs through the liquid out tube?

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Some people think that it carbs the beer faster because the CO2 is pumped into the bottom of the keg, this assumption is wrong. Also you are in danger of liquid being sucked back into your regulator and screwing it up.

After filling keg:
30lbs @ basement temperature for about 24 hours to seat seals

Conditioning:
Disconnect line (no additional CO2) and let it sit at basement temperature until ready to drink

Serving:
8-12 lbs for one week (or until ready)

NO SHAKING REQUIRED

Chill keg to serving temp. Connect gas at 30psi. Shake for two minutes.
Check after 24hrs (its normally ready) otherwise definitely by 36hrs. Purge pressure and re-set to 12psi for serving. So far I havn't had an overcarbed keg (touch wood).

YooperBrew said:

My system has the co2 set at 12 psi for almost all of my beers. That seems to work best.

If I'm in a big hurry, I'll set it at 30 psi for 36 hours, purge and reset. I have four kegs in my kegerator, so I usually don't mess with it. I just set it at 12 psi and leave it there.

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+1 Although I seem to get too much foam unless I serve below 10psi.

moxie said:

I set it at about 12PSI for a week or so, then bleed off the excess and set it at serving pressure depending on what's in the keg. It is usually around 6PSI for serving.

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I have heard people say something to this effect, and it confuses me. I am not sure I understand the whole carbonation thing yet. If you lower the pressure to say 6 psi for serving, won't the carbonation level of the beer also eventually equalize to the 6 psi level, leaving the beer undercarbed? Or are they lowering for serving, then raising again for storing? Is this just a problem of them not having the proper length of beer line? Just trying to learn what I can before I am finished building mine.

Lilrascal said:

I have heard people say something to this effect, and it confuses me. I am not sure I understand the whole carbonation thing yet. If you lower the pressure to say 6 psi for serving, won't the carbonation level of the beer also eventually equalize to the 6 psi level, leaving the beer undercarbed? Or are they lowering for serving, then raising again for storing? Is this just a problem of them not having the proper length of beer line? Just trying to learn what I can before I am finished building mine.

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Yes, they would lower it for serving and raise again for storage, otherwise the carbonation would drop.

It is a result of the beer pouring too fast at the equilibrium pressure. The solution is more resistance to slow the flow. Longer lines is the easiest way to get more resistance.

I have kegged four beers so far using the 'set and forget' method and it works beautifully. I have kegged two wheat beers (a hefe and a dunkel) - so had to set them at a higher (20psi) pressure, while the others I've kept at 12psi.

Consistently, I have obtained carbonation in a week. But it usually takes another week or so for the taste of the beer to peak.

I keep my reg set at 11 psi. When a new keg gets hooked up, I wait two week to drink and all my beers have turned out great. The set and forget is easy for me with 4 taps to choose from.

Depends on the situation. If it's a beer that needs a little more time to mature, I'll use the set it and forget it method: set it at the proper pressure and let it sit. If it's one that's already matured and I want to carb it quick, I'll set it at the proper pressure and shake it. Since you're not using high pressure, there's no danger of overcarbing. If it's a really big beer that I'm going to have around for a long time, I'll naturally carb it. One of the advantages of this is that it will scrub out any oxygen that may have been introduced during transfer, increasing the shelf life.

The sugar amounts and PSI vary wildly depending on the style. I like variety.

Scimmia said:

If it's a really big beer that I'm going to have around for a long time, I'll naturally carb it. One of the advantages of this is that it will scrub out any oxygen that may have been introduced during transfer, increasing the shelf life.

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I am planning on making an IPA or Imperial IPA soon and was wondering about this - how important is it to use the natural carbing method for these beers instead of force carbing?

Doesn't multiple purging and refilling with CO2 after kegging take care of all the oxygen? Does natural carbing improve the taste of the beer any way?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Like others have mentioned, I do 30PSI for two to three days then 10-12PSI for serving. It takes about a week total to get the carbonation completely dialed in. I don't shake. IMHO, it takes as long to just leave it alone at high pressure as it does to shake and then wait for everything to settle back out again.

Scimmia said:

. . . I'll naturally carb it. One of the advantages of this is that it will scrub out any oxygen that may have been introduced during transfer, increasing the shelf life.

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Interesting. Do you have a link to any science backing this up. I had thought that the only time that yeast consumed oxygen was during the reproduction phase and hadn't considered getting growth from adding priming sugar. Possibly there are other reactions at work removing oxygen? It would be good to know if there is an advantage to this method.

AnOldUR said:

Interesting. Do you have a link to any science backing this up. I had thought that the only time that yeast consumed oxygen was during the reproduction phase and hadn't considered getting growth from adding priming sugar. Possibly there are other reactions at work removing oxygen? It would be good to know if there is an advantage to this method.

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I am curious about this too. I have never noticed any difference in beers I force carb vs "natural carb." It seems to me that force carbing as actually MORE natural because the only thing that is happening to your beer is CO2 absorption.

I don't have any hard data to back it up. I doubt there's any out there; in a commercial environment, many steps are taken to prevent O2 exposure post fermentation. We know that when the yeast is active, it will take up O2 to form sterols for both reproduction and for fermentation. I don't see any difference between what is going on at the beginning of primary fermentation and what's going on during natural carbonation.

Of course, good transfer practices would prevent any O2 exposure, so it's not that much of an issue. I just figure I might as well take the extra precaution, especially since the keg's just going to be sitting there anyway.

MadHopper said:

I am planning on making an IPA or Imperial IPA soon and was wondering about this - how important is it to use the natural carbing method for these beers instead of force carbing?

Doesn't multiple purging and refilling with CO2 after kegging take care of all the oxygen? Does natural carbing improve the taste of the beer any way?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

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Not important at all, especially for thing like an IPA or IIPA, which are going to be drank in a relatively short period of time. Oxidation is a long term issue, as in a number of years, not months. Purging the keg will get rid of the oxygen in the headspace, but unless you take precautions, a very small amount may have gotten into the beer. This is what I'm talking about. If you've got an RIS that you may have around for 5 years or something, it could be worth taking a look at.

Don't forget, even purging a keg doesn't get rid of all of the O2, though. The gasses do mix and you're always going to have a little bit left. Natural carbing won't do a lot for O2 left in the headspace, though, only O2 that's actually dissolved in the beer.

For natural carbing improving the taste, I don't think so, but some people claim they get "smaller" bubbles from it. I think that's more of an aging issue myself.

Some I carbonate naturally with priming sugar, others I put the kegerator at serving pressure and wait a week.
Haven't noticed a lot of difference in the carbonation.

Yes, yes and yes. I use all three methods. Can't say I've ever noticed any difference, except forced-carbonated beer will change a little for the first 3-4 days as it adjusts to the fast pH change.

Sea said:

I put the keg on at serving pressure, twelve PSI for me, and wait. 7 days on the nose, and it's perfect. I mainly do this because I can't be bothered with the shaking and/or purging, and purging, and purging. Plus, most beers will greatly benefit from the extra week of conditioning.

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I'm currently carbing my first ever keg (Hooray for me!) and am gonna go with this method. I figure I put enough effort into making the beer, it's worth the extra couple of days to let it carb up normally.

Although for what's carbing right now - Ed's apfelwein - I upped it to 18 PSI to give it more carbonation, about 3 volumes or so. After a week, I'll drop it down to 12 to serve.

halite said:

Some people think that it carbs the beer faster because the CO2 is pumped into the bottom of the keg, this assumption is wrong. Also you are in danger of liquid being sucked back into your regulator and screwing it up.

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it's been my experience that beer and soda both carbonate faster when the co2 is introduced at the bottom of the keg, similar to shaking but much easier. i have a check valve at the main regulator, a check valve at both secondaries and a check valve in each gas line so reverse liquid flow is probably not going to happen..

12psi set and forget for a week. tried crash carbing at 30psi but the carbonic bite lasted a couple of days which kind of defeats the purpose.

Another vote for set it and forget it!!!! 2 lbs @ 36-38 degrees, ten feet of 1/4 beer lines.I think that for me 12 lbs is best for carbing, have six taps and let it sit for two weeks...I think I am going to try to reduce it to 10 lbs and see if I can lower the foam I am getting....also no need to shake, just need to keep thinking a head to keep all taps flowing as needed, or you have to wait until you have something else ready to go! Cheers!!! Enjoy your Freedom thank a Soldier, and serve them a home brew!!!

Sea said:

I put the keg on at serving pressure, twelve PSI for me, and wait. 7 days on the nose, and it's perfect. I mainly do this because I can't be bothered with the shaking and/or purging, and purging, and purging. Plus, most beers will greatly benefit from the extra week of conditioning.

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Do you really find that a week at kegerator temps offers that much in the way of maturing?

MBasile said:

Do you really find that a week at kegerator temps offers that much in the way of maturing?

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Definately. That's pretty much what happens to lagers, which produces the smooth, clean taste. I think the important thing to remember is that there are two different "aging" processes.

The first is at fermentation temp (in the 60's for ales). Once the beer is done with primary fermentation, leaving it alone for a few more days allows the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other flavor compounds that were produced during fermentation. After a few days (2-3), the yeast have cleaned up most of the by-products and you can package the beer.

The second conditioning process occurs at cold temps. The yeast aren't doing a whole lot, but the the beer is clearing, and some other compounds are now settling out. This contributes to smoothing out flavors and giving you a nice clean beer.

I guess the simplest way to look at it is that there's an aging/conditioning process where living things are doing something (warmer), and then one where time/temp are doing something (cooler).

I'll update. I kegged my first beer around 11 days ago.

I did Northern Brewers Sierre Madre, a SNPA clone.

I carbed at 13PSI and 40F, and after 10 days, it's nearly perfect. I'm also able to serve at 13PSI with 5' of 3/16" tubing and a picnic faucet, and the pour is also perfect.

So that worked out extremely well for me. Keg it, put the C02 disconnect on, and left it for 10 days, and then started serving. No tweaking, shaking, or fiddling. Exactly what I wanted.

Edit: It was carbonated easily after a week, but there was still a bit of a immature astringent flavor to the hop finish, after 3 more days, it's perfect. I definitely think at 40F, it still bulk conditioned in some ways.