Carbonating in keg problem?

I hate posting new threads when there may be the answer out there, but it seems there is always a different scenario for each situation.

I have brewed my first batch of IPA using the kit that came with my setup (Munton's Gold extract). I let it ferment for about 2 weeks once the FG leveled off. I then siphoned the beer into the keg and immediately pressurized it to 30psi about 4 times, filling it then releasing the pressure to eliminated the oxygen. During the 5th time I left the pressure in the keg, rolled it and rocked it back and forth to saturate it in the CO2. I then placed it in the fridge for 24 hours. When I got home from work yesterday, I took the keg out of the fridge to release the pressure but when I went to do that, no pressure was evident. Is that normal, or does it sound like a possible leak? I do have a steady pressure of 8 psi hitting it now.

My question is this...
When I took a small sample out of the tap from the keg, it was really flat with no head and uncarbonated. Will this fix itself in a week or two? Did I do something wrong? I bought a refurbished corny keg with ball locks and have sanitized it myself.

I am extremely new to brewing and kegging.

It does sound odd that you got no pressure after leaving it over night. I would crank it up to about 12 psi and you should hear it pressurize right away.

nordoe said:

It does sound odd that you got no pressure after leaving it over night. I would crank it up to about 12 psi and you should hear it pressurize right away.

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Yeah, after I didn't get any pressure to come out of it after pressurizing it at 30psi overnight, I hooked the gas line back into it, turned the gas back on to about 10psi and I could hear the gas going in and pressurizing for a few seconds like normal.

I'm thinking I should disconnect the gas and then let it sit awhile to see if in a few hours I can release any pressure.

if you hit it with 30 psi then shake it, that pressure is gonna go down. you would have to hit it again untill it gets carbed, then turn it down to serving pressure (or just set it some where around 12.5 for a week or two (still attached) and leave it alone)

You say you bought e refurb'ed cornie. Did you take a spray bottle of soapy water and check for leaks? I would always test the work done to make sure that the parts are correct and working as they should, including o-rings.

rycov said:

if you hit it with 30 psi then shake it, that pressure is gonna go down. you would have to hit it again untill it gets carbed, then turn it down to serving pressure (or just set it some where around 12.5 for a week or two (still attached) and leave it alone)

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Crap! I did not hit it again after shaking it and rocking it. Can it still be saved? Should I just leave it at 10-12psi for a week like you suggest without going back to 30psi yet again?

puter said:

You say you bought e refurb'ed cornie. Did you take a spray bottle of soapy water and check for leaks? I would always test the work done to make sure that the parts are correct and working as they should, including o-rings.

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Yes, I have done that I could not find any leaks. I think the answer I needed was listed above where I did not hit it with another 30 psi after 'mixing' it.

The beer just absorbed the CO2, you didn't break anything
If you're force carbing, you can leave the CO2 on and just keep shaking the keg, in about 10 - 15 minutes the beer wont be able to absorb any more gas.
Or you can leave it on serving pressure for a week or two. I do this to continue to condition the beer as it carbs.
Remember too, CO2 absorption rates are increased with a decrease in temp (colder beer can hold more dissolved CO2).

You gotta leave the line hooked up and the pressure set to carb. Just putting the pressure in the keg and unhooking the co2 won't work. 30 psi for two days, no shaking, then 10-12 psi for a couple more and your beer should be ready to go.

wolfman_48442 said:

The beer just absorbed the CO2, you didn't break anything
If you're force carbing, you can leave the CO2 on and just keep shaking the keg, in about 10 - 15 minutes the beer wont be able to absorb any more gas.
Or you can leave it on serving pressure for a week or two. I do this to continue to condition the beer as it carbs.
Remember too, CO2 absorption rates are increased with a decrease in temp (colder beer can hold more dissolved CO2).

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This might be the option I'd have to do as I can not leave the gas line connected due to the high pressure and 2 kegs hooked up to the same single regulator. (see response below) Is it ok to shake it up once in awhile during the week I have it set to serving pressure?

NordeastBrewer77 said:

You gotta leave the line hooked up and the pressure set to carb. Just putting the pressure in the keg and unhooking the co2 won't work. 30 psi for two days, no shaking, then 10-12 psi for a couple more and your beer should be ready to go.

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Well I was unable to leave the gas line hooked in b/c I have a single regulator with a 'wye' splittler with shut off valves. I have HopDevil and my home brew in the kegerator. I shut off the gas to the HopDevil and cranked the psi up to 30 into the homebrew. Then shut if off and switched it back to the HopDevil keg once I decreased the CO2 back down to 10psi.

Any other way around that?

NordeastBrewer77 said:

You gotta leave the line hooked up and the pressure set to carb. Just putting the pressure in the keg and unhooking the co2 won't work. 30 psi for two days, no shaking, then 10-12 psi for a couple more and your beer should be ready to go.

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this is what you should be doing. I know you don't have another regulator, but you can get a splitter pretty cheap at you LHBS. hell, if you weren't in Lititz, I have one I'm not using (sorry, bit of a drive)! That said. Get the splitter and run it off your regulator. Cut the gas to your hop devil for an evening (fill up a growler or two), give gas to your second keg and up it to 30 for a night or two. Then drop it back to 12psi and push the gas to both kegs. Drink your hopdevil again.

dfess1 said:

this is what you should be doing. I know you don't have another regulator, but you can get a splitter pretty cheap at you LHBS. hell, if you weren't in Lititz, I have one I'm not using (sorry, bit of a drive)! That said. Get the splitter and run it off your regulator. Cut the gas to your hop devil for an evening (fill up a growler or two), give gas to your second keg and up it to 30 for a night or two. Then drop it back to 12psi and push the gas to both kegs. Drink your hopdevil again.

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What I have mentioned above

Well I was unable to leave the gas line hooked in b/c I have a single regulator with a 'wye' splittler with shut off valves. I have HopDevil and my home brew in the kegerator. I shut off the gas to the HopDevil and cranked the psi up to 30 into the homebrew. Then shut if off and switched it back to the HopDevil keg once I decreased the CO2 back down to 10psi.

Any other way around that?

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I do have the splitter with shutoff valves which I ordered from Keg Cowboy. This is great to know for the next time though. I didn't realize or read anywhere that said I should leave the gas line in at 30psi. My fault. I am just hoping that if I leave it at the serving pressure it will be fine.

Thanks for the offer. But yeah, it's about an hour and half drive from Philly.

sorry, didn't see you already had the splitter. my bad! yeah, you're all set then. You can still do it now. But stop with the rockin and rollin stuff. No need. 30 psi for 2 days, drop to 12 for 4 or 5 and life is good.

dfess1 said:

sorry, didn't see you already had the splitter. my bad! yeah, you're all set then. You can still do it now. But stop with the rockin and rollin stuff. No need. 30 psi for 2 days, drop to 12 for 4 or 5 and life is good.

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I agree, set the pressure to 12 and attach to both kegs. Be patient while the uncarbed one carbs up. Personally, I find it takes 2-3 weeks before it loses carbonic acid bite, whether you shake or not.

PA49erFan21 said:

This might be the option I'd have to do as I can not leave the gas line connected due to the high pressure and 2 kegs hooked up to the same single regulator. (see response below) Is it ok to shake it up once in awhile during the week I have it set to serving pressure?

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yes. your carbing pressure and serving pressure should be the same (around 12 or so depending on the style). you can shake it all you want during the carb period since it won't ever get above 12. it may help it carb sooner, sometimes mine are good after a week, but two has always been the magic number for me

Thank you all for all your help. I am going to keep it at the current 'serving pressure' of about 10-12psi for 2 weeks and see if that solves the problem. I am really hoping so!

That should work perfect. I've found that with my set up, 12.5 is exactly where I want it for most beers. You may have to adjust slightly because every bodys stuff works differently. But two weeks should have yu right where you want to be

rycov said:

That should work perfect. I've found that with my set up, 12.5 is exactly where I want it for most beers. You may have to adjust slightly because every bodys stuff works differently. But two weeks should have yu right where you want to be

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I do believe this will solve my issue. I knew in the back of my mind if I was just patient, it would correct itself, yet one cannot be too careful. I will let it sit at about 12 psi for 2-3 weeks and report back.

Thanks again for the help. Kegging is much easier once you get it figured out. First time is always the worst, am I right?

your right, once you get your process figured out its super easy. i kegged some skeeter pee last night. it took about ten minuets. cleaned the keg out. siphoned the pee in. sealed the lid. pulled the release valve a couple of times to let out o2 and hooked up the lines. now i just wait for it to be done. i'll probably have a few glasses this weekend, but by next weekend it should be closer to done. welcome to kegging. you're gonna love it!

rycov said:

your right, once you get your process figured out its super easy. i kegged some skeeter pee last night. it took about ten minuets. cleaned the keg out. siphoned the pee in. sealed the lid. pulled the release valve a couple of times to let out o2 and hooked up the lines. now i just wait for it to be done. i'll probably have a few glasses this weekend, but by next weekend it should be closer to done. welcome to kegging. you're gonna love it!

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HAHA! I actually had to Google "Skeeter Pee", b/c I was like what the heck is he talking about? As for kegging, I am already planning on purchasing a 2nd corny keg so I will never be without a homebrew.

Update: I have given up on my first batch. The taste is not changing and it is not drinkable so either something got tainted and infected or something happened with the yeast.

I will not be using Muntin's Gold extract anymore. I can only hope my next batch goes better.