first time kegging, i got some questions...

finally got my 5 gallon corny kegging equipment set up and ready to do this, i got some questions though.
ive read probably 101 different ways to force carbonate and now im feelin a little confused. first, ive already read the sticky by Bobby_M and decided i want to use the boost carb method. my concern, i called the person i purchased the kegging from and he suggested he never heard of people putting there psi up to 20-30psi to get it carbed. he said if i did that my beer would stay over-carbed then go flat? he said just to leave it at 10psi for a week or two and it should be fine. ideally, i want my brew ready in about 5 days. ive read and heard too much about the boost carb method so im going to go with it anyway. so now, i want my brew ready in 5 days. what would be a good psi to go with? (ive already checked out the charts as well). i have an ipa, temp. at about 38F. i was thinking maybe like 20psi for 5 days, then dropping it to 10psi for serving. sound good? someone kick me some feedback about this cause im starting to spin in circles reading all the methods of force carbonation.

next question. i feel kinda dumb asking this, but im still unsure.
when i connect my co2 and hold my psi for X amount of days, serve my first brew(s), after this do i leave the gas running constantely? should i be turning it off when im not using it or will my beer go flat? after carbonation do i leave to co2 running 24/7 or do i turn it off and turn it back on every time i want to pour myself a beer? im not sure if leaving co2 going is going to empty my tank or if turning it off is going to make my beer flat. thanks in advance...

Don't boost carb unless you absolutely must have it carbed immediately. It makes for an inferior beer and is easy to overcarb, then you spend days trying to balance it again. Just set it to serving pressure and leave it. It will be carbed enough to drink in 5 days, but at 2 weeks it will be perfect wih no hassle. You should leave the tank open, yes, or it will go flat. You won't use up much gas unless you have a leak.

masonsjax said:

Don't boost carb unless you absolutely must have it carbed immediately. It makes for an inferior beer and is easy to overcarb, then you spend days trying to balance it again. Just set it to serving pressure and leave it. It will be carbed enough to drink in 5 days, but at 2 weeks it will be perfect wih no hassle. You should leave the tank open, yes, or it will go flat. You won't use up much gas unless you have a leak.

Click to expand...

cool, so you think about 10-12psi is good? the guy i bought it from said to leave the gas going. the reason im confused on leaving the gas on/off was cause of this statement from NB link-
"once your beer is carbonated you must always shut off the gas to your keg. if not, the beer will over-carbonate".

on the link its toward the bottom of the page under kegging-


http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/Kegging.pdf

masonsjax said:

Don't boost carb unless you absolutely must have it carbed immediately. It makes for an inferior beer and is easy to overcarb, then you spend days trying to balance it again. Just set it to serving pressure and leave it. It will be carbed enough to drink in 5 days, but at 2 weeks it will be perfect wih no hassle. You should leave the tank open, yes, or it will go flat. You won't use up much gas unless you have a leak.

Click to expand...

Thats interesting. Ive "set it and forget it" and force carbonated and havent noticed one being inferior to another. Do you have any info/literature to support that force carbonated beer is inferior?

+1 on leaving the tank open

yes, always leave it on. I also force carb. I know people will frown upon it, but you can carb it in a day or two. I set mine to like 40 and rock it back and forth for about five minutes to let the carbonation sink in. I then leave it overnight at 40. The next morning put it on like 10 and I am good to go. It may be hard to get the exact about of carb you want but it has worked out fine for me. You can look up force carbing on youtube and watch some videos of people doing it.

If you follow this carbonation table you will never go wrong. It is physically impossible to over carbonate a beer if you set the pressure according to your serving temperature.

I typically hit my kegs with 20 PSI for 2 days at 36F and then dial down to appropriate pressure for the style. If I had more than one tap then I wouldn't bother with the boost carb.

In short, leave the gas on.

Rushis said:

If you follow this carbonation table you will never go wrong. It is physically impossible to over carbonate a beer if you set the pressure according to your serving temperature.

Click to expand...

+1


FWIW, I usually rack to keg, cool to serving temp, hook up gas to keg and set pressure to achieve desired carb level, shake 15-20 mins, let keg sit overnight, and its ready to serve next day.

Heres a cool site that I use with some usuful charts and calculators http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/forcecarb.shtml

+2 on the carb table. The kegerator one the link goes to is the best I've seen.

If your timeline is five days, I would crank the gas up, shake and roll it for 10 minutes, turn the gas down to 12 or whatever (depending on your temp as per the carb table) and leave it. In five days you'll be golden. If you're worried in the meantime you can shake and roll it a few times in the interim.

When it comes time to serve, remember to turn your gas off, bleed your corney, and serve around 2 psi so your beer doesn't come out too fast (resulting in a glass of foam with an inch of beer at the bottom). A neat little trick is to pour 3/4 of your pint at low pressure then the last bit at maybe 10 psi so you get a nice head. It may take a few tries to get just right, but for someone kegging for the first time getting the right "pour" can be frustrating. Leave the gas too high and you have a pint of foam with an inch of beer at the bottom. Yes, the beer comes up but it's embarassing not to mention frustrating. Pour all the way at 2psi and you end up with no head, less frustrating but also potentially embarassing.

Good luck!

osagedr said:

+2 on the carb table. The kegerator one the link goes to is the best I've seen.

If your timeline is five days, I would crank the gas up, shake and roll it for 10 minutes, turn the gas down to 12 or whatever (depending on your temp as per the carb table) and leave it. In five days you'll be golden. If you're worried in the meantime you can shake and roll it a few times in the interim.

When it comes time to serve, remember to turn your gas off, bleed your corney, and serve around 2 psi so your beer doesn't come out too fast (resulting in a glass of foam with an inch of beer at the bottom). A neat little trick is to pour 3/4 of your pint at low pressure then the last bit at maybe 10 psi so you get a nice head. It may take a few tries to get just right, but for someone kegging for the first time getting the right "pour" can be frustrating. Leave the gas too high and you have a pint of foam with an inch of beer at the bottom. Yes, the beer comes up but it's embarassing not to mention frustrating. Pour all the way at 2psi and you end up with no head, less frustrating but also potentially embarassing.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

this is what im confused about. why would i turn off the gas? i thought i leave the gas going until my beer is gone? and bleeding the corney, wouldnt that result in waste of the carbonation i put forth?

why would i turn off the gas?

Click to expand...

Because you don't want to do that. AKA bad information.

david_42 said:

Because you don't want to do that. AKA bad information.

Click to expand...

hahaha, thats what i thought. the gas is stayin on till the beer is gone!

The gas stays on.

Whether you choose to force carb at higher psi and then turn it down to serving pressure or use set and forget you still need pressure to maintain carbonation once you achieve desired CO2 volumes. With proper carbonation (either way) you need to have a balance so that the beer does not lose carbonation or get over carbed.

Given proper line lengths, inner diameters, psi, temperature, there is no need to adjust or purge the keg once you achieve that balance. Using the chart that was linked to should be enough. No need to turn it down during serving and up for storage or off or anything. If you have a keg that is properly sealed and a system that is properly set up the gas isn't going to go anywhere.

pcollins said:

The gas stays on.

Whether you choose to force carb at higher psi and then turn it down to serving pressure or use set and forget you still need pressure to maintain carbonation once you achieve desired CO2 volumes. With proper carbonation (either way) you need to have a balance so that the beer does not lose carbonation or get over carbed.

Given proper line lengths, inner diameters, psi, temperature, there is no need to adjust or purge the keg once you achieve that balance. Using the chart that was linked to should be enough. No need to turn it down during serving and up for storage or off or anything. If you have a keg that is properly sealed and a system that is properly set up the gas isn't going to go anywhere.

Click to expand...

thats probably the best advice ive gotten so far, thanks to everyone else who gave good advice as well. im gonna use the set and forget method and just leave my brew at 10-12psi. i wanted to have my brew at 5 days, but its not manditory. i plan on trying it at 5 days anyway just to see how carbed it is, but i expect it to be beautiful at 2 weeks...

Somewhat related - I'm planning to change my kegerator (currently single spout) to a double so that I flow two corny's. I want to just splice the gas line into two ball locks. I don't drink crazy different styles enough to justify buying a new 2-secondary regulator. I figure that while one can be fully carbonated (at 8-10psi), the other can be slowly force carbonating. If I don't have two hooked up, do I NEED to have a shut-off, or will the ball lock valve be enough to prevent leakage? Any other issues?

You can just use a T splitter to send the gas to two disconnects. I had mine split with a stainless cross to 3 kegs. It's fine to disconnect one and leave the other, there wont be any leaking or anything.

Regarding my "inferior product" comment earlier, if you rush your carbonation by shaking, rolling, or just setting the pressure super high, you will get a harsh carbonic acid bite. It goes away after a few days, but it can be pretty pronounced especially in lighter styles. You're much better off taking your time and doing it right if you can.

To keep your beer properly carbonated you need to keep your gas hooked up to your keg at the same psi for serving. If you have foaming at that pressure that is most likely a line lenth issue.

See link for info on balancing your system http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/kegbalance.shtml

masonsjax said:

Regarding my "inferior product" comment earlier, if you rush your carbonation by shaking, rolling, or just setting the pressure super high, you will get a harsh carbonic acid bite. It goes away after a few days, but it can be pretty pronounced especially in lighter styles. You're much better off taking your time and doing it right if you can.

Click to expand...

Thanks for clarying.

I really should work on being more patient

No worries, back before I had a line of kegs waiting to be tapped, I was known to shake, rattle, and roll so I could drink carbed beer the same day. Now that my pipeline is pretty full, I prime my kegs and only have to wait for them to chill before drinking.

Just set up my 3 gallon system. Quick question. This applies for all volumes of beer? Is there any need to adjust any of this information for more or less than 5 gallons?