Carbonation Differences Kegging, bottle condition, etc...

I have noticed that with my force carbed beers I have larger, more aggressive bubbles. With my lower gravity bottle conditioned beers, I also have somewhat large bubbles. With my 1.070 or larger, big beers that I bottle condition for a very long time, I get this amazing, dense, silky, fine carbonation and amazing head on the beers as a result of the fine carbonation.

The only thing I can think of is that there is a small amount of fermentable maltose left in these large beers that contributes to the different carbonation..?

I would like to be able to replicate this fine, silky, carbonation in keg beer...not sure how.

Have you conditioned one of the larger beers for a long time in a keg, or is tying a keg up out of the question for longer periods (how long are you talking by the way)?

If you haven't, I'm wondering whether it's an ingredient difference in the big beers that makes the difference, or just the higher gravity itself, changing the proteins etc.

I'll stay tuned in to see what other folks think.

permo said:

I have noticed that with my force carbed beers I have larger, more aggressive bubbles. With my lower gravity bottle conditioned beers, I also have somewhat large bubbles. With my 1.070 or larger, big beers that I bottle condition for a very long time, I get this amazing, dense, silky, fine carbonation and amazing head on the beers as a result of the fine carbonation.

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The difference is time. Let the force carbed beer sit for as long as you're letting them sit in the bottle and see how it turns out.

I am hoping the difference it just time, there is just something about big beers that get's a different carbonation level in a bottle. Not sure why.

There's also a difference in the quality of carbonation if you're using corn sugar or DME to prime the bottled beers. I find with DME you get the finer beads of CO2 than with the corn sugar.

Scimmia said:

The difference is time. Let the force carbed beer sit for as long as you're letting them sit in the bottle and see how it turns out.

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Yes, with time the bubbles will get finer and "creamier".

pcollins said:

There's also a difference in the quality of carbonation if you're using corn sugar or DME to prime the bottled beers. I find with DME you get the finer beads of CO2 than with the corn sugar.

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Not that I've ever noticed. I would challenge you to have two identical beers, one primed with DME and one with corn sugar, and tell them apart. Again, I believe it's time.

^what she said.

What you may get with the DME primed beer is a slight bit more malitness. I know I prime with DME when I feel my post-fermented brews need to recoup a little maltiness. But never noticed any bubble quality difference.

It has to do with the fine particles in suspension. Younger beer has more stuff still floating and the bubbles will be bigger. If you give the beer time for all those fine particles to settle out you will get a nice creamy head.

i find if i dryhop in primary or secondary....
i get better aroma from bottle conditioned beers verus forced carb in a keg. maybe its because some gets blown off when purging the keg, than releasing the 30psi after 24hours? or it could be all in head and not a difference

bkov said:

i find if i dryhop in primary or secondary....
i get better aroma from bottle conditioned beers verus forced carb in a keg. maybe its because some gets blown off when purging the keg, than releasing the 30psi after 24hours? or it could be all in head and not a difference

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Sure if you vent the co2 off the keg your gonna loose the aroma. The aroma is a volatile compound and it doesn't take much to get it out of the beer. It could easily be blown out with the co2. With that in mind, don't vent your kegs. You won't need to vent if you don't over carb them. You won't over carb them if you don't raise the PSI past the proper amount needed for that style/temp (10-15 PSI). It will take longer to carb at a lower PSI but maybe it's worth waiting for.

what about when venting the oxygen out

bkov said:

what about when venting the oxygen out

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If the gas is not in solution, I doubt it will have any effect. So purging the head space should not make an impact on the aroma. BUT if you find your not getting enough hop aroma there is an easy solution: Use more hops! :rockin: