help with Keg

Well this is my first time kegging. Need some advice. I was using the set and wait method, I put the regulator on about 10psi and its been siting for about 20-23 days, just tasted the beer and its undercarberated. Had the temp in the keg at about 68 degrees and didn't plan to use for at least 30 days. SO.......

I just up'd the PSI to 20psi since its getting close to 30 days. How long do you think I should leave it there. I dropped the temp to 45 the chart says around 15-16 psi but that doesn't say for how long?

Charts arn't explaining alot of other than some numbers and temps.

Thanks.

Chill the keg to serving temp. CO2 absorbs better at lower temps, that's why 68 degree extended carb was fruitless. Make sure keg is sealed. I usually make sure seal is made w/30 psi, then back off.

I fill my kegs, put them in the kegerator @ 38*, set the co2 @ 12 psi, start drinking it in about 5-7 days... I'm not in a hurry as there are other kegs to drink while it carbs.

Fortunete11er said:

[...]I put the regulator on about 10psi and its been siting for about 20-23 days, just tasted the beer and its undercarberated. Had the temp in the keg at about 68 degrees[...]

Click to expand...

Ok, our favorite carbonation table doesn't handle this case, 68°F being off the Y-scale.

So, reverting to my favorite carbonation calculator, set the "method" to "kegging", set the volumes to middle-of-the-ale-range 2.5, set the temperature to 68°F, hit the calculate button, et voila: you should have been using 27.6 psi for those three weeks...

Now you have the tools. Go forth and carbonate...

Cheers!

[edit/ps] You can carbonate beer at pretty much any temperature, it's all a matter of using the correct corresponding pressure.
As for time, I've been kegging for well over a decade using cornelius kegs. always using the charted pressure vs temperature (never shaken/stirred/bursted) and a full keg of typical FG beer takes two weeks plus a few days to reach a ~2.5 volume equilibrium...

Thanks Tipper,

That's what i'm looking for. I'm trying to avoid drinking green beer and wanted it to age in the keg, kind of treat it like one big bottle, My freezer is used as a fermentor also so I had it set at 68 degrees and figured I'd leave it in there for 3-4 weeks at that temp but apparently the PSI was set to low. Since I was done fermenting I turned it down to 45 and was hoping it would be ready....LOL....undercarb'd. Now I turned it up so I'll give it a couple days.

Appreciate the tip and the chart, this will definitely help.

Let me add a question to this. when using these charts and tools, they don't give you a minimum day. So the set and wait.....for how long, would be good to have a decent minimum. I understand its to taste but talking about carb'd and ready regardless if green or aged.

Fortunete11er said:

Let me add a question to this. when using these charts and tools, they don't give you a minimum day. So the set and wait.....for how long, would be good to have a decent minimum. I understand its to taste but talking about carb'd and ready regardless if green or aged.

Click to expand...

I think with "set and forget" (assuming your keg is cold - it often takes 12-24 hours or so just to cool it down from 70F to sub-40F), I would say 5-7 days to carb your beer properly.

With all the "my keg won't carb" questions, it's all about:
Pressure
Temperature
Time.

If you pressurize with CO2 at the right pressure, for a given temperature, and wait for some time - the keg will have to be carbed at desired level. If it is not, either pressure is not getting into the keg (or leaking out of the keg), or temperature is off, or you didn't give it enough time. But you should see big progress even over a day or two.

I use the system where instead of going for say 10 psi for 5-7 days at 36F, which is about 2.5 volumes of CO2, I would go for higher pressure - 30-35 psi or so, for first 24-36, maybe 48 hours if I am really impatient, and then back down to 10 psi. This way the beer is carbed within maybe 2 days or so (my beer is already cold and clear during transfer to keg). I almost never overcarb it using this procedure. It gets a little better at 5-7 days mark (and continues to get better), but it's very drinkable within a few days, as it basically carbed.

I don't like shaking the keg for numerous reasons: 1. it's strenuous (on my back) 2. it's not very controllable. 3. You are mixing in yeast, spent hops and other sediment into the solution 4. You are using up proteins that are needed for head retention. 5. You can end up with easily over-carbed keg, at which point you can relatively quickly de-carb it, by agitating it once again and releasing CO2, but it cost you more in head retention.

With IPAs and other beers (like Hefeweizens) where you want to drink them as fresh as possible, waiting even 7 days (never mind 21 days) is borderline sacrilegious.

+1 on Dialing up the PSI for the first 24-48 hours.

Like @55x11 said I dial up to ~28 PSI (25-30 will work) for about 36 hours (I typically keg on like a Wednesday night after my son goes to bed) then afte 36 hours (before work on Friday morning) I dial the pressure down to about 9 PSI (depends on style as i have a 4 body secondary regulator and can adjust all 4 kegs independently based on style). By the time I'm ready for a beer on Friday after work its carbed to acceptable levels and by the time I'm done mowing the lawn on Sunday at noon its perfection. This works for my rig which sits about 33 degrees F.

For true set and forget folks it seems to be about 18-20 days from what I hear, but again depends on PSI and Temp.