Thoughts on psi/time for carbing?

I've read up on how to do it and there are a lot of different opinions on psi and time before dropping psi down so I thought I'd just run my situation by everyone and see what you all think. I'm used to set it and forget it so I don't know what a good psi and time frame is for this beer. I need to have it ready to serve in 3 days. I know it won't be peak but I don't want to risk over carbing. I'm carbing a belgian white, here's what I was thinking about doing let me know what you think and any suggestions. Set the beer to 20psi and shake at room temp for about an hour bleed off, move to fridge and leave at 18 psi for 5hr. bleed off, set at 14psi for remaining 3 days. This way the most amount of co2 that can be absorbed is 14psi @38degrees F.

20psi at room temp will do nothing, forego that step for sure.

If I were you, I would set it at 25psi in the fridge for 24hrs. Bleed off, set at your target (sounds like 14psi) pour a glass and see what you think. If its close, leave it at 14, if its undercarbed noticeably, crank it back to 25psi for another 6hrs and check again.

PS DO NOT SHAKE!

+1 do not shake. Chill your keg for 24 hours to allow for faster CO2 absorbtion. Put it on CO2 at 30psi for 48 hours. Purge keg of all C02 and set for serving pressure (between 8-12 psi). I do it all the time with perfect results.

dkershner said:

20psi at room temp will do nothing, forego that step for sure.

If I were you, I would set it at 25psi in the fridge for 24hrs. Bleed off, set at your target (sounds like 14psi) pour a glass and see what you think. If its close, leave it at 14, if its undercarbed noticeably, crank it back to 25psi for another 6hrs and check again.

PS DO NOT SHAKE!

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just for my Info why not shake???

Tilldeath said:

just for my Info why not shake???

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It throws all predictability out the window. When you have psi on something with a given surface area and temperature, you can know how fast it will absorb. When you take the predictability of surface area out of it by shaking at a random turbidity, there is no telling what will happen.

Plus, you will stir up any yeast.

it disturbs the yeast making it cloudy and makes the beer foam. but really your going to let it sit for 3 days. both of those points are moot IMO.

Assuming the keg is chilled to serving temp, set it at serving pressure and shake the piss out of it, you cant overcarb because the best case you can get is right to your carb level. shaking at high pressures is a recipe for overcarbing, but I have not been able to overcarb by shaking at serving pressure. I have had to do this method three times to carb kegs on short notice when my set and forget method also included forgetting to turn on the co2, had a party and needed to carb fast. hopefully the remaining 2 days will let it clear and settle from the shaking. the carbonic bite will be there, but not much you can do about that.

well in a belgian wit I would think yeast mixed in would be fine correct? and if I was to just set it at the serving pressure 14psi and shake it for like 2 min. every hour for the next 2 days I should get close to target carbonation without over carbing it correct? Just trying to figure the best way.

dkershner said:

It throws all predictability out the window. When you have psi on something with a given surface area and temperature, you can know how fast it will absorb. When you take the predictability of surface area out of it by shaking at a random turbidity, there is no telling what will happen.

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i dont quite agree. at a particular temp and pressure the beer will only absorb so much CO2. the results are very predictable. but since you are not doing the set and forget method i tend to agree with dkershner. you run the risk of over carbonating because you have to much pressure for the given temp of your beer.

TipsyDragon said:

i dont quite agree. at a particular temp and pressure the beer will only absorb so much CO2. the results are very predictable. but since you are not doing the set and forget method i tend to agree with dkershner. you run the risk of over carbonating because you have to much pressure for the given temp of your beer.

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Over the course of 2 days, something like 30-40% of the pressure is put into the beer so long as you don't shake it. Over 1 day, like 30%.

If you shake it, you have absolutely no idea.

That was all I was saying.

If you want to set at serving pressure and shake for a whole day, it will definitely speed up the process, but it probably wouldn't be quick enough to get it there in 3 days.

What you want is 100% absorbtion at 14psi. This takes about 3 weeks to achieve at 14psi with no shaking. Raising the pressure or shaking are both alternatives, but I would not recommend doing both at the same time.

azscoob said:

Assuming the keg is chilled to serving temp, set it at serving pressure and shake the piss out of it, you cant overcarb because the best case you can get is right to your carb level. shaking at high pressures is a recipe for overcarbing, but I have not been able to overcarb by shaking at serving pressure. I have had to do this method three times to carb kegs on short notice when my set and forget method also included forgetting to turn on the co2, had a party and needed to carb fast. hopefully the remaining 2 days will let it clear and settle from the shaking. the carbonic bite will be there, but not much you can do about that.

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Exactly. There is nothing wrong with shaking, it's shaking at high pressure that's a problem.