Keg carbonation questions

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turkstreetales

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I kegged my first brew a 3 weeks ago naturally carbonating it with sugar. I tested it out last night and it was barely carbonated - saw maybe a few bubbles. I think this was due to improper sealing when I first put the beer in the keg.

So, after tasting the flat beer, I resealed the keg at 30psi - was this the right move? I didn't release the gas - was I supposed to? Will this help the carbonation process?

Also, when I was trying to get a sample, I was getting a ton of foam. I started at 5psi and moved up between 8 and 12 - any recommendations here?

New to the kegging game so any feedback would be really helpful.

Thanks
 
If the keg wasn't sealed properly, you won't see much carbonation. The temperature also really affects the way your beer carbs up, so make sure it's in a warmer area while carbing.

Resealing the keg at 30psi is perfect. That's exactly how I do it. Give it that pressure until you hear the top seat in place and then you can stop the flow of gas. It will not contribute much to any carbonation in your beer. To carbonate it, you would need continuous flow of CO2.

The foam issue could be caused by a number of things. First, make sure that you are opening up the tap quickly and fully. If you *****foot with pouring the beer, you'll always see a ton of foam. Also, try to keep the PSI down as low as possible when serving to reduce the amount of foam when pouring.
 
When you first kegged the beer you should always pressurize with gas. Not only that you want to pull the ring a few times to purge any oxygen. By pressurizing you will get a proper seal.
 
Funny, I have gone through the exact same thing. I carbonated naturally and got plenty of CO2 in the keg, but there just wasn't any in solution after 3 weeks. Last night I set my regulator at 30psi and today I plan on checking it out again to see if that helped. Wish I had an answer for you now, but if my beer is any different tonight, I'll let you know!

Question for you: how long have you been chilling your keg? I know chilling will help the CO2 absorb into the beer. I had only been chilling for a few days when I tested mine.
 
RE: rsmith: when I pressurized it at 30 psi last night, I heard the top seal.

To carbonate it, you would need continuous flow of CO2.- Should I keep the tank connected and flowing until I get carbonation?

Also, before I taste-test the beer again, should I pull the O-ring to release any oxygen or does that not matter?

RE: Brookdale: crazy, definitely keep me posted on what you find. I currently have it in my basement at about 67 degrees. I am planning to move it to my fridge tonight to chill it.
 
Here's the deal - if your keg wasn't sealed when you primed the beer, almost all that CO2 escaped. Now that it is properly sealed, you either need to keep it cold and hooked up to the CO2 tank to carb it or you need to add more priming sugar and keep it at room temp. Simply sealing it at 30psi and disconnecting the gas won't carb your beer.

Now, let's take the hypothetical situation where your keg was sealed properly and your beer was carbonated properly by adding the priming sugar - I'm working off theory here, as I haven't tried this yet. What you probably want to do is hook it up to the gas but have the regulator down to 0 psi. It should show the pressure that exists in the keg from your priming. As the keg cools, I imagine the pressure will drop. If it starts to drop below the appropriate force carbing pressure, increase the gas to compensate. If you used the appropriate amount of priming sugar, it should drop down pretty close to the force carb pressure, I believe.

After it has been cooling for a couple days, set the regulator for serving pressure and pull the pressure release valve to relieve extra pressure. Then, give it a taste!
 
mojotele said:
Here's the deal - if your keg wasn't sealed when you primed the beer, almost all that CO2 escaped. Now that it is properly sealed, you either need to keep it cold and hooked up to the CO2 tank to carb it or you need to add more priming sugar and keep it at room temp. Simply sealing it at 30psi and disconnecting the gas won't carb your beer.

Now, let's take the hypothetical situation where your keg was sealed properly and your beer was carbonated properly by adding the priming sugar - I'm working off theory here, as I haven't tried this yet. What you probably want to do is hook it up to the gas but have the regulator down to 0 psi. It should show the pressure that exists in the keg from your priming. As the keg cools, I imagine the pressure will drop. If it starts to drop below the appropriate force carbing pressure, increase the gas to compensate. If you used the appropriate amount of priming sugar, it should drop down pretty close to the force carb pressure, I believe.

After it has been cooling for a couple days, set the regulator for serving pressure and pull the pressure release valve to relieve extra pressure. Then, give it a taste!
Click to expand...

that is such a simple solution that I never thought of it. You are my new hero.:mug::mug:
 
turkstreetales said:
RE: Brookdale: crazy, definitely keep me posted on what you find. I currently have it in my basement at about 67 degrees. I am planning to move it to my fridge tonight to chill it.
Click to expand...

I tasted mine when I got home and it was definitely carbonated more than it had been. I'm thinking leaving it one more day at 30psi should make it about perfect!
 
mojotele said:
After it has been cooling for a couple days, set the regulator for serving pressure and pull the pressure release valve to relieve extra pressure. Then, give it a taste!
Click to expand...

I am new to this too... what exactly is serving pressure? ( I know temp is a factor here too) but I carbed at 30 PSI, then reduced my pressure to 10. Do I serve at 10 or serve at less, my beer is pouring foamy as hell right now but it has only been a couple days at 10 PSI.
I have since brought my pressure down to 5 to see if I can pour a glass tomorrow.
 
billc68 said:
I am new to this too... what exactly is serving pressure? ( I know temp is a factor here too) but I carbed at 30 PSI, then reduced my pressure to 10. Do I serve at 10 or serve at less, my beer is pouring foamy as hell right now but it has only been a couple days at 10 PSI.
I have since brought my pressure down to 5 to see if I can pour a glass tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on a few variables like line length, temperature, etc. So the proper answer is "whatever works for you." But, 5 psi seems to be work well for a lot of peoples.

If it doesn't foam but comes out super slow, try 7 psi.
 
mojotele said:
I think it depends on a few variables like line length, temperature, etc. So the proper answer is "whatever works for you." But, 5 psi seems to be work well for a lot of peoples.

If it doesn't foam but comes out super slow, try 7 psi.
Click to expand...

Thanks, so when not in use, sitting in the kegerator for a few days or weeks, should it be set at 10? or at serving pressure?
 
MeatyPortion said:
that is such a simple solution that I never thought of it. You are my new hero.:mug::mug:
Click to expand...

Hey, glad to help. Like I said, it's only theory, but, given a "perfect" scenario, it seems like that should work. I tried it this weekend, and it didn't work out quite like I thought it would. But I may not have given it enough time or I may have used too much priming sugar.

This is what I figure, though. If you use enough priming sugar to carbonate to 2.5 volumes then, after three weeks, the pressure should be about 28.8 psi if your room temperature is 70 degrees. Mine was about that, if I recall correctly. As the temperature drops, the pressure should fall. If you take it down to 42 degrees, it should drop to 13.3 psi. That should help maximize the amount of CO2 created from priming used to carbonate your beer. I figure since you spent the priming sugar, you should get the most out of it.

My pressure was at 25 psi or so after being in the kegerator for 24 hours. I probably should've waited another 24 hours, but I got impatient :cross:
 
billc68 said:
Thanks, so when not in use, sitting in the kegerator for a few days or weeks, should it be set at 10? or at serving pressure?
Click to expand...

If you're letting it sit for awhile (weeks), you should put it at the appropriate carbonation pressure. You can check the charts here or use their calculator.

Most beers are carbonated at 2.5 volumes. So, if your kegerator temperature is 42 degrees you'd want the pressure at 13.3 psi.
 
If you give us a little more detail we can probably give some better solutions (what length is your line, temperature of keg, overall setup, etc).
 
mojotele said:
Hey, glad to help. Like I said, it's only theory, but, given a "perfect" scenario, it seems like that should work. I tried it this weekend, and it didn't work out quite like I thought it would. But I may not have given it enough time or I may have used too much priming sugar.

This is what I figure, though. If you use enough priming sugar to carbonate to 2.5 volumes then, after three weeks, the pressure should be about 28.8 psi if your room temperature is 70 degrees. Mine was about that, if I recall correctly. As the temperature drops, the pressure should fall. If you take it down to 42 degrees, it should drop to 13.3 psi. That should help maximize the amount of CO2 created from priming used to carbonate your beer. I figure since you spent the priming sugar, you should get the most out of it.

My pressure was at 25 psi or so after being in the kegerator for 24 hours. I probably should've waited another 24 hours, but I got impatient :cross:
Click to expand...

Cool.

So far, after 3 days the PSI is up to 3 @ 63 degrees.
 

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