Carbonation Pressure vs. Serving Pressure

In a couple weeks I will be kegging my first kegged beer, which will be an IPA. After reading about the different methods to carbonate it, I think I will just be turning up the pressure and letting it sit for two weeks.

I plan on carbonating it to ~2.4 volumes at 54 degrees F and 18PSI. So that means 18-19 PSI is my carbonation pressure.

I highly doubt that I will be serving my IPA at 18PSI because it seems like everyone uses a serving pressure around 8-12 PSI, right?

What I'm concerned about is if I carb at 18PSI and turn it down to 12 PSI will I lose some of those 2.4 volumes over time from the gas equalizing with the head space?

Or should I plan on serving the beer at 18PSI and balancing the line with a beer line (3/16 of course) of the appropriate length?

54* is pretty warm are you serving at that temp? Colder beer will absorb co2 better and faster.

Yeah, I'm also unsure as to why your kegerator is set to 54

I carb my beers in the basement where it is the 60s around 25 psi. Then I move the kegs to my kegger where it is below 40F and serve at 12 psi. So, like was mentioned above.... The warmer the beer the higher you have to have the pressure to carb at the same levels. If you carbonate and serve below 40F you will be able to use the same psi setting, say 12 psi or so.

TastyBrew.com | Homebrewing Calculators | Kegging Carbonation Calculator

Ok, that all makes sense. Beinig a newbie, I have been reading that some people serve ales that warm, and thought maybe that is what I should do. It clearly makes things a lot harder though.

I'll just carb and serve at 40 F and keep my regulator around 12 PSI.

Thanks for the clarification!

ZenBrew said:

I'll just carb and serve at 40 F and keep my regulator around 12 PSI.

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Now you're talking!

Seven said:

Now you're talking!

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And pretty soon I'll be toasting to my first kegged beer!

ZenBrew said:

And pretty soon I'll be toasting to my first kegged beer!

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Keeping the keezer set to 40 F. will allow you to carb more efficiently and it will keep the beer fresher longer. It doesn't take long for a glass of beer to warm up to the perfect drinking temp. once it has been poured.

Enjoy!