force carbonate

I siphoned carboy to keg and am leaving the keg in the fridge for 24 hrs. I did not put any cO2 in the keg. So tomorrow I will hook up the cO2 when force carbing. Is this correct? Is it fine just locking the lid after filling it and putting it in the fridge?

Also, once it is carbed, can I take the gas off the keg when its not in use and just hook it up when I'm going to use it?

I'm sure it will be ok but I usually hit the keg with 30 Psi right away to seal the lid and purge a few times to get tie of any O2 in the headspace. I usually put it on gas right away too.

hough77 said:

I siphoned carboy to keg and am leaving the keg in the fridge for 24 hrs. I did not put any cO2 in the keg. So tomorrow I will hook up the cO2 when force carbing. Is this correct? Is it fine just locking the lid after filling it and putting it in the fridge?

Also, once it is carbed, can I take the gas off the keg when its not in use and just hook it up when I'm going to use it?

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Why force carb? If you force carb a beer you sacrifice come flavor to have a beer within a 24-48 hour period...I would recommend setting your beer to your serving psi for 1 week, here is a psi chart that will help you figure your serving psi based on your refrigerator temp and beer style: http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php

SD-SLIM said:

Why force carb? If you force carb a beer you sacrifice come flavor to have a beer within a 24-48 hour period...I would recommend setting your beer to your serving psi for 1 week, here is a psi chart that will help you figure your serving psi based on your refrigerator temp and beer style: http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php

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What are the numbers at the top, the psi? And the numbers in the color grid are what?

hough77 said:

What are the numbers at the top, the psi? And the numbers in the color grid are what?

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Yep, the top #'s are PSI. The numbers in the grid represent the carbonation level of the beer, in volumes. See the legend at the bottom for general carbonation guidelines for various styles.

SD-SLIM said:

Why force carb? If you force carb a beer you sacrifice come flavor to have a beer within a 24-48 hour period...I would recommend setting your beer to your serving psi for 1 week

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We really need to clarify the nomenclature about carbonation around here. I think most people here refer to any carbonation using an outside source of CO2 as "force carbing", including the set and forget method. I think you're referring to "burst carbing" with high pressures and/or shaking the keg. FWIW I'm also a fan of the set and forget method of force carbing, especially for those new to kegging.

hough77...I presume you may be new to kegging or thinking about getting in to it, so here is roughly how I keg my beer (please ignore if you already know this and I am assuming wrong).

Slow and steady way: I rack from my fermenter to my keg...put the keg in the refrigerator and attach the gas line...(optional) to set my rings and gaskets in my keg, I put my pressure up to 30psi for an hour and let it fill my keg...after an hour is up I come back and listen and look for hissing or bubbling...if there is hissing or bubbling then I have a leak, if not I move on....moving on I adjust my co2 pressure to recommended serving pressure (on the chart I linked in earlier post), which in most cases is between 10-12 psi, I then purge the keg (you do this buy pulling up on the pressure relief valve until all the sound stops), purging will release oxygen which is bad for your beer...with my co2 set at serving temperature, I leave my beer/co2 alone for at least 1 week then connect liquid post and enjoy!!!!

Quick and Impatient: Connect the co2 gas line to the out post (this is the side the liquid will come out of) it may be a little rough to get on and off the first few times you do this, but thats normal...with your gas line connected to the out post, turn you co2 on to 30 psi, wait until it stops filling the keg and purge...come back in an hour and purge again, leave for 24 to 48 hours...turn off co2, disconnect gas line and reconnect on in post (where the gas line normally goes), connect liquid post and enjoy!

The slow and steady way is just called carbing/kegging your beer....the Quick and Impatient way is called force carbing. You will read and hear a lot of people tell you to force carb by rolling or shaking your beer, but that way is almost a sure way to screw up your beer...if you would like an example of what shaking or rolling of a keg does to your beer, grab a can of beer and shake or roll it, carefully open it and pour it...I wouldnt be shocked if you had a glass of foam!

Happy Brewing!

SD-SLIM said:

The slow and steady way is just called carbing/kegging your beer....the Quick and Impatient way is called force carbing.

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Any time you use an outside source for CO2 it’s force carbing (as opposed to naturally carbing by adding more sugar.) Your slow method is called set-and-forget. Any bumped up pressure or shaking is burst carbing.


Or at least that's the way I lernt it.

SD-SLIM said:

Why force carb? If you force carb a beer you sacrifice come flavor to have a beer within a 24-48 hour period...I would recommend setting your beer to your serving psi for 1 week, here is a psi chart that will help you figure your serving psi based on your refrigerator temp and beer style: http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php

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I think "forcing" co2 into a liquid at any pressure (weather it be 1psi or 100psi) is force carbing. "Naturally" carbing would be adding some sort of sugar to your beer (and maybe some yeast) to get a small amount of yeast to produce co2.

I don't think you lose any flavor force carbing.

hough77 said:

I siphoned carboy to keg and am leaving the keg in the fridge for 24 hrs. I did not put any cO2 in the keg. So tomorrow I will hook up the cO2 when force carbing. Is this correct? Is it fine just locking the lid after filling it and putting it in the fridge?

Also, once it is carbed, can I take the gas off the keg when its not in use and just hook it up when I'm going to use it?

Click to expand...

You risk oxygenating your beer if you have not put any co2 in your keg weather it be to purge it or carb it. You can take it off the gas when not in use but some carbonation may come out of solution and you will have to wait for it to recarbonate and you really won't have much of an idea of how much it's carbonated. I can't think of any reason to take it off the gas.

AnOldUR said:

Any time you use an outside source for CO2 it’s force carbing (as opposed to naturally carbing by adding more sugar.) Your slow method is called set-and-forget. Any bumped up pressure or shaking is burst carbing.


Or at least that's the way I lernt it.

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Yeah I stand corrected...if adding gas, you are force carbonating.

This method has not failed me once.

1. Rack finished beer to keg
2. Seal keg with 30psi to seat lid, then purge o2 from headspace
3. Leave the gas on the keg in the kegerator at 30psi for 48 hours.
4. Put gas line off, vent headspace pressure, dial regulator to 10-12psi
5. Drink almost perfectly carbonated beer that when left at 10-12psi will only get better as time goes on.

I'm doing the slow force, I put 30 psi on it, bled out the air for 30 seconds, and put the psi at 10, put the tank and the keg in the fridge at 38*.

Hope its right, need some beer for a party soon, and thanks everyone!

duckmanco said:

This method has not failed me once.

1. Rack finished beer to keg
2. Seal keg with 30psi to seat lid, then purge o2 from headspace
3. Leave the gas on the keg in the kegerator at 30psi for 48 hours.
4. Put gas line off, vent headspace pressure, dial regulator to 10-12psi
5. Drink almost perfectly carbonated beer that when left at 10-12psi will only get better as time goes on.

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This is exactly what I do. It gets the beer ready quick and I have not over carbonated yet. IMO, this is the way to go.

lschiavo said:

This is exactly what I do. It gets the beer ready quick and I have not over carbonated yet. IMO, this is the way to go.

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Except he leaves out the most important factor, beer temp. I guarantee you at lower temps this method will over carbonate MOST styles every time.
If I do 30 psi, it's for 24 hours max. That's in the range of 42f.

_

wildwest450 said:

Except he leaves out the most important factor, beer temp. I guarantee you at lower temps this method will over carbonate MOST styles every time.
If I do 30 psi, it's for 24 hours max. That's in the range of 42f.

_

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Good point. I usually hook them up relatively warm so they probably take a while to get to fridge temps. By the second day I pull a sample occasionally to see where I'm at then drop pressure as needed.

jetmac said:

I can't think of any reason to take it off the gas.

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if your connections arent leak free so you dont waste your whole tank...

audger said:

if your connections arent leak free so you dont waste your whole tank...

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Step 1/2: check system for leaks. If found repair and return to step 1/2. If no leaks proceed to step 1.

I am just getting into kegging as well and have been reading up on the "Kegging FAQ" Sticky in the kegging/bottling section. Good information there. I hope I have done my homework as I plan to keg my 2nd batch ever (1st to be kegged) tomorrow or Friday.

SD-SLIM said:

hough77...I presume you may be new to kegging or thinking about getting into kegging.

Quick and Impatient: Connect the co2 gas line to the out post (this is the side the liquid will come out of) it may be a little rough to get on and off the first few times you do this, but thats normal...with your gas line connected to the out post, turn you co2 on to 30 psi, wait until it stops filling the keg and purge...come back in an hour and purge again, leave for 24 to 48 hours...turn off co2, disconnect gas line and reconnect on in post (where the gas line normally goes), connect liquid post and enjoy!
Happy Brewing!

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After deleted most of Slims book on kegging. I thought I'd point out, that if your using Ball lock kegs then, I wouldn't advise switching the post connections. ( It may be a little rough to get on and off the first few times) That's because they are not interchangeable. Beer connector on one and CO2 connector on the other. If want to switch the lines, then switch the connectors from CO2 to beer line, don't just put the CO2 connector on the Beer line post. Unless I misunderstood you Slim, then disregard.

Stevo2569 said:

After deleted most of Slims book on kegging. I thought I'd point out, that if your using Ball lock kegs then, I wouldn't advise switching the post connections. ( It may be a little rough to get on and off the first few times) That's because they are not interchangeable. Beer connector on one and CO2 connector on the other. If want to switch the lines, then switch the connectors from CO2 to beer line, don't just put the CO2 connector on the Beer line post. Unless I misunderstood you Slim, then disregard.

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Ouch!!!

The difference between the gas and liquid line is a millimeter flare that's placed on the liquid post to keep it from popping off, and to serve are a reminder between the two post's in case your's isn't marked...you can switch the co2 connector to a black connector and attach or you can just use the gray, the issue with using the gray is that it is a little harder to pull of but it will come off and wont cause any damage to you gray connector. I used to switch my connectors until a couple of years ago it was pointed out to me that I didnt need to, I tried it and never have had any problems...Steveo feel free to delete!