Carbonating my keg

Hey dudes!

I'm getting back into brewing. I decided to go the keg route because, well, bottling is a b*tch and thats essentially why i stopped brewing in the first place.

I've been reading up on force carbonating but I cant find any concrete answers (maybe there are none).



-How long should i force carbonate before I enjoy one of my newly minted adult beverages?

I found the northern brewer chart here, which is helpful for the PSI and temp, but not time.

-Also, is there a time to cold crash and a time to not? Like "don't cold crash a wit or it'll taste like crap" or something like that.



Thanks y'all. Happy brewing.

I just force carbed a hefe for about 36 hours and it took a couple of pours to get the foam down.

Bunch of videos on youtube aswell. I force carb and can drink it 24 hrs later. It is possible to over or under carb though just have to findyour sweet spot

I set to serving temp and it's ready in about a week.

stanley1271 said:

I just force carbed a hefe for about 36 hours and it took a couple of pours to get the foam down.

Click to expand...

Do you usually have a few glasses of foam when force carbing?

bobcostas said:

Hey dudes!

I'm getting back into brewing. I decided to go the keg route because, well, bottling is a b*tch and thats essentially why i stopped brewing in the first place.

I've been reading up on force carbonating but I cant find any concrete answers (maybe there are none).



-How long should i force carbonate before I enjoy one of my newly minted adult beverages?

I found the northern brewer chart here, which is helpful for the PSI and temp, but not time.

-Also, is there a time to cold crash and a time to not? Like "don't cold crash a wit or it'll taste like crap" or something like that.



Thanks y'all. Happy brewing.

Click to expand...

We cold crash everything. It helps all clean up the beer. I am not aware of any times not to........

As for the PSI and temp, follow the chart. As for time, when its ready, its ready.......usually takes a couple days.

We used to put it up to 30-35psi....shook it for a few minutes, then left it on that pressure for 24 hours.....and it was ready to go......only problem with that is you truly don't know what your CO2 volumes are coming out at.

Just recently started "conditioning" them over a handful of days and it made a world of difference. Last stout we made actually was carbed right, instead of over carbed. Also we noticed that when they got overcarbed they poured horribly out of the kegerator.

No wrong or right way, my $.02.........enjoy

What is the difference between cold crashing and putting a keg in the kezzer under pressure?

I run 30psi for 36 hours, then purge keg, back off to 8-9psi and let it ride for 3-4 days....it's been perfect that way for probably 30 batches.

i do what yooper (and a couple others, i think) suggested...30 psi for 36-48 hrs, turn down to serving for a couple of days, and it's good to go (short of being a little green once in awhile)

all of the above at serving temps, of course

The colder the beer the easier for CO2 to go into solution. I crash the temp down to serving temperature in the fermenter, rack to the keg, apply CO2 at about 30psi, lay the keg on it's side with CO2 attached, gently roll back and forth, and listen to the bubbles...(evidence that CO2 is going into solution). I roll a few times every 5 minutes or so for 30-40 minutes, bleed off some of the pressure, and pour myself a home brew. I decrease the pressure to a little above serving pressure and leave that way for a few days. Along the way I help myself to a few good, although slightly foamy beers.

Works for me!

Thanks everyone. Lots of good answers.

Follow up question:

I've heard of some who use their priming sugars for evil and add them into the wort for fermenting. Is this recommended at all?

bobcostas said:

Thanks everyone. Lots of good answers.

Follow up question:

I've heard of some who use their priming sugars for evil and add them into the wort for fermenting. Is this recommended at all?

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I assume you mean the little 4oz packets that come with most kits. In my opinion it doesn't matter much. They will only contribute a couple of gravity points, so you might as well toss it in if you're not going to carb with it. I personally do like to naturally carb my kegs, but to each their own.

dallasdb said:

Do you usually have a few glasses of foam when force carbing?

Click to expand...

My IPA did not have much foam because I let it set at normal pressure for a couple of days after force carbing it, but this hefe did only because I did not let it set at normal pressure before pouring a glass. I was impatient and wanted to get a taste of it.

Now that I have a bit of a build up on my supply I can show more patience, maybe.

-Stanley

I haven't moved onto kegging so a bit to learn yet. When you guys say that you pressurize to 30 psi does the CO2 just absorb through the surface of the beer or is it necessary to agitate/shake it up

gerrywalsh said:

I haven't moved onto kegging so a bit to learn yet. When you guys say that you pressurize to 30 psi does the CO2 just absorb through the surface of the beer or is it necessary to agitate/shake it up

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Shaking hasn't given me good results... Only foamy inconsistent, over carbed beer. I have had success with putting on gas at 30psi for 36 hours or so with no shaking and then relieving the pressure and backing down to 12 (serving pressure in my case). I usually start drinking on it in 3 to 4 days.

gerrywalsh said:

I haven't moved onto kegging so a bit to learn yet. When you guys say that you pressurize to 30 psi does the CO2 just absorb through the surface of the beer or is it necessary to agitate/shake it up

Click to expand...

it will absorb through the surface. agitating it speeds up the process, but as others have said, you risk the chance of overcarbing. patience is key