Can I naturally carb at 68 degrees?

[electricd7]

I just kegged my first batch this weekend. I added 1/2 cup of priming sugar to 1cup of water and boiled. Let cool to room temperature and added solution to empty clean/sanitized keg. Then I racked 5gal on top. Finally I purged the headspace with CO2 a couple of times and ran it to 10psi and put it in the corner in my basement. Most of the threads I read suggest in the 70s to naturally carb, but 68 is as good as I can get. Can I naturally carb at this temperature? I would prefer to naturally carb as I don't have room in my kegerator currently to force carb. How long should I wait? Thanks!

 

[ColoHox]

It will still carb at 68. I usually give my bottle conditioned beers 3-6 weeks for stable carbonation depending on the abv and temp.

 

[boydster]

Yes, you can naturally carb at 68. The 2* difference really shouldn't extend your time by much, if at all. As with any beer you make, the yeast will work at their own pace - they don't read HBT for advice on how quickly to work - but you can rest assured that they will do the job just fine at 68*.

 

[TheZymurgist]

68 is fine, the cooler it is the longer it will take to carb. Why did you prime it and pressurize it? Isn't that doing the same thing twice?

 

[bob1852]

It'll carb just fine.

Think about it, During fermentation (and what temp are you doing that at?), yeast are eating sugar and producing C02. The only reason it's not carbing is because you're allowing the gas to escape via an airlock or other method.

I've successfully bottle/keg carbed in the high 50s, but usually am in the mid 60s.

 

[ncbrewer]

Similar experience here. In the winter, mine condition at 65 degrees - takes about twice as long.

 

[Deicide]

68 is fine, the cooler it is the longer it will take to carb. Why did you prime it and pressurize it? Isn't that doing the same thing twice?

You pressurize the keg to make sure the lid seals properly.


-deicide

 

[Yoss]

68 is fine, the cooler it is the longer it will take to carb. Why did you prime it and pressurize it? Isn't that doing the same thing twice?

Probably just to get the initial seal on the keg

 

[TheZymurgist]

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[electricd7]

Thanks for the info. As to why I carbed and pressurized...I only meant to pressurize to seal the lid, didn't figure running it to 10psi would amount to much.

 

[electricd7]

I also fermented at the same temperature to answer a previous question.

 

[eluterio]

What ive done in the past was what your doing now but at 65 degrees. Honestly I wasnt able to tell the difference between CO2 and Naturally carbing if there was it was slightly not one one who just sits back and drinks notices. Its a good way to have kegs in waiting if your taps are full. Ive also after a line comes free put the naturally carbed keg on tap after a week, chilled it, put desired psi into it, and your suppose to wait a week or so. I myself cant wait a day and start pulling samples. Ive also pulled samples off my room temp/naturally carbed kegs. Good way to get a feel for the process!

 

[tootal]

Here's a chart for forced carbonation: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

You can force carbonate at 68 degrees. Depending on the beer style, you can choose the "Volumes of CO2" you want. The chart goes to 65 but that's close enough. Hook your CO2 tank to the Outlet valve of the corny keg. Crank it up to 30 psi, once again depending on style, and rock it back and forth until you don't hear any more bubbles inside. Leave the 30 psi in there until you're ready to put it in the kegerator. After it's chilled then reset the pressure for tapping. Skip the sugar since not all yeast act the same everytime and your carbonation can differ batch to batch. This way you are consistant every time.

 

[Wyrmwood]

I just kegged my first batch this weekend. I added 1/2 cup of priming sugar to 1cup of water and boiled. Let cool to room temperature and added solution to empty clean/sanitized keg. Then I racked 5gal on top. Finally I purged the headspace with CO2 a couple of times and ran it to 10psi and put it in the corner in my basement. Most of the threads I read suggest in the 70s to naturally carb, but 68 is as good as I can get. Can I naturally carb at this temperature? I would prefer to naturally carb as I don't have room in my kegerator currently to force carb. How long should I wait? Thanks!

This is exactly what I do. I determine the priming sugar by style using http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/ and give it 14 days at ~62-65. Papazian says you should use ~2/3 the priming sugar in a keg or it will get foamy, but I also bottle a dozen or so right after mixing in the priming sugar out of each batch, so it just makes it easier to get the right volume by using the 'normal' calculations. One of the biggest advantages is I rarely change my pressure on my co2, leaving it around 8-10psi. When I was force carbing, I was always playing with the pressure and the higher the pressure, the greater the odds of springing a leak... Now my 5lb tanks lasts me 6 months. It also lets me carb before I put the keg in the fridge, so as long as my pipe line is steady, there's no need to force carb. While you definitely need a touch of co2 to seal it, I don't use more than 8-10psi. I do purge it though.

 

[sleepymonkey]

Funny quote Homercidal! It gave me a good laugh. Less chance of infection. Lol.