FLAT Keg

[H2B]

My keg is a little flat...

I carbonated at 11PSI for 2 days... but now have it at 15... and am going to give it another day.

Is it bad to release the pressure valve to purge when the gas is hooked up to the beer line? by that i mean, could that be why my beer is flat, since it bubbles like a mambajamba?

This is my first keg, so i have little to no clue what I’m doing. My beer is super delicious, but i should probably figure this out... but in NO WAY want to run the risk of ruining the batch.

Thanks guys

 

[tjpfeister]

The method of carbonation you are using takes time, in my experience upwards of a week. Raising the pressure such as you have reduces the time but risks over carbonation. I have a method that will carbonate a beer spot on in approximately an hour, you can find it or the other methods by doing a quick search on the subject. Otherwise the simple answer is that it needs more time.

 

[knotquiteawake]

2 days at 11 psi isn't long enough. I think you would need close to 2 weeks.
If you want it fast you need to do something like 30psi for 2.5 days, then scale it back down to 11-12 for a couple days, then drink.

 

[samc]

All talk of PSI without mentioning temperature is useless. For faster carbing I like to chill my keg to 35F, put 30 psi on it for 24 hours and check it, release pressure first before trying. Then I will usually just set to serving pressure and let the temp rise as well to 45F in the keezer. It will still take a few days after that to be right, but thats fine with me. My second keg of a 10 gallon batch will just be left at serving pressure for a few weeks before being stored until use.

 

[JRems]

I usually keep it at 30 psi for 2 days at 40 degrees. Then turn it down to serving pressure. It will usually take 2-3 more days.

 

[Yooper]

And DON'T pull the pressure release valve, if that's what you're doing! The whole point is the keep the co2 IN the keg so it will go INTO the beer. Pulling the pressure relief valve is like taking the cap off of a bottle of beer and then wondering why it's flat.

I'm not sure what you meant, though, about into the beer line. I could have read that wrong.

Leave it at 12 psi (or whatever your carbonation tables say) for 10 days. then it should be fine.

 

[lumpher]

you can chill it to serving temp overnight under 11-12 psi, then take it out and roll it under foot and under pressure from the co2 at 15 psi. 30-45 minutes of that, then put it back in the cooler under 11-12 psi again. should be ready to drink next day

 

[rawlus]

everybody so damn impatient! somethings wrong if you need your beer ready in two days... youre not making enough to keep the pipeline full. for me, the beer benefits from a couple weeks of maturation before serving, even if its fully carbed sooner...

the carb at serving pressure method is so reliable and so sensible, i can't see the argument or allure of any other force carb method.

 

[tjpfeister]

everybody so damn impatient! somethings wrong if you need your beer ready in two days... youre not making enough to keep the pipeline full.

Or the pipeline can only handle so much. When you have a kegerator that only holds 2 kegs you don't want to be wasting space carbonating one where you could be serving two.

Personally, My beer spends enough time in secondary to shake the green flavor that if I wanted to spend two more weeks carbonating I would just bottle ;-)

 

[H2B]

Thank you ALL for your input. Some of it was a little confusing, but appreciated none the less. Here is a link to the chart i was using:

http://www.homebrew.com/pdfs/CO2chart.pdf

Has anyone used this method? I didn’t see any mention of it. What you do is hook the gas line to the black beer connector and put onto the “out” spout on the keg. That way the gas rises up through the beer carbonating faster without damaging the beer. I thought THIS was the slow method. I agree, If it takes longer, i’d rather bottle. I can only refrigerate two 5 gal kegs. One is store bought, the other is mine.

TJPFEISTER, Is your method posted online. I would like to see what it says. I have a feeling it is the one my homebrew shop suggested, but I forgot it.

Thanks again guys

 

[IffyG]

Has anyone used this method? I didn’t see any mention of it. What you do is hook the gas line to the black beer connector and put onto the “out” spout on the keg. That way the gas rises up through the beer carbonating faster without damaging the beer. I thought THIS was the slow method. I agree, If it takes longer, i’d rather bottle. I can only refrigerate two 5 gal kegs. One is store bought, the other is mine.

How are you going to damage the beer by feeding the gas through the gas in post and rocking the keg?

 

[IffyG]

Or the pipeline can only handle so much. When you have a kegerator that only holds 2 kegs you don't want to be wasting space carbonating one where you could be serving two.

If that's the case, considering priming the kegs with sugar so they are carbed when you kick another keg...

 

[PanuccisPizza]

Just read the sticky'd thread right here in the "Bottling/Kegging" section.
It's right up there.
The first post has literally all the information you'll need.
It even has pictures; the first of which explains why your keg isn't carbed yet and what you can do to carb it.

 

[H2B]

How are you going to damage the beer by feeding the gas through the gas in post and rocking the keg?

I really don’t know... It’s just something I’ve heard from some random beer snob kook.

 

[logdrum]

Although generally slagged here, I've had good results w/ a .5 micron carbonating stone hooked up to a 1/4" tube on the gas in. Was drinking carbed Pale Ale inside a couple of hours.

-d

 

[rawlus]

i guess im not that impatient. if i feel i need more ready to go in the pipeline i'll prime a keg ahead of time, but otherwise i dont have a major issue with living off 1 or 2 kegs for a week until another is fully carbed unless the burn rate is unusually high.

 

[logdrum]

I got the stone as an experiment, after reading about micro breweries carbonating in the bright tank w/ an "industrial" version. While the beer was indeed carbonated, it still needs several days to condition.

-d

 

[H2B]

Let’s not P_ _ _ y foot it... I’m an alcoholic... and if I’m going to overindulge, I’d rather it be from something at it’s tastiest... or darn near close to it. I’m not a rich man, but I like to think I make enough to make this a dream that can come to fruition. I wouldn’t hate to hear some details about said carbonating stone, and how it compares to a 2-3 day carbed keg... FYI... my beer has escalated in tastiness each day since joining this forum... and rather than attributing it to pure coincidence, I’d rather accredit each and every one of you for this blessed miracle.... CHEERS!

 

[logdrum]

List of methods I've tried, from bottom on up:

a) "crank & shake"-set reg @ 30psi, agitate keg, bleed off, repeat, set reg to serving psi, drink foamy under carbonated beer, enjoy (or not).
b) set reg to 30 psi for 36 hrs, bleed off, reset to serving psi, enjoy "pretty close" carbonated beer.
c) set reg to 20psi for 48 hrs, reset to serving psi, pull a few foamy pints, enjoy "almost there" carbonated beer
d) attach .5 micron stone to 24" 1/4" tubing at end of gas tube (this is done inside the corny, so it's a bit of a PITA) raise pressure to seat lid, vent keg, raise pressure, repeat until 20 psi is reached, hold for 1-2 hrs, bleed off, reset reg, enjoy "almost there" carbonated beer, next day perfectly carbonated-not necessarily perfectly conditioned-beer
e) set reg to serving pressure, forget about it for 4-5 days, enjoy perfectly carbonated, pretty much conditioned beer.

Note that all of these methods were applied to cold crashed, chilled (38*F) beer.

-d