Force carbonating best bitter.

[america]

I'm force carbing an English Best Bitter and want to make sure i'm using enough PSI.

Per the style, i've set the kegerator to ~50 degrees F and I only want about 1 vol of CO2. Per most of the charts i've found online, they say it would only need about 1 PSI to get there. Is this really going to be enough to carb the beer and actually push it out of the beer line?

 

[doug293cz]

Actually, to get 1 volume at 1 psi, your temp will need to be about 60˚F. At 50˚F, you would actually need a negative CO2 gauge pressure to keep the carbonation to only 1 volume. You can't serve from a keg where the headspace pressure is less than atmospheric pressure.

To be able to serve at 50˚F and 1 volume of carb, you will need a beer gas system. Using 25% CO2, 75% N2 beer gas, you would store and serve at 37 psi (gauge) and 50˚F.

Brew on

 

[america]

I've been using this chart.

What is the minimum vol. CO2 you think I could get at 50 degrees?

 

[doug293cz]

I've been using this chart.

What is the minimum vol. CO2 you think I could get at 50 degrees?

According to the chart, 1 psi @ 50˚F will give you about 1.18 volumes. My calculator, that apparently uses a different curve fit equation, says 1.2 volumes. 1 psi will barely give you a trickle out of the tap (and if the tap is 2 ft above the keg you get nothing), and most regulators can't be set accurately to 1 psi. If you want to use a CO2 only system, you're going to have to compromise on your carbonation level.

Brew on

 

[america]

According to the chart, 1 psi @ 50˚F will give you about 1.18 volumes. My calculator, that apparently uses a different curve fit equation, says 1.2 volumes. 1 psi will barely give you a trickle out of the tap (and if the tap is 2 ft above the keg you get nothing), and most regulators can't be set accurately to 1 psi. If you want to use a CO2 only system, you're going to have to compromise on your carbonation level.

Brew on

Thanks for the quick replies! I use picnic taps so the tap is normally around keg height. That being said, I guess i'll just go with 4-5 PSI and call it a day.

 

[Yooper]

Remember that 1.1 volumes is basically flat, like what it is out of the fermenter.

It's fine for cask ale, I guess, but I like my beer to be carbonated otherwise. You may like it that way, but I bet you'd like it better at 7 or 8 psi anyway.

 

[america]

Remember that 1.1 volumes is basically flat, like what it is out of the fermenter.



It's fine for cask ale, I guess, but I like my beer to be carbonated otherwise. You may like it that way, but I bet you'd like it better at 7 or 8 psi anyway.

Thanks yoops.

I should have mentioned I also had it at 38 degrees and 30 psi for almost a day so it should have enough to at least get through the line. I'll purge the keg and see where it's at and adjust.