How to determine how long to carb?

[itsjared]

I just kegged my Belgian ale and curious to know how long I should carb it for and at what psi? It's in my old fridge which keeps it at about 52.

What factors influence carb time for each beer?

 

[BryceL]

You will want to look up what volume of CO2 is typical for your particular ale and then use a temperature vs volume chart to see what your psi should be set at. Here is one, there are others out there also. Just do a search.

http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/ForceCarbonation.html

Typically if I set my psi at 12 it will take about 2 weeks to fully carb. If you have a higher gravity beer it can take longer, lower gravity can be shorter. Also, the lower the temperature the faster it will carb.

 

[dgez]

I just kegged my Belgian ale and curious to know how long I should carb it for and at what psi? It's in my old fridge which keeps it at about 52.

What factors influence carb time for each beer?

PSI and temp are the factors...and I suppose volume of the liquid as well.

For 5 gallon kegs, I set to 30PSI for 48hrs at around 40ish degrees. Generally this PSI/time/temp works great for me, the beer is ready to drink in 48hrs. If it needs a little more, I let it sit at 15-20PSI for another day.

 

[dgez]

Typically if I set my psi at 12 it will take about 2 weeks to fully carb.

You might as well bottle....I want to drink my beer in 2 days, not in 2 weeks

 

[BryceL]

You might as well bottle....I want to drink my beer in 2 days, not in 2 weeks

Nah, kegging is way easier for me...I do bottle some though I just of it as a clearing/conditioning period as well, so I don't mind waiting the two weeks. If for some reason I am in a hurry and need it ready faster I do crank up the psi for a couple days.