Keg beer pressure

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Capitalman

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Hi everyone,
I just kegged my beers today after fermentation 16days….At what psi should I leave the CO2 at in the fridge? I have the fridge temp at 38.

Thank you,
 
Hi everyone,
I just kegged my beers today after fermentation 16days….At what psi should I leave the CO2 at in the fridge? I have the fridge temp at 38.

Thank you,
Depends on temperature and target volumes CO2.

Calculator: Keg Carbonation Calculator - Brewer's Friend

chart: Force Carbonation Chart - Brewer's Friend

10psi is probably a good starting point

Also, some people set it high for a day to get it carb'd faster. Google around for guides. Many here sing the praises of "set and forget", but it does take a week or two.
 
Yeah, I was going to keep the kegs in the fridge for the rest of the time now. I converted my fridge to a kegerator so no need to change. It’s currently at 38f. I gave it 30psi of CO2 today. Just curious for the next 2weeks what should be set at? Many thanks for all the help. New to beer making!!
 
Reference the carbonation chart, linked above, "regular" ales are often carbonated to 2.4~2.5 volumes. So find your temperature (38°F) on the Y-axis, then scan across that row until you find the closest entries to 2.4~2.5, then run up that column to find the appropriate CO2 pressure to apply to your kegs for their entire lives :)

Cheers!
 
Reference the carbonation chart, linked above, "regular" ales are often carbonated to 2.4~2.5 volumes. So find your temperature (38°F) on the Y-axis, then scan across that row until you find the closest entries to 2.4~2.5, then run up that column to find the appropriate CO2 pressure to apply to your kegs for their entire lives :)

Cheers!
Thank you for all the help!!! Cheers..🍺🍺
 
easy answer set it to the chart and forget about adjusting will take longer to carbonate but won't over carbonate.

other answer use high psi in beginning for x time and bring back down to serving pressure this will give faster results of carbonation but is possible to over carb.

depending on situation will define the route. but fixing a over carbed beer can be a little hassle not terrible but a hassle.
 
easy answer set it to the chart and forget about adjusting will take longer to carbonate but won't over carbonate.

other answer use high psi in beginning for x time and bring back down to serving pressure this will give faster results of carbonation but is possible to over carb.

depending on situation will define the route. but fixing a over carbed beer can be a little hassle not terrible but a hassle.
Thank you… cheers 🍻
 
The above advice is absolutely the best advice and you should follow it.

You would be wise to avoid reading the following. It is well off the beaten track.

Personally, I prefer to practice active cellarmanship. That is, I never have a gas line attached to any keg unless I'm actively adjusting its CO2. I only apply CO2 to each of my kegs individually throughout their time on tap. It's a busy, inconvenient way to dispense, but I much prefer the intimate involvement it provides with the beer you brewed. Initially, it's a pain, but once you get a feel for it, it's really easy and it allows you to manipulate the beer, learn about the beer, and put the beer in its best light.

More importantly, it allows you to serve several beers with different carbonation demands from the same fridge and display them in their best light. You can't seriously say that the same fridge can do equal service to a UK bitter, a German lager, a US IPA, and a German hefe. Cellarmanship allows you to do that. Unfortunately, it can't help with the various ideal temperature needs of those beers...but it can get the carbonation right.

This is how I do it. First, I crash in the fermenter to 40F. Then I run a closed transfer under mild pressure into an 02 purged keg around dinner time. Next, I purge the headspace, repeatedly. Then I pressurize it to 40psi and toss it in the fridge with no gas line attached. I wake up at 3.30am on weekdays, around 5am on the weekends, so I'll hit it with an additional 20psi when I wake up the next day--or another 40psi if it's something that needs a lot of carbonation. After work on the third day, I'll quickly pull the PRV to assess where the beer is, then hook up a line and pour a pint. Typically, I'll get clear, carbonated beer that needs additional gas to throw a head. Another shot of 20psi will achieve that goal. For the first week, you'll find it necessary to serve the beer under extra pressure to get it to throw a proper head, then use the PRV valve to back off that pressure to keep it from over-carbonating until your next session. After the first week, it's really easy. You just start pouring, give it a little dose of gas (maybe 5psi--I tend to keep my regulator set to 20psi and pulse gas into each keg as necessary) if it needs it and then mostly leave it alone, a quick squirt of gas every few pints should keep your beer pouring sweet.

It sounds complicated, but it isn't. Best of all, you never have to worry about leaks and cylinders lost to leaks...aside from leaky kegs, but you can't lose too much CO2 from a leaky keg that isn't attached to your cylinder.

Again, the advice offered above by others is far superior, just do that! But I find the process I've outlined much more rewarding. If this sounds interesting to you, there is a learning curve involved in this. You'll figure it out soon enough, but you're going to have to put some work in.
 
@Capitalman - You should also consider the beer line length and ID in your kegerator that will be used with these kegs. This should set your maximum serving CO2 pressure. If you go over, you will serve a lot of foam.
 
You can't seriously say that the same fridge can do equal service to a UK bitter, a German lager, a US IPA, and a German hefe.
This is why my 4-keg fridge has a four-body secondary regulator. I want the benefits of @Bramling Cross's fussy cellarmanship with less fuss. Happily, in five years I've only once lost a cylinder of gas to a leak.
 
This is why my 4-keg fridge has a four-body secondary regulator. I want the benefits of @Bramling Cross's fussy cellarmanship with less fuss. Happily, in five years I've only once lost a cylinder of gas to a leak.
Nuts, I had meant to go back and edit the to include multi-manifold rigs, but it slipped my mind during proof reading.

And you're certainly right about my technique, it is fussy. But it's not so bad once you get into the habit.
 
Hard pass. I cannot see spending that level of effort to get around infrastructure limitations
My time is more valuable than my money, to be frank. I'd spend money on regulators and manifolds if that's what it would take to not have to fiddle so much...

Cheers!
 
Quick question - All these carbonation charts - they do not talk about how long the carbonation needs to be at the given temp-pressure combination to achieve that level. Is that typically a week? A day?
 
Quick question - All these carbonation charts - they do not talk about how long the carbonation needs to be at the given temp-pressure combination to achieve that level. Is that typically a week? A day?
Those charts are for steady state. To get there, it's technically asymptotic, so leave gas on forever?

Set-and-forget typically calls for a week or two. Other methods vary wildly. There are lots of good writeups for whichever method interests you.
 
Those charts are for steady state. To get there, it's technically asymptotic, so leave gas on forever?

Set-and-forget typically calls for a week or two. Other methods vary wildly. There are lots of good writeups for whichever method interests you.
Noted. Thank you. Could you point me to a few? I typically put it at 20-30psi and leave it for 24 hours and that seems enough to serve as well. I use a 9.5L (2.5 gallon) keg.
 
Noted. Thank you. Could you point me to a few? I typically put it at 20-30psi and leave it for 24 hours and that seems enough to serve as well. I use a 9.5L (2.5 gallon) keg.

There are several methods for carbonating beer.
One common method is to force carbonate, and you can find a demonstration of this method in this video:


Another approach is the 'set and forget' method, where you adjust the pressure according to the temperature and your desired carbonation level and then let the beer sit undisturbed for about two weeks.

Alternatively, you can use the 'high-pressure' method, where you apply high pressure for a shorter duration, typically 24 hours.

Personally, I prefer either the 'set and forget' or the 24-hour method. I've experimented with the force carb method, but I never managed to achieve the desired CO2 level in the beer
 
I frequently put ~4 gallons in a keg, fill the headspace to 40*psi, disconnect, and roll the whole keg ~ 5' back and forth on a soft surface (I use exercise flooring, but carpet/rug would work.) In a minute or two I can put ~ 2 gallons of CO2 in solution.

If I want 2.4 vols and beer starts at 0.8 vols, I need 6.4 gallons of CO2 added, so I repeat about 3 times. (Best to undershoot?)

*40psi is equilibrum of 10, + 2atm to get roughly 2.5 volumes "spare" in the headspace (assuming 1.25gal headspace volume).

This all only works if you have significant headspace, and isn't exact, but is easy to avoid overcarb.
 
I thought force carbonation referred to any method where the CO2 was added externally (vs natural carbonation where the yeast do the work). Within the category of force carbing would be 1) safe & slow (set to serving pressure and forget), 2) fast & easy (set high for 12-72 hours, then set to serving pressure), and 3) actively assisting (set high and shake for a bit, then return to serving). And by “safe” I’m not implying any risk of explosion, just the inconvenience of overcarbing.

I’ve heard the term “burst” carbing, but I don’t know if that describes one of these methods, or a fourth method.

I’m not sure where I picked up this idea about force carbing being the overall terminology. If anyone knows a definitive source, please confirm/correct as appropriate.
 
I thought force carbonation referred to any method where the CO2 was added externally (vs natural carbonation where the yeast do the work).
It is, but like everything else, usage varies and changes over time. I've seen a few people refer to fast carb methods as "force carb".

It's like people thinking H in IMHO is "honest" (still blows my mind)
 
force carbonation referred to any method where the CO2 was added externally (vs natural carbonation
Life gets more confusing when we don't agree on the meaning of words.

Yes, "force carbonation" has historically referred to adding CO2 from a tank. Here at HBT and, I assume, elsewhere, "burst carbonation" refers to accelerated force carbonation (like @mashdar's method) , vs. "set and forget".

So burst is a variation on forced - even more forceful.

Language evolves constantly. Ambiguous language is, unfortunately, par for the course.
 
Hi everyone,
I just kegged my beers today after fermentation 16days….At what psi should I leave the CO2 at in the fridge? I have the fridge temp at 38.

Thank you,
I carbonate and serve all my beers in my brewpub at 10psi.
 
For me, it depends. If I have beer on tap, and time, I inject sterilized/cooled/ sugar solution at 1 oz sugar, (by weight) per gallon into the keg and let it sit at room temperature a couple weeks. When needed in the cooler, I put it in and let it cool a day. After cooled down, I release the pressure through the prv, attach CO2 line @ 10 psi, and pour a mug. Sometimes, it’s right on target. Sometimes, it’s a overcarbed. If so, I just pull the prv, give the keg a shake, and pull the prv again, and turn off the CO2. I just repeat this process with each pour until it gets right, and it usually doesn’t take more than a few mugs. After that, you can set your pressure to dispensing pressure by the cart. I do the fussing with it by shutting everything off after charging up the keg so as not to risk a lost tank. For me, it’s not that big a deal, and time fussing with the regulator valves is less than the time required to haul a tank to get it refilled.
 
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