My Porter is flat, should it be?

[MikefromMichigan]

I brewed my first partial mash 6 weeks ago and it was a Porter, with an OG = 1.052 and FG = 1.015

Ingredients
0.75 Ib. (0.34 kg) Halcyon pale malt
1.5 Ib. (0.68 kg) brown malt
1.0 Ib. (0.45 kg) English crystal malt (75 °L)
0.75 Ib. (0.34 kg) chocolate malt
1.0 Ib. (0.45 kg) Muntons Light dried malt extract
4.0 Ibs. (1.8 kg) Muntons Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
6.25 AAU Fuggle hops (60 mins) (1.3 oz./38 g of 4.7% alpha acids)
0.67oz. (19 g) Fuggle hops (15 mins)

Wyeast 1968 and with 1.5 L yeast starter

I let it ferment for 10 days,then 3 weeks conditioning.
Transferred to a keg 6 days ago and set the CO2 to 12 – 14 lbs and placed it in the fridge at 41 deg.

So I finally tasted it yesterday. I set the serving pressure to 4 or 5 lbs and it tasted great. The only problem was it had very little head and was flat. I expected more head and more carbonation.
I reset the CO2 to 12 – 14 lbs and left it another 24 hours in the fridge. I tried it again this evening and it was still flat, with very little carbonation and no head. I increased the serving pressure to 12 -14 lbs and of course lots of head but still flat, but still tasted great.
I would prefer a little more carbonation, so does anyone else who has brewed Porter have the same issue with low carbonation and little head.

 

[hoppymonkey]

I brewed my first partial mash 6 weeks ago and it was a Porter, with an OG = 1.052 and FG = 1.015

Ingredients
0.75 Ib. (0.34 kg) Halcyon pale malt
1.5 Ib. (0.68 kg) brown malt
1.0 Ib. (0.45 kg) English crystal malt (75 °L)
0.75 Ib. (0.34 kg) chocolate malt
1.0 Ib. (0.45 kg) Muntons Light dried malt extract
4.0 Ibs. (1.8 kg) Muntons Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
6.25 AAU Fuggle hops (60 mins) (1.3 oz./38 g of 4.7% alpha acids)
0.67oz. (19 g) Fuggle hops (15 mins)

Wyeast 1968 and with 1.5 L yeast starter

I let it ferment for 10 days,then 3 weeks conditioning.
Transferred to a keg 6 days ago and set the CO2 to 12 – 14 lbs and placed it in the fridge at 41 deg.

So I finally tasted it yesterday. I set the serving pressure to 4 or 5 lbs and it tasted great. The only problem was it had very little head and was flat. I expected more head and more carbonation.
I reset the CO2 to 12 – 14 lbs and left it another 24 hours in the fridge. I tried it again this evening and it was still flat, with very little carbonation and no head. I increased the serving pressure to 12 -14 lbs and of course lots of head but still flat, but still tasted great.
I would prefer a little more carbonation, so does anyone else who has brewed Porter have the same issue with low carbonation and little head.

You just need to give it another week or two at 12-14 PSI. It generally takes 2 weeks to do it that way.

 

[MikefromMichigan]

Started kegging this year and all of my other brews, about 8 of them, were carbonated to my liking after 5 or 6 days. Should this brew be any different to the others?

 

[zachattack]

I agree with hoppymonkey, it usually takes a good 2 weeks. Also, why are you turning down the pressure to serve? It's inconvenient and wasteful, since you have to purge the headspace every time you turn the pressure back down, and if you aren't good about turning it back up the beer will go flat.

If your lines can't handle 14 psi, spend a couple bucks on longer lines!

I just don't understand this practice. Most people keg their beer because it's easier to control carbonation, it's fun, more convenient, and infinitely sexier. If you're constantly fiddling with the regulator, pulling a release valve and potentially letting the beer go flat you're kinda negating all of these.

 

[Yooper]

Started kegging this year and all of my other brews, about 8 of them, were carbonated to my liking after 5 or 6 days. Should this brew be any different to the others?

No. Your other 7 brews were abnormal! it normally takes at least 10 days for the beer to become carbed up, and that's if you leave it at the correct pressure (not turning it down to 5-6 psi). Most often, it's about 14 days before the co2 is fully "forced" into the beer so that it's fully carbed up.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Started kegging this year and all of my other brews, about 8 of them, were carbonated to my liking after 5 or 6 days. Should this brew be any different to the others?

2 weeks is the usual recomendation, but some beers certainly do get ready quicker. You can also do the following.

SET the gas to 30PSI.
SHake the &*(&^ out of the keg
Let it set 24hrs
release the pressure down to serving pressure.

FYI, I never lower the pressure below 10PSI. I suspect you do that to control the foam. If that is the case you just need longer serving hoses. (like 10' min).

 

[Yooper]

2 weeks is the usual recomendation, but some beers certainly do get ready quicker. You can also do the following.

SET the gas to 30PSI.
SHake the &*(&^ out of the keg
Let it set 24hrs
release the pressure down to serving pressure.

Yes, you can do that.

But it'll overcarb, and foam like a SOB and shaking may destroy the proteins that help with head retention. But sure, it'll be carbonated.

You can do the same thing without shaking the keg- with great results. Set the c02 to 30 psi for 24 hours, then purge and reset to 12 psi. Carbed up well in 36 hours, with no foaming or shaking.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Yes, you can do that.

But it'll overcarb, and foam like a SOB and shaking may destroy the proteins that help with head retention. But sure, it'll be carbonated.

You can do the same thing without shaking the keg- with great results. Set the c02 to 30 psi for 24 hours, then purge and reset to 12 psi. Carbed up well in 36 hours, with no foaming or shaking.

Destroy proteins huh? I haven't done it that way in forever because I have enough beer to be more patient .

 

[Joeywhat]

Yes, you can do that.

But it'll overcarb, and foam like a SOB and shaking may destroy the proteins that help with head retention. But sure, it'll be carbonated.

You can do the same thing without shaking the keg- with great results. Set the c02 to 30 psi for 24 hours, then purge and reset to 12 psi. Carbed up well in 36 hours, with no foaming or shaking.

This is how I usually do it. It always ends up overcarbed (to me) when I shake it. I don't like a ton of carbonation in my drinks, though.

I set it at 25-30 psi, let it sit for about a day, then back down to serving pressure. If it's not quite where I want it I'll bump it up a few psi and check every now and then to see where it's at.

 

[MikefromMichigan]

I tried the set to 30 psi and shake etc method and it didn't work for me. After I found the carbonation table on HBT i decided to use the slow carbonation method, and it has worked great for me. I am not usually in a hurry to try the brew, so I will get some longer lines next week and set the serving psi higher. This certainly would remove the hassle of constantly changing the pressure. Thanks

 

[Yooper]

I tried the set to 30 psi and shake etc method and it didn't work for me. After I found the carbonation table on HBT i decided to use the slow carbonation method, and it has worked great for me. I am not usually in a hurry to try the brew, so I will get some longer lines next week and set the serving psi higher. This certainly would remove the hassle of constantly changing the pressure. Thanks

My kegerator is 40 degrees, and 12 psi works perfectly for me for the types of beers I brew and drink. That's about 2.5 volumes of c02.

 

[MikefromMichigan]

Well I finally got around to checking for the leak. I submerged the keg so that both beer and gas connections and lid were submerged for at least 1 hour and set the pressure to about 20psi. I was hoping to see a stream of bubbles, but saw nothing. That leaves the CO2 tank, regulator and hose connection to the CO2 tank. I made sure the regulator O’ring was in place and the nut was tight.

To test the regulator,I tried making a cup with duck tape to hold some star san to see if that was where the leak may be, but I could not get a good seal around the hose, and the star san leaked out.

One thing I have not yet tried is to turn the CO2 on with just the regulator attached and leave for a week or so to see if the CO2 volume drops, but that means no homebrew for a while.

So does anyone have any more ideas of testing the regulator, hose connector or tank for leaks.

Thanks

 

[MikefromMichigan]

:smack: I just saw I posted this to the wrong thread!! :smack: