RIS doesnt "taste" carbonated

[yoop89]

First time brewing a "big" beer, OG:1.100 & FG:1.024. This was brewed back in October '18. Stayed in primary for a month and a half, kegged middle of December. I put it on gas shooting for about 2 vol (10 psi, 41*F).

My problem is that I want to age this in bottles now that it has had time to condition in the keg but I took a small pour last night and it poured flat and tastes flat. Has anyone else experienced this? I bumped the pressure up to 15 psi and will sample again this weekend and hopefully bottled up. The carbonation chart is valid regardless of FG/ABV right? The beer tastes fantastic just puzzled by the carbonation.

Ive got about 30 brews under my belt, all kegged and never experienced anything like this.

 

[Vale71]

2 vol is rather low carbonation, I'm not surprised it doesn't feel particularly carbonated.

 

[yoop89]

I'm not surprised it doesn't feel particularly carbonated

I guess thats what Im getting at. I carb all my stouts to 2 vol and this one just feels different. Is that just the fact that it finished higher and has a higher abv than my other stouts? Im not upset with the outcome just want to understand whats going on.

 

[thehaze]

It could be that the alcohol and higher FG are deceiving your taste buds, making it feel under carbonated. Try to bump it up a bit. I don't like lightly carbonated beer and 2 vol. CO2, for any style, no matter the FG, etc. is way too low for me. I usually shoort for 2.2-2-4 vol. CO2 for bigger, dark ales.

If you are going to bottle from keg, note that you will lose carbonation when doing so. Depending on your counter-pressure gun, process, etc. you can lose anything from 0.2 vol. CO2 upwards. I've tasted bottled from keg beer before and boy were they all under carbonated and tasted like a fermenter sample. Most of these lost from 0.3 to almost 1 vol. CO2 in extreme cases.

 

[Vale71]

I guess thats what Im getting at. I carb all my stouts to 2 vol and this one just feels different. Is that just the fact that it finished higher and has a higher abv than my other stouts? Im not upset with the outcome just want to understand whats going on.

The higher ABV and FG cerainly will affect your perception of carbonation compared to f.e. the much drier stout you cited as a comparison. Personally I wouldn't carb anything that is going into a bottle with less than 2.5 vol.

 

[yoop89]

Thanks! This actually answered another question that Ive had in the back of my mind too. Ive always thought my bottled beer tasted a bit undercarbed but never sought to answer that. I dont bottle that often, usually just to share a six pack or if I need to clear a keg for a new batch. I think ill bump it up to 2.8 vol to account for any losses while bottling.
Cheers!

 

[Vale71]

I've tasted bottled from keg beer before and boy were they all under carbonated and tasted like a fermenter sample. Most of these lost from 0.3 to almost 1 vol. CO2 in extreme cases.

If you're losing that much during counterpressure filling you won't be able to completely fill the bottle from the uncontrollable foaming. Losses in reality are much smaller.

 

[yoop89]

Losses in reality are much smaller.

Any guesses on what to expect? Im not using counter pressure, just a Gen 1 beer gun. The night before bottling i usually drop the kegerator down to about 32-34 and throw a bucket of starsan in there too to soak the bottles in while filling. I never have foam problems so I dont feel too much CO2 is "escaping" but I do expect some is just from the transfer. Also, I purge the keg prior to filling bottles and only run the beer gun at 2-3 psi.

 

[Smellyglove]

If you're losing that much during counterpressure filling you won't be able to completely fill the bottle from the uncontrollable foaming. Losses in reality are much smaller.

Fill under higher pressure than what the keg is carbed at, and you get close to 0 foaming.

I have a separate line for CP-filling which sits at 2.5 bar, it goes fast and close to zero foam. So CP and keg is getting 2.5 bar for this procedure.

 

[Vale71]

Anything more than 0.1 vol (and that's already quite a lot) and you'll start having issues with foaming, so even with a beer gun if you get it to work properly losses aren't really that much. If you were really to lose 1 vol you'd have roughly the same volume of foam as your vessel's nominal capacity, obviously this would lead to gushing and total failure of the process.

 

[Smellyglove]

The thicker the beer is, the more co2 is needed to get the same perception of carbonation as a lighter beer. For instance if you boil for extended time, and hit a high FG, you'd need more carbonation to feel like it's coming "though" like a thinner beer.

 

[yoop89]

Feeling better about this now. I’ll see what the beer tastes like at 2.5 vol and maybe bump it up after that. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[yoop89]

Im going to have a hard time letting this one sit for another 6 months! Just a touch more carb on it and all the flavors are way more pronounced than before and actually finishes a touch dryer than before too in regards to the high FG. Thanks for the help! Going into bombers tonight, hopefully theres a half bottle at the end