ajmartinez
Well-Known Member
A while back, I finished my keezer build and kegged my first beer. Carbonating that beer seems to be causing me more problems than it should. For now, I am going to blame my lack of patience. There is some carbonation, but not as much as I think there should be. Then again, there is a persistant head on the beer and I don't know that such a thing is possible without steady carbonation. The German Kölsch has spent a good deal of time (far more than two weeks) at 35°F under 10psi.
Anyway, I've kegged another beer and now have it force carbonating as well. My "Adventure Ale" will not have a beer line connected to it until it has sat under CO2 pressure (10psi @ 35°F) for at least three weeks. We will see if I end up with better carbonation results than I did with the German Kölsch. One thing I intend to do before too long is build a small plenum inside the keezer to keep the cold air moving inside, instead of all just settling down on the floor. There is a fairly significant, at least if you're CO2 dissolved into an aqueous solution, temperature gradient from the floor of the keezer (35°F) to the shanks for my faucets (39°F). Right now, my best guess is that the temperature gradient is responsible for loss of carbonation between the keg and my glass. My beer lines (6', 3/16" ID), despite being completely at an upward slope from the top of the keg to the back of the shank, end up with large pockets of air in them between pours if the flow stops for more than five minutes or so. This happens with the lid open (which throws the temperature up top even more out of whack), and with the lid closed the entire time.
At least the German Kölsch looks nice. Tastes pretty good too, just doesn't have a carbonation profile I can really mention.
Anyway, I've kegged another beer and now have it force carbonating as well. My "Adventure Ale" will not have a beer line connected to it until it has sat under CO2 pressure (10psi @ 35°F) for at least three weeks. We will see if I end up with better carbonation results than I did with the German Kölsch. One thing I intend to do before too long is build a small plenum inside the keezer to keep the cold air moving inside, instead of all just settling down on the floor. There is a fairly significant, at least if you're CO2 dissolved into an aqueous solution, temperature gradient from the floor of the keezer (35°F) to the shanks for my faucets (39°F). Right now, my best guess is that the temperature gradient is responsible for loss of carbonation between the keg and my glass. My beer lines (6', 3/16" ID), despite being completely at an upward slope from the top of the keg to the back of the shank, end up with large pockets of air in them between pours if the flow stops for more than five minutes or so. This happens with the lid open (which throws the temperature up top even more out of whack), and with the lid closed the entire time.
At least the German Kölsch looks nice. Tastes pretty good too, just doesn't have a carbonation profile I can really mention.