New to Kegging...and Inpatient...

Gents,

I'm new to kegging. In fact my first batch has been in the keg for five days at 10.5 PSI. I'm itching to break into this thing, so I'm wondering what the earliest is I can give it a try.

I've read a lot about forced carbonation; however, I like a rather soft mouthfeel for my beers (not too much carb) which is why I oped to carbonate traditionally.

Thanks in advance.

 

I start drinking my beer as soon as I put it in the fridge, tasting it as it carbonates. For me, aside from not having to clean bottles, kegging is a great way to fine tune the carbonation as you go.

If you are really impatient, you can always up the pressure to around 30 psi, and rock/shake the keg until the regulator stops making noise. Give it overnight (disconnected from the gas) and you should have carbonated beer the next day. It's not as precise, but you said you can't wait. Don't forget to purge the headspace before drinking it.

 

Depending on the temperature carbing at 10.5 might not be enough or it could it be too much. If you haven't done so you, check out online carbonation calculators.

You can give it a try now and if you like it then you’re good. If you think it needs more time you can let it sit for another week or up the PSI a bit.

 

I agree with Robotinc... Give it a taste as often as you like.

I use the set and forget carbing method also. I generally taste after one day and find the beer quite green and unappealing. After about a week, the carbonation is usually ok, but the beer has not matured. 2 weeks on gas is usually when it hits the sweet spot and the beer is perfectly carbed with fine bubbles and a good head.

Personally, I don't recommend the 30 PSI rock and roll method, but others have success with it. Set and forget is definitely the easiest approach. That being said, start tasting that beer!

 

Well I suppose it "go time" gentlemen. I'll give it a try. On a separate note, my hose is a little short (6 feet). I have some longer hose on order. Any short-term fixes you can recommend?

 

Are you positive it is too short? I know a lot of people have foaming issues with short lines. I opted for 10 foot lines myself but without trying short lines. My brew partner put like 4 foot lines on his and his pour is exactly like mine. Try it first, you could be surprised.

 

I'm not. I'll give it a go. If I dont need it that would be great.

 

I use short lines too and have no foaming issues either.

 

Not to nitpick, but you ARE "force carbing." You're "forcing" the carbonation into the beer. Carbonating "traditionally" would be adding more sugar/wort and letting the yeast produce the carbonation inside a sealed vessel.

I think what you mean by "force carbing" is actually "burst carbing," or shaking the keg vigorously to speed up carbonation.

That said, if you set the pressure regulator to 10 psi, you can shake all you want without worrying about overcarbonating the beer. Once the pressure has equalized, no more CO2 will go into solution, regardless of how much you shake it.

I always set the pressure to 12 psi and give the keg a good shake for 3-4 minutes immediately after kegging, to give the beer a strong "head start" on carbonation. The beer is drinkable at that point, and then seems to level out at the desired carbonation within the next 5-7 days.