ESPY
Well-Known Member
So a couple months ago I brewed a stout. I don't have a nitrogen tank so when it came time to keg I decided to use CO2. Until now, every time I've kegged, I've done it the "fast" way of setting to 30psi, shaking and waiting overnight. This time I decided to carbonate the "slow" way by connecting at carb pressure and letting it sit for 3-4 days. Since it was a stout and I didn't want a high carb I started at about 4psi. Came back a few days later and tried it and it was almost flat. So I progressively turned up the pressure each day until I finally reached about 10 psi. It finally reached a pretty good level of carb, but still had basically no head retention. At the time I just dismissed it as a result of using CO2 with a stout.
Since then, I've added dual keg capability to my tank and kegged another batch - a California lager. I also did this one the "slow" way, leaving it at the same 10 psi that I had the stout at. After about 5 days at 10 psi I tried it and it too seemed to have a pretty good level of carbonation but poor head retention. The recipe is identical to one I've done before and last time it had a great head.
So this leads me to question can poor head retention result from the technique I use to carbonate my kegs?
Since then, I've added dual keg capability to my tank and kegged another batch - a California lager. I also did this one the "slow" way, leaving it at the same 10 psi that I had the stout at. After about 5 days at 10 psi I tried it and it too seemed to have a pretty good level of carbonation but poor head retention. The recipe is identical to one I've done before and last time it had a great head.
So this leads me to question can poor head retention result from the technique I use to carbonate my kegs?
