Anyone find commercial kegs delivered at the wrong carb level?

[Nitrousbird]

I am making a comparison between the product in the commercial keg vs. the same product sold in bottles.

Some kegs seem to have the perfect carb level when tapped (one of the two Great Lakes kegs I tapped were good, other was under carbed). I have found all three cider kegs I have gotten (two different brands) were heavily under-carbed. Each was purchased from a different distributor so that cant be the issue. All the ciders took a good 24 hours on the CO2 before they were drinkable.

Just got a Sam Adams Rebel IPA last night - almost perfect; about an hour on the C02 and it was just right.

I find it weird the carb levels aren't perfect right out of the keg. I've bought kegs that were filled a good month earlier to those filled a day or two before with the same inconsistent carb levels.

 

[rawlus]

How are you determining the level of carbonation?
There is a lot that goes into a commercial draft system... The reason we have dials and meters on the co2 lines is to manage carb levels since all aspects are variables.. The keg, the line length and ID, the temperature and even the type of faucets... So you can't just make a keg at perfect carb levels like a bottle where all aspects are controllable. The keg needs to go into any number of different systems which the brewer does not control.

So buyers need to adapt the kegs they buy to the system they have and the carbonation profile they want.

I would be pretty impressed if an hour in co2 made a noticeable change in carbonation levels... I did not think absorption can happen that rapidly without quite a bit of agitation.

I think most people find the carb levels their home systems perform best at with the lines, temps and faucets they have and with commercial kegs, sometimes they come in at might higher carb levels as the brewer was expecting longer line runs or larger ID hose so it can be an ordeal getting commercial kegs to match your system preferences.

It's much easier to deal with under carbed kegs obviously, just hook up and wait. For over carbed for your system, it's more a pita to get the right numbers dialed in.