beer in keg taste flat
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No. It's not normal. Or maybe Yes, it is normal.
pressure, temperature, time under CO2? Your process? Have you kegged other batches?
Any details you want to share.
Are you carbing to the correct volume?
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I had a similar issue and scratched my head after looking for leaks, replacing o-rings, hose fitting checks, etc.
Finally, I discovered it was the beer itself giving me problems. I had used fresh jalapenos that gave my beer an oily texture. This "oil" caused issues such as low carb, no head formation or retention and a generally dull, flat beer.
Point being, look closely at your gas system, but also consider your ingredients.
Finally, I discovered it was the beer itself giving me problems. I had used fresh jalapenos that gave my beer an oily texture. This "oil" caused issues such as low carb, no head formation or retention and a generally dull, flat beer.
Point being, look closely at your gas system, but also consider your ingredients.
is it head retention? or lack of CO2 in the solution?
it could be problem with beer, or problem with kegs, or serving line balance, or problem with CO2 gas lines, or with connections, or with CO2 tank, or some other leaks, or temperature being too high, or pressure being too low, or a thousand other factors. Without any additional info from OP nobody can tell for sure.
its on my last 2 batches I would say, I just kegged another last week I guess I will see this on my last one.
I changed my my o-ring on all kegs, I carbed on serving pressure but one of the 2 and added priming sugar direct in the keg. I have foam but not less head retention.
pressure is set to 10psi. I have a saison, brown IPA and kegged a Tripel last week.
at serving pressure, about 10psi
maybe the kegs are too warm. Is there pressure inside the keg? (pressure release valve). Head retention has to do with proteins inside the beer and cleanliness of the glassware. Any lipids (fats) will kill head retention.
TexasDroughtBrewery
Well-Known Member
I am not understanding your process, if you are carbing at 10PSI then it probably just needs more time like a month... when you used priming sugar how much and how long didi you wait?
Try to explain your carbonations process with more detail so we can help you out better.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Some folks use priming sugar in the keg and let it carb naturally, but if you chill the keg to apply CO2 that will inhibit your yeast. So, like TDB above, I am not quite sure what you are doing with your process.
I am guessing (and we need more details) - he is carbing with sugar at room T for ~2 weeks, then cools it in the keg with 10 psi to provide additional serving pressure?
If this is not the process, something is amiss.
We need details. I like solving carbonation puzzles, but with a little more details than: "keg's won't carb, what did I do wrong?"
"Serving pressure" is a useless metric. If it exists at all, it should be taken out and shot.
Put an end to it once and for all.
When "force carbonating" one can use our favorite carbonation table, or my favorite carbonation calculator with the "method" set to "kegging".
Either way, the goal is to determine the proper CO2 pressure to hit a specified carbonation level at a given beer temperature.
"Serving pressure" (ugh) falls into the same rule: at dispensing temperature, the CO2 pressure should be set to maintain the same desired carbonation level.
And the dispensing system must be tuned to handle whatever CO2 pressure is required, referencing the only beer line length calculator worth using...
Cheers!
Put an end to it once and for all.
When "force carbonating" one can use our favorite carbonation table, or my favorite carbonation calculator with the "method" set to "kegging".
Either way, the goal is to determine the proper CO2 pressure to hit a specified carbonation level at a given beer temperature.
"Serving pressure" (ugh) falls into the same rule: at dispensing temperature, the CO2 pressure should be set to maintain the same desired carbonation level.
And the dispensing system must be tuned to handle whatever CO2 pressure is required, referencing the only beer line length calculator worth using...
Cheers!
One of my keg i used priming sugar but i added the keg in the fridge so that is my first problem there. And yes after 2 week i added under co2 at serving pressure
Ok, in order for 10 psi to be right for your system, the fridge has to be COLD.
Check out the carbonation table: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
If your fridge is 35 degrees, 10 psi is a bit low but acceptable.
Next, in order to have the system be balanced (so you don't get all foam and little carb in the beer), you should have at least 1 foot of 3/16" beer line for every psi on the regulator. In this case, that means at least 10'.
If you have 10' of serving line, 10 psi on the regulator at 35 degrees, and it's been at 10 psi at least 2 weeks, I'm stymied.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
That method would work especially if the OP doesn't have space to keep the keg cold while naturally carbing. At least two weeks in normal room temps should do a good part of the carbing. Then when he chills the keg, applying 10 psi may work, but this depends on the chiller temp and the type of beer to achieve the proper carb level.
Unconnected
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^This.
I had the same problem. I thought I was doing everything right. I had a jar of sanitizer with my temp probe in it, and had the kegs sitting in the freezer with about 12psi and about 36f. Not hard right? Well, the beer was coming out flat and foamy. Sound familiar?
Then I measured the temp of my served beer. 50f. WTH. Why would my beer be 50f when my jar is reading around 36f.... oooh... I see... My kegs have rubber feet on them. This very effectively insulates the keg from the walls of the freezer. The jar? Not so insulated. I put the jar on a small piece of wood board and then put it on the shelf.... 24 hours later... Nearly perfect pour of nice cold and carbonated beer.
the other option is to bypass the insulation by putting a few inches of water at the bottom, but I really do not think this is a good idea.
I hope that helps.
Jay
