Beer not carbonating

[twelvebeer]

I kegged some brew about two weeks ago, put 1/2 cup corn sugar in it and let it sit. I put the keg in the fridge, waited a couple days and it was flat. I then put 20 lbs of co2 on it and after two days it is still not carbed. There Is pressure when I release the valve but the beer is flat... Any ideas?

 

[BendBrewer]

How long did you let it sit after putting in the sugar before putting it in the fridge?

A couple of days sitting on 20 won't do it without agitation.

 

[Clonefarmer]

I kegged some brew about two weeks ago, put 1/2 cup corn sugar in it and let it sit. I put the keg in the fridge, waited a couple days and it was flat. I then put 20 lbs of co2 on it and after two days it is still not carbed. There Is pressure when I release the valve but the beer is flat... Any ideas?

If it's ale yeast it won't ferment the sugar in the fridge.

 

[twelvebeer]

How long did you let it sit after putting in the sugar before putting it in the fridge?

A couple of days sitting on 20 won't do it without agitation.

10 days with the sugar, two days in fridge and then another two with co2.

 

[Clonefarmer]

10 days with the sugar, two days in fridge and then another two with co2.

If you use sugar to carbonate. The keg needs the same amount of time as when carbonating bottles.

If you use CO2 to force carb you'll need to give it more time on the gas or shake it at a higher pressure.

Edit: When sugar priming a keg. Make sure to put about 5 psi the keg to seal the lid.

 

[twelvebeer]

If you use sugar to carbonate. The keg needs the same amount of time as when carbonating bottles.

If you use CO2 to force carb you'll need to give it more time on the gas or shake it at a higher pressure.

This is only my second keg. The first I force carbed in fridge for two days and it was carbed after two days. The only other difference is now I have the beer out line connected. If I had a leak I wouldn't have pressure on the tank or I would be out of co2 right?

 

[NoCornOrRice]

if naturally carbonating ALE, the yeast needs the warmth of room temp to work

if carbing by force, sticking it in the fridge w/ the CO2 hooked up @ 14 psi for a week or two will do. Alternatively, if speed is an issue, place keg in fridge @30 psi, take sample every 12 hours until at desired carbonation, and turn gas down to serving pressure (about 36-48 hours).

Since you have a CO2 tank, why do you bother with supplemental sugar carbonation?

Also check the pressure release valve on the keg. One of mine only works fine until 25psi, but then fails, which I fortunately discovered before closing the kegerator door.

 

[Clonefarmer]

This is only my second keg. The first I force carbed in fridge for two days and it was carbed after two days. The only other difference is now I have the beer out line connected. If I had a leak I wouldn't have pressure on the tank or I would be out of co2 right?

There are factors like temp, pressure and how much you shake the keg that effect how fast it carbonates. The out line shouldn't have any effect unless you keep pulling beer from the keg.

You can check for co2 leaks as a precaution.

 

[twelvebeer]

Since you have a CO2 tank, why do you bother with supplemental sugar carbonation?

I was going to let it age a little more so I decided to do the natural carbonation.

 

[twelvebeer]

Update - 2 more days at 20 PSI and its good. It has a pretty big head when poured but its damn tasty!

 

[Revvy]

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

 

[Walker]

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition.

Who is this "we" that you speak of? 2 weeks works has always worked just dandy for me and many other people.

I'm not saying that waiting three weeks is wrong, but keep in mind that "we" represents a lot of people, and not all of "us" have the same opinion.