Best way to carb a keg?

[Wilddanz71]

What is the best way to carb a keg? I have a birthday party that I made a batch of Belgian summer saison for and i want it to come out perfect
I have only kegged two beers so far and I wasn't crazy about how they carbed up
I love how my bottles come out when using sugar to prime
Can I do the same with the keg?

 

[LKABrewer]

What was wrong with the first two kegs you carbed? How did you carb them? I find patience is the best method; set it @ 12psi & 40*f and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. The longer it stays (up to 3 weeks or so), the better the carbonation.

 

[Hammy71]

What was wrong with the first two kegs you carbed? How did you carb them? I find patience is the best method; set it @ 12psi & 40*f and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. The longer it stays (up to 3 weeks or so), the better the carbonation.

That's what I do. Not going to start an argument about what method is best, but there's no issue with over carbing or anything else by setting and forgetting.

 

[marzsit]

What is the best way to carb a keg? I have a birthday party that I made a batch of Belgian summer saison for and i want it to come out perfect
I have only kegged two beers so far and I wasn't crazy about how they carbed up
I love how my bottles come out when using sugar to prime
Can I do the same with the keg?

think of a keg as one big 5 gallon bottle. yes, you can prime a 5 gallon batch with sugar and bottle-condition it in a keg just like you would do it in bottles. keep in mind that this will result in having a pretty heavy layer of trub in the bottom of the keg. dispensing can be a problem... some cut the liquid dip tube short in order to not disturb the sludge while dispensing. you also have to be careful on how you handle and transport the keg before serving it. it may be a more authentic presentation, but to me, it's too big of a pain in the butt to deal with........

i prefer the slow but certain force carb method, 12psi for 2-3 weeks. clear beer that can be easily transported, and very little crud in the keg makes cleaning much easier. i have tried the rush methods of carbing at high pressure for a few days, it works ok for soda but not beer... it takes time to create those tiny little bubbles..........

 

[Wilddanz71]

Ya I force carbed the first two kegs because I was excited to try them, I think they kind of went flat to fast
So all I do is rack in to keg and set psi to 12 and put it in the fridge and leave it for a couple weeks? Or do I carb the keg at room temp?
How do the carb commercial beer?
Thanks guys you r the best!

 

[LKABrewer]

You are force carbonating any time you carbonate with CO2 instead of sugar. Burst carbing is where you set it higher, or shake with high pressure. You can force carb at room temperature, but you will need higher pressure. Look here: http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/forcecarb.shtml

 

[lostboysbrew]

Ya I force carbed the first two kegs because I was excited to try them, I think they kind of went flat to fast
So all I do is rack in to keg and set psi to 12 and put it in the fridge and leave it for a couple weeks? Or do I carb the keg at room temp?
How do the carb commercial beer?
Thanks guys you r the best!

The big guys can carbonate much faster because there tanks have carb stones. micron stones that turn the co2 into super tiny bubbles and get it into the beer much quicker.

HERE is a great calculator. I am limited on fridge space so I use this.
12 psi is great at 40 if you can, however I cannot so after kegging I place the kegs right back where they fermented, @ 64 degrees and put them on pressure. CO2 is much better absorbed at colder temps so the pressure will have to be higher and this is where the calculator comes in. This will give you proper carbonation in as little 5-7 days....or thats been my experience.....

good luck!!

 

[duckmanco]

I do the following, with or without time constraints because its always come out great.

1. keg beer, hit with 30psi to seal the lid, purge o2 from headspace
2. put keg in keezer at 30psi for 48 hours.
3. pull off gas, vent headspace, set to 10-12 psi and serve.

What I normally get is a decently carbed beer that although needs more time at 10-12 psi, its completely drinkable and will only need a few more days at 10-12psi to be carbed where I like it. I have yet (in all of the 6 beers I have kegged --still new to kegging) to have an overcarbed batch. Set and forget is even easier, but this is a bit quicker.

 

[lostboysbrew]

I do the following, with or without time constraints because its always come out great.

1. keg beer, hit with 30psi to seal the lid, purge o2 from headspace
2. put keg in keezer at 30psi for 48 hours.
3. pull off gas, vent headspace, set to 10-12 psi and serve.

What I normally get is a decently carbed beer that although needs more time at 10-12 psi, its completely drinkable and will only need a few more days at 10-12psi to be carbed where I like it. I have yet (in all of the 6 beers I have kegged --still new to kegging) to have an overcarbed batch. Set and forget is even easier, but this is a bit quicker.

I used to do it this way........and with as much as I did, 5% was overcarbed, but it did happen. Also, it is hard to get the correct carbonation per style with the quick method.

If you really can't wait, yes the 30psi shake and set for a couple days works, but its less consistent and from experience, a properly carbed beer makes all the difference in the world!!

 

[samc]

If you really can't wait, yes the 30psi shake and set for a couple days works, but its less consistent and from experience, a properly carbed beer makes all the difference in the world!!

The shaking is an unknown variable. The 30 psi for 2 days without shaking works pretty well and when I use that method I then set if for serving PSI and let it condition for a week or two. Always tastes better after 2 weeks but that is due to conditioning time, not carb issues. You can also just do 30 psi for 24-36 hours to kick start the process and then drop down to serving psi.

 

[Walker]

keep in mind that this [priming a keg with sugar] will result in having a pretty heavy layer of trub in the bottom of the keg.

I keep seeing this comment made, and would like to call it out as false.

I almost always prime my kegs with sugar. There is no more or less trub in those primed kegs when compared to the kegs that I force carb with CO2.

You would really only get an increase in sediment if you were also getting an increase in yeast. Priming with sugar does not cause an increase in the amount of yeast in the beer. It just gives the yeast that are already there a little more work to do.

 

[lostboysbrew]

I keep seeing this comment made, and would like to call it out as false.

I almost always prime my kegs with sugar. There is no more or less trub in those primed kegs when compared to the kegs that I force carb with CO2.

You would really only get an increase in sediment if you were also getting an increase in yeast. Priming with sugar does not cause an increase in the amount of yeast in the beer. It just gives the yeast that are already there a little more work to do.

I can understand that, but when yeast has food to eat, doesn't it reproduce and create more?? for the same reason a WLP vial creates alot more than that by fermentation end??

Or is it that the conversion to condition is so minor that it doesnt reproduce enough to make a difference???

 

[Walker]

I can understand that, but when yeast has food to eat, doesn't it reproduce and create more?? for the same reason a WLP vial creates alot more than that by fermentation end??

Or is it that the conversion to condition is so minor that it doesnt reproduce enough to make a difference???

No. yeast start out using up the oxygen in your wort in order to reproduce. They do this until they have either used up all the oxygen available or saturated the wort with their children. After that growth phase, they go into sugar eating mode.

If you do not introduce more oxygen when you bottle or keg, the yeast will not reproduce further.

edit: I purge my kegs with CO2 before I rack into them, so there is no addition oxygen introduced.

 

[lostboysbrew]

hmmm this is why i dig the forums, learn something new everyday!! Thanks Walker!!

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

Sidenote- The small amount of sediment that collects at the bottom of a naturally primed keg is so minute, that it usually gets sucked up by the diptube and pours out in the first pint anyways. Just pour that one out, dedicate it to your homies, and get another pull from the tap. It should be fine from here on out. If you move the keg around a lot, you may stir some back up, but once it settles, it'll come out again in that first pint.

 

[jetmac]

Temp 34-36F 30psi 48 hours. Vent. 10psi 48 hours.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Ya I force carbed the first two kegs because I was excited to try them, I think they kind of went flat to fast
So all I do is rack in to keg and set psi to 12 and put it in the fridge and leave it for a couple weeks? Or do I carb the keg at room temp?
How do the carb commercial beer?
Thanks guys you r the best!

I would think that nearly all of the commercial breweries carb in a large tank and pressure fill their kegs from that. I'll have to consult the almighty Google later.

 

[lostboysbrew]

I would think that nearly all of the commercial breweries carb in a large tank and pressure fill their kegs from that. I'll have to consult the almighty Google later.

Exactly that, they have carbstones in their conditioning tanks.......basically makes the CO2 much smaller, thousands of gallons carbed in a hours......lots of pressure quickly......

 

[JuanMoore]

Ya I force carbed the first two kegs because I was excited to try them, I think they kind of went flat to fast

There's no reason a keg should go flat unless you have the pressure set too low, or don't have any pressure at all. Did you take it off the gas or something?

So all I do is rack in to keg and set psi to 12 and put it in the fridge and leave it for a couple weeks?

Yep, that's how I do it. Just to be clear, the keg needs 12psi of gas pressure the whole time.

 

[dallasdb]

Yep, that's how I do it. Just to be clear, the keg needs 12psi of gas pressure the whole time.

So do you serve at 12 psi?

 

[Homebrewt]

This is a really great sticky thread on the topic : https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/


Hope it helps.

 

[rycov]

So do you serve at 12 psi?

absolutly. carbing pressure and serving pressure should be one in the same. if you're not able to do this then your system is probably not balenced properly

 

[jetmac]

i have tried the rush methods of carbing at high pressure for a few days, it works ok for soda but not beer

Well I beg to differ.

i prefer the slow but certain force carb method, 12psi for 2-3 weeks.

After waiting a month for your beer to finish, how can you stand waiting another 3 weeks to drink it knowing you could have started drinking it 2 1/2 weeks earlier?

 

[jetmac]

CO2 is much better absorbed at colder temps so the pressure will have to be higher and this is where the calculator comes in.
good luck!!

I think you misspoke. At colder temps your pressure required is lower.

 

[Wilddanz71]

There's no reason a keg should go flat unless you have the pressure set too low, or don't have any pressure at all. Did you take it off the gas or something?

Yep, that's how I do it. Just to be clear, the keg needs 12psi of gas pressure the whole time.

Yes I had a leak in the lid and I ran out of gas over nite, so I changes lids and opened it to do so I guess that is how it went flat?
Just to double check, fill keg to 30 psi to set lid, then purge and set psi to 12 and leave for a few weeks? Correct? Can I sample it as it carbs up to see how it is?

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Yes I had a leak in the lid and I ran out of gas over nite, so I changes lids and opened it to do so I guess that is how it went flat?
Just to double check, fill keg to 30 psi to set lid, then purge and set psi to 12 and leave for a few weeks? Correct? Can I sample it as it carbs up to see how it is?

I think as long as you have your CO2 turned on you are fine to test. If you don't keep your 12psi it will start going flat.

 

[MooMooBrew]

So, if I wanted to force carbonating at cellar temps (58*) I set and forget at 30ish psi? I see lots of charts but have yet to see the duration of carbing at higher levels...

 

[rycov]

Can I sample it as it carbs up to see how it is?

as much as you like. but if you sample too much the beer will be gone before its carbed!

 

[JuanMoore]

I think you misspoke. At colder temps your pressure required is lower.

Read the context of his statement. He was saying that because CO2 absorbs better in cold beer, the other poster would need higher pressure to carb at room temp.

 

[JuanMoore]

So, if I wanted to force carbonating at cellar temps (58*) I set and forget at 30ish psi? I see lots of charts but have yet to see the duration of carbing at higher levels...

The duration should be very similar. There are plenty of people on this forum that carb at room temp. It's a great way to keep the pipeline going if you only have room for one or two kegs in your kegorator or keezer.

 

[jetmac]

Read the context of his statement. He was saying that because CO2 absorbs better in cold beer, the other poster would need higher pressure to carb at room temp.

You're right. My bad. I must have been a little sleepy.