Cannot get any of my beers to carb

[38372]

I have read numerous threads on how to force carb. I could use a little help after I ramble for a quick few.

What I have done is followed the set and forget method. I placed 2 kegs in a small fridge set at 44 degrees and set it accordingly, I believe around 16 psi. Let it sit for well over a week. Purged the pressure out, hooked up a 10 ft hose and poured or foamy then flat beer.

Also have 4 other kegs in a fermentation chamber around 64-65 degrees set at 26-27 psi. Some have been in there for over 2 weeks.

Realize I may have problems when moving these kegs to the kegerator.. but after I purge shouldn't they serve at 65 and be carbonated??

I am not leaking CO2 anywhere as both bottles are not showing any signs of serous loss.

Last year I would place in fridge at unknown temp and crank the pressure past 30 for a couple days which seemed to leave all my beers over carbonated and nothing but problems with serving.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do. Why these beers are not carbing?

THANKS!

 

[tre9er]

If there's not a leak, I have no clue. CO2 goes into solution over time, faster when cold. There should be at least some measurable carb at 16psi for a week. Are you discarding the first pint and then pouring another? Often I get a better beer on the second pull if it's been sitting. It's possible your seals on the lids are leaking slightly and thus there isn't much constant pressure in the keg to force CO2 into solution. Try the soapy-water test around everything. SOme kegs take 30PSI to seat the lid, then back it off to carbing pressure.

Personally I do 30PSI for a day or two, shake the heck out of it at first, then check it at 24, 36, 48 hours. Once I start to get decent carb I back it down to serving the rest of the way, or just slightly higher.

 

[Yooper]

The phrase "pours foamy, then flat" makes me think your lines are very short. In order to pour a 16 psi beer (at 44 degrees), I'd suggest at least 10 feet (preferably 12') of 3/16" beerline. Just reading your description makes me think the beerline is very short- like 3-5'.

 

[TyTanium]

...makes me think your lines are very short...

And you know what they say about people with short lines. Heh heh heh

 

[tre9er]

The phrase "pours foamy, then flat" makes me think your lines are very short. In order to pour a 16 psi beer (at 44 degrees), I'd suggest at least 10 feet (preferably 12') of 3/16" beerline. Just reading your description makes me think the beerline is very short- like 3-5'.

Good point. I have 10' of 1/4" line. Can't pour real well in the mid teens but pours great at 13PSI and below. Can't see a need to serve much higher than that, in fact most of the time I creep it down to serve and then perhaps bump it back up to store.

 

[Beer-lord]

I defer to the pro's here as I'm somewhat of a keg newb but I've done 3 min kegs (2.5 gallons) and 3-5 gallon corny's and the set it and forget method works fine. I have a Haier kegerator that came with 1 tap that I converted to a tri-tap. I've not measured my lines but they can't be much more than 3 feet. I've got my temp at an almost rock steady 40 degrees and with the exception of one mini that I natrually carbed, I have no problems with foam.

Here's what I' ve done that's worked fine for me (and those who drink my brew agree they're almost perfectly carbed). I keg the beg and hit it with gas and then 'burp' the keg and hit it again and I leave it at room temp for a week or so or when I have room in the kegerator. When it goes in the kg'rator, I leave it alone for 24 hours or so then when at about 40 degrees, I hit it with 30 psi for 24 hours, then lower it to 20 for 24 hours then to 12 for 2-3 days. When I'm ready to pour it's set to 5 or 6 psi and I enjoy a very nice adult beverage.

 

[erikpete18]

Set-and-forget is impossible to screw up (which is why I like it!), so long as you aren't leaking co2. You say you use a 10ft hose, but is the hose 3/16"? If its foamy, then its definitely carbonated. Its just that all of that carbonation is coming out during serving, causing the foam and leaving a flat beer afterwards.

Assuming that you do have 3/16" beer line, there could be other things causing the foaming. It sounds like you're using a picnic tap, so you may want to check it and clean it out if necessary. Gunk in the tap could cause everything to foam up. It also sounds like you potentially hooked up the tap and then immediately poured. If the tap and hose was at room temp (70) and the beer was at 44, that change in temp during passage through the beer line could cause a lot of co2 to come out of solution. Either leave the tap attached or cool the tap first, then pour and see if it helps. I've also heard that large height changes in beer line can cause co2 to come out of solution. No experience to back it up, but try making sure your hose is fairly level when you pour and see if it helps.

If that fails, its also possible you've got a blockage somewhere in the dip tube/poppit. I dry-hopped a keg a while back and after a while started to get really foamy pours. Took everything apart and realized that a bunch of hop crud had worked its way into the top of the dip tube and was collecting around the poppit, causing co2 to nucleate. I just cleaned everything up and resanitized, and then it poured great again.

Also, for the warm kegs, the beer should be carbonated correctly, but you're going to have a heck of a time serving at 25-30psi. I didn't throw the numbers into a line balancing equation, but I'd bet you'll need 20-25ft, maybe 30ft, to balance that out. You can always drop the pressure, purge the kegs, serve, and raise the pressure back up if you don't mind the small hassle.

 

[JuanMoore]

I have read numerous threads on how to force carb. I could use a little help after I ramble for a quick few.

What I have done is followed the set and forget method. I placed 2 kegs in a small fridge set at 44 degrees and set it accordingly, I believe around 16 psi. Let it sit for well over a week. Purged the pressure out, hooked up a 10 ft hose and poured or foamy then flat beer.

Also have 4 other kegs in a fermentation chamber around 64-65 degrees set at 26-27 psi. Some have been in there for over 2 weeks.

Realize I may have problems when moving these kegs to the kegerator.. but after I purge shouldn't they serve at 65 and be carbonated??

I am not leaking CO2 anywhere as both bottles are not showing any signs of serous loss.

Last year I would place in fridge at unknown temp and crank the pressure past 30 for a couple days which seemed to leave all my beers over carbonated and nothing but problems with serving.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do. Why these beers are not carbing?

THANKS!

Why are you purging the gas from the keg after carbonating? When using the set and forget method, just start pouring when it's ready, no need to purge gas or change the pressure at all. If the beer pours foamy but then tastes flat, the beer is carbonated, but carbonation is being knocked out of solution somehow. This is often caused by line balancing issues, or temperature issues. You said your line is 10' long, but what's the ID? If it's larger than 3/16", you'll need a lot more than 10' to get a balanced pour. What type of faucet are you using, and are the lines and shank/faucet being kept close to the same temp as the beer? If they're warmer than the beer, that could be the cause also.