Corny Keg Carbonation Question

[The Hansa]

I am waiting for my Porter to finish up it's fermentation but I am already thinking of how I want to carbonate it... I just received a free Wine Fridge but it is a rather tight fit for my keg and I cannot attach a spunding valve. What I figure I will do is cool it down to 40F or soo, feed some CO2 into the Corny and then bung it off for a few days... I only plan on using a safe amount of CO2 but just wanted to hear some feedback or advice on this idea...

Thanks

 

[Wables]

I’ll probably be torched here for sharing my method, but I:

1) Siphon to the keg from the secondary.
2) Purge the headspace with CO2.
3) Chill overnight.
4) Put 30 psi on the keg. Pick it up, one hand on the top, one on the bottom, and rock it back and forth 130 times. Make sure the gas hose stays on, and the gas tube stays submerged.
5) Bleed off the pressure after an hour, and start consuming.

 

[grampamark]

If the beer is going to be done fermenting when you keg it you don’t need a spunding valve. Just hook up the gas, set the regulator to the appropriate chart pressure (around 8-10 psi for a dark ale @40°), and leave it for 10 days, or so. The beer will carbonate without having to worry about over carbonation.

If you want to speed the process up a bit, set the regulator to 30psi for 24 hours, turn the gas off for 24 hours, to allow the beer to absorb the C02 in the headspace, then turn the gas back on at the chart pressure. The beer will be reasonably well carbed at this point, and will finish up over the next few days without becoming over carbed.

 

[Golddiggie]

There's also the option (if you don't mind spending a few dollars) to get the corny keg carbonating lid (MoreBeer has them). You put the CO2 feed onto that and step the pressure up over a handful of hours (depending on your target PSI level). Then let it sit connected (at target pressure) for 24 hours and it's done. No shaking, no bleeding/venting, no nothing. I used one for a few batches before getting the two conical fermenters I have and carbonating in fermenter. I'm actually putting a batch (English IPA) on CO2 to carbonate in the morning. I'm going to drop the temperature (advantage of a glycol chiller for the fermenters) to carbonating level before bed. I've done several batches this way so far and it simply works. Kegs are ready to drink immediately. I can the balance of each batch as well.

 

[The Hansa]

If the beer is going to be done fermenting when you keg it you don’t need a spunding valve. Just hook up the gas, set the regulator to the appropriate chart pressure (around 8-10 psi for a dark ale @40°), and leave it for 10 days, or so. The beer will carbonate without having to worry about over carbonation.

If you want to speed the process up a bit, set the regulator to 30psi for 24 hours, turn the gas off for 24 hours, to allow the beer to absorb the C02 in the headspace, then turn the gas back on at the chart pressure. The beer will be reasonably well carbed at this point, and will finish up over the next few days without becoming over carbed.

View attachment 742531

The thing I thought was that you need something to let gas out like a spunding valve... soo all I have to is purge the keg every now and then?

 

[Jaybird]

My process is pretty simple.
Transfer to O2 evacuated keg.
Attach my gas to a Black Beer out ball lock connect and attach to keg.
Drop in my keggorator and set Pressure to 2-3 psi and give it 24 hours. As the beer gets cold it draws in CO2 into the bottom of the keg. Every day I up the PSI a couple till I get to serving pressure.
Swap the gas line and serve. Takes about 4-5 days and always seem to be perfect.
Cheers
Jay

 

[grampamark]

The thing I thought was that you need something to let gas out like a spunding valve... soo all I have to is purge the keg every now and then?

You’re carbonating the beer. You need to keep the gas in the beer. The pressure indicated by the chart is your goal. You let the beer absorb the C02 until you reach the desired level of carbonation. At that point, with the regulator set to the equilibrium pressure, the beer remains at that level of carb until the keg is empty.

The pressure in the keg won’t keep increasing once equilibrium is reached; there’s no need purge the keg.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

If you wanted to use the spunding valve you could run a short length of from the disconnect to the sounding valve so you can move it off to the side.

 

[The Hansa]

You’re carbonating the beer. You need to keep the gas in the beer. The pressure indicated by the chart is your goal. You let the beer absorb the C02 until you reach the desired level of carbonation. At that point, with the regulator set to the equilibrium pressure, the beer remains at that level of carb until the keg is empty.

The pressure in the keg won’t keep increasing once equilibrium is reached; there’s no need purge the keg.

Alright... Thank you, That makes soo much more sense to me now when it comes to carbing and serving, I've just been nervous when it comes to gas and pressure even though corny kegs can hold up to 130 or so PSI ...

Bottom line: leave the gas on? Right?


The only problem is that my fridge is pretty small but I can still rig a gas line minus the post and fit my CO2 Tank as well...

 

[The Hansa]

If you wanted to use the spunding valve you could run a short length of from the disconnect to the sounding valve so you can move it off to the side.

I was thinking about something like that

 

[The Hansa]

My process is pretty simple.
Transfer to O2 evacuated keg.
Attach my gas to a Black Beer out ball lock connect and attach to keg.
Drop in my keggorator and set Pressure to 2-3 psi and give it 24 hours. As the beer gets cold it draws in CO2 into the bottom of the keg. Every day I up the PSI a couple till I get to serving pressure.
Swap the gas line and serve. Takes about 4-5 days and always seem to be perfect.
Cheers
Jay

This sounds like a good idea

 

[grampamark]

Bottom line: leave the gas on? Right?

Right. As you serve from the keg, the pressure in the headspace slowly drops. The regulator on the C02 bottle allows gas into the keg to maintain the preset pressure.

 

[Golddiggie]

My process is pretty simple.
Transfer to O2 evacuated keg.
Attach my gas to a Black Beer out ball lock connect and attach to keg.
Drop in my keggorator and set Pressure to 2-3 psi and give it 24 hours. As the beer gets cold it draws in CO2 into the bottom of the keg. Every day I up the PSI a couple till I get to serving pressure.
Swap the gas line and serve. Takes about 4-5 days and always seem to be perfect.
Cheers
Jay

With the carbonating lid you turn that 4-5 days into 1-2 days. Plus it uses a sintered stone to send the CO2 through, which makes infusion faster/easier/better. I did get a secondary regulator to feed the lid (while I used it). Since I'm not using it anymore (it has a new home), I'll be removing the regulator from the gas setup inside my keezer.

 

[JJinMD]

Alright... Thank you, That makes soo much more sense to me now when it comes to carbing and serving, I've just been nervous when it comes to gas and pressure even though corny kegs can hold up to 130 or so PSI ...

Bottom line: leave the gas on? Right?


The only problem is that my fridge is pretty small but I can still rig a gas line minus the post and fit my CO2 Tank as well...

In general, I believe in being reasonably cautious, but no need to be nervous in this situation, you have a regulator on your tank that shouldn't need to be set higher than 30psi using any of the methods mentioned. You also have a PRV on your corny that will vent way before you get anywhere near 130psi unless you have somehow modified it (most are between 60 and 90).

 

[Jaybird]

With the carbonating lid you turn that 4-5 days into 1-2 days. Plus it uses a sintered stone to send the CO2 through, which makes infusion faster/easier/better. I did get a secondary regulator to feed the lid (while I used it). Since I'm not using it anymore (it has a new home), I'll be removing the regulator from the gas setup inside my keezer.

Ohhh for sure. I'm kind of a steady as it goes kind of brewer..

Cheers
Jay

 

[Golddiggie]

Ohhh for sure. I'm kind of a steady as it goes kind of brewer..

Cheers
Jay

That's why I like using the conical fermenters now. Simply add the carbonating stone setup to it and off you go. 2-3 days later and it's ready. I usually give the batch a day to 'rest' once the CO2 is turned off to the stone. They claim it can be done in <24 hours, but I find it's better to go at least 48 hours.

I started carbonating my English IPA earlier today. I'll check it Saturday evening to see if it's there yet. If so, the gas gets turned off and I'll plan to keg and can it Sunday evening. If it's not there yet, I'll let it go until Sunday evening and do the keg/can process Monday after dinner.