Corny pressure

[brewin570]

This will be my first time I keg a homebrew. I bought a corny. What pressure do I set the CO2 to for carbing and what pressure for dispensing, is it the same pressure that I always used for commercial beer? Thanks

 

[tamoore]

This will be my first time I keg a homebrew. I bought a corny. What pressure do I set the CO2 to for carbing and what pressure for dispensing, is it the same pressure that I always used for commercial beer? Thanks

There are a combination of factors.

Style of beer and temperature of beer play a role.

I generally set my APA and IPA's at 11PSI@36 degrees.

To force carb, I'm in at 30PSI for about 15 minutes with light agitation, then back to 11PSI while release extra pressure from the keg every few hours over the rest of the day......

 

[I_B_Mongo]

There are several ways to go about force carbing. Some people like to go 20psi for 3 days, or 30 psi for 2 day, with some occasional shaking of the keg. It will carb your keg, but probably not to style. In a pinch, I'll do this.
The other way is to find a carb chart (either search this site, or run a quick google search). With the chart, you find the temperature of your beer, then find your desired volumes of CO2, then set it to the corresponding PSI for a couple weeks.
As far as serving pressure: after force carbing your keg, bleed off the head space, then dial down your regulator to 5-10psi. You're just looking for enough pressure to push your beer out with a reasonable amount of pressure.
Good luck.

 

[Jipper]

Im a big fan of setting the regulator at 10-12 PSI and leaving it there for a week and then serving at the same pressure. Commercial beers vary in carb levels - your local brewery's pale might need to be served at 12 but Coors light needs to be at 18psi. So it does vary a lot.
I'd recommend 10PSI, leave it sit for a week at that and try it - if you need more turn it up to 12 and let it sit for a day or so.

 

[smmcdermott]

I just started keggin myself and I understand how confusing this all is. The trick is to remember that quicker carbonation does not mean you get to drink your beer sooner. You still need to let it age, so if you let a beer sit in primary for 3 weeks and carb in a couple days it is still going to taste like 3 week old beer.

My theory is to start easy, set it to 10-12 PSI for two weeks (one has not been enough for me yet) and drink after that. THis way you let it age and you don't have to worry about forgetting that you set it to 30 PSI for a week and now how to bleed it off and try to get the right pressure. This can give you a headache...