First kegging. Head but no carbonation?

[Kmcogar]

Well I just kegged my first homebrew. I force carbonated it. About ten minutes or so.....What psi should it be at when doing a force carb? It comes out with head but doesn't taste that carbonated. Any ideas?

 

[flabyboy]

There are a couple ways of doing this. One way would be to put your keg in fridge and hook up to 8-12 psi CO2 and let it sit 2-3 weeks to carb. Or you can hook it up to 30 psi for a day or so and then drop it down to 8-12 psi and serve. You can accidentally over carbonate doing it the second way. 10 minutes ain't going to cut it

Update: I meant 30 psi. Oops!!

 

[Jamming]

30 psi shake and shake, purge off a couple short blasts to get out any o2 then shake, I stand mine on its top then bottom then top a few times, you will hear the co2 being absorbed in the beer. Cold time, then

6-10psi for serving.

 

[bighorn_brew]

Probably not carb'd, even my flat beer will throw a head without carbing. Get it cold, throw the gas up on it for a few days and you should get some actual carbonation. I've given up on trying to do quick force carbing, not worth the headache of trying to make something harder than it should be, esp. kegging beer. Basically, you get into kegging to make it easier than bottling, but then make it harder than bottling by throwing in variable gas pressure/shaking/temperature/etc.....Try and develop a routine....I know its hard the first time, but give it time...Heck...even high pressure like 50-60 psi overnight at cold temps will give a good actual carbing....

 

[Kmcogar]

Thanks. I'll let it sit overnight now. Its giving me great head..but it it just doesn't seem like its carbonated that well. Now it's foaming a lot when coming out. I'm gonna let it settle.

 

[birvine]

When you pressure up the keg the co2 does not immediately go into solution - most of it sits above the beer. When you draw off the beer as few minutes later, the pressure forces out the flat beer.

Leave the pressure on for more time to allow the beer to carbonate. Then give it a try. You'll see what I mean.

B

 

[Brulosopher]

Thanks. I'll let it sit overnight now. Its giving me great head..but it it just doesn't seem like its carbonated that well. Now it's foaming a lot when coming out. I'm gonna let it settle.

Overnight really won't cut it... if you're not doing the "30psi and shake" method, you'll have to let it sit for a good week or so. While there seems to be growing fear about overcarbonating beer using said "shake" method, here's what I do:

1. Rack beer to keg from primary (secondary? meh!)

2. Connect to gas line with psi set to 30 and valve closed

3. Open valve for about 5 seconds, then close

4. Purge keg of oxygen by depressing the release valve (I use pin lock) for 3 one-second bursts... do this prior to shaking the keg to avoid oxygenation!!

5. Re-connect gas line and fully open valve (still set at 30psi)

6. Rock back-and-forth for 10 minutes

7. Disconnect gas line, leaving 30psi in the keg, then leave keg in fridge for 12 hours or so (this is one of the things I do differently than some others)

8. Purge CO2, connect gas and beer lines, set gauge to 12-16psi (depending on style), then let this sit with valve open for a 4 to 5 days.

Really, your beer will be decently carbonated after the 12 hours sitting with 30psi, and you will likely noticed when you purge it after the 12 hours that a lot less CO2 leaves the keg than you might expect... because it has absorbed into the beer! Here are a few things you will want to keep in mind:

1. The only time I've ever overcarbonated a beer using this method is when my keg was only 3/4 full. It is important to make sure your keg has 5 gallons in it. This is one of the reasons I brew 6 gallon batches, so I can be certain 5 FULL gallons of beer make it to the keg. Should you overcarbonate your beer (as indicated by full glasses of foam each pour), you have 2 main options. The first: keep a "throw away" pitcher next to your tap and pull the first half-pint or so into the pitcher before serving; this will get the foamy stuff out of the way and you'll at least get some good, though pretty bubbly, beer into your glass. OR... disconnect your lines and purge the keg of all CO2 a few times per day for 2 to 4 days; this is actually pretty easy and works very well... if you've the patience.

2. When you use the shake method, you will be mixing everything up, so any yeast transferred over from your primary will be in suspension... this can take up to a week or more to fully settle out... go ahead and start drinking it earlier than that, but consider this a warning: your bowels will fight back

3. One of the flavors you will get if you drink immediately after kegging is CO2, which will certainly impact your experience. After about a week in the keg, that CO2 flavor mellows out and allows the true flavor of your beer to shine. 2 weeks kegged, and your patience will be rewarded, as the CO2 flavor will have diminished AND you will have a nice, bright beer!

4. Most American style beers will properly carb in 2 weeks if you set your gauge to 16psi... and you really don't have to worry too much about "serving pressure;" you can serve your beer at whatever pressure you want (within reason), it has very little impact on anything. After I do the aforementioned procedure, I usually leave my pressure set to whatever I carbed my beer at, which for me is about 14psi.

 

[Brewnoob1]

You can't expect to have carbonated beer in 10 minutes after kegging. Give it some time and it'll be fine. As others mentioned, set and forget, or jack up the pressure and shake. Just watch out for over carbonation.

 

[Biking_Brewer]

I keg it, set it to 12 PSI, purge, and forget about it. About 10 days later it's ready to go. Bout as simple as it gets.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[arch1tect]

Also a note, absorption is more efficient at colder temps. So Force carbing at 30 psi at room temp will achieve the same as leave it in a kegerator at 10-12 psi for 2 weeks.

 

[Yooper]

I keg it, set it to 12 PSI, purge, and forget about it. About 10 days later it's ready to go. Bout as simple as it gets.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

That's what I do too. UNLESS I'm in a big hurry. Then I set the psi at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purge and reset it to 12 psi. It's ready by day 3.

I am not a fan of shaking, rolling, etc. First, it can overcarb the beer. But mostly all of the sediment that I want to fall out is all resuspended. Ick! There are also some experiences that head retention is affected by the shaking method, that some of the head retention proteins are destroyed, but I can't remember the science behind that and I don't think that's a problem anyway.

After 36 hours of cold time in the kegerator (and not moving the keg), I pour off about 4 ounces and the rest is all nice clear beer.

 

[Kmcogar]

I wish I would have put this thread up before I force carved it.

 

[Yooper]

I wish I would have put this thread up before I force carved it.

Hahaha- auto correct, huh?

 

[Kmcogar]

Dag nabbit. You know what I mean