force carbing in 36 hours?

[gotbags-10]

So obviously not ideal but is it possible? Have a batch that is cold crashing right now and I was planning on kegging tomorrow morning just using the set and forget method but alas my wife has invited people over sunday afternoon and asked if I could have anything ready. I realize it probably will be cloudy as heck and maybe foamy. Any thoughts or should I not even attempt? Don't want to ruin my zombie dust clone. It has been in primary for 3 weeks if it matters.

 

[homebrew57]

you won't ruin it. There is plenty of info out there on how to carbonate fast. Something like rolling it back and forth on its side while hooked up on gas. Putting the gas up to 30-35 psi for two days etc. Just look around plenty of people have done this before. I always choose the set and forget method or I put it to 30 psi for 2 days but it sounds like you might need to do the roll method.

 

[Rockn_M]

You'll probably need the roll method. The beer should be at or close to serving temp and the psi should be set to serving pressure. Then set the beer on its side, you'll hear gas entering the keg. I wait till I can't hear any more gas entering the keg then gently roll it back and forth for about 10 min. Hook up the keg to your kegerator\keezer. Let it sit for 12-24 hours to settle back down and you should be good to go.

Good Luck!

 

[QuercusMax]

You can totally do this. I cold crashed a batch of Christmas Ale for several days, then kegged it up, shook to carbonate, let it sit for a day, then transferred to a fresh keg and took to a party. It was gone within 2 hours...

What I suggest doing with the shake method is this: set your regulator to around 20 PSI, and shake till you stop hearing gas going in (usually 2-3 minutes). Turn up to 30PSI, shake for another 20-30 seconds, then you're done. Comes out just about perfect.

 

[gotbags-10]

After I do the shake method do I disconnect the gas and let it settle back down or should I put it at serving pressure?

 

[QuercusMax]

Doesn't really matter - you'll probably need to vent it anyway once it settles down.

 

[popquizkid]

I personally don't think the shake method is necessary. This is what I do and it works like a charm:

1. Set the pressure to 3x serving pressure (ie if I plan to server at 12 psi I set it to ~36 psi) for a day
2. After a day turn off the gas temporarily and purge CO2 out of headspace in keg
3. Set to serving pressure (12 psi for most ales)

It will ready within a couple ours of being on the lower pressure, but in my experience is it best after another day at 12 psi.

 

[eatmorefrogs]

I force carb at 30-35 PSI for 2 days. Works every time. I've had mixed results with the shaking thing, but other people swear by it.

So if it were me, and I wanted to go with what I knew worked, to meet that timeline I'd skip the cold crash and go right into the keg now. Cold crashing is more of a lager thing than an ale thing - I'd skip that to save time. Three weeks in primary probably dropped out most of what is going to drop out. If you're doing it for sediment reduction, just pour some beer before the guests arrive in case there's sediment. If you're still worried, you can clear in the keg. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYaVaCyT2yY[/ame] (I haven't done it, just tossing an option at you.)

Lastly, waiting until your beer is cold before force carbing is an efficiency thing. I'd dive right in now, even if the beer is room temp.