force carbing

[rycov]

i was just wondering the fastest way i can get my beer carbed. im new to kegging. im trying to have a beer ready for thanksgiving. i know its rushing it. and i know that good beer takes time. but good times also take beer. so is there a really quick way to carb these beers up? hopefully in a day?

 

[businesstime]

Chill the beer down first. Hook it up with 30psi, disconnect, and rock it, gently, back and forth on its side for 10 minutes. Hook it back up and you should hear more pressure come in, as the previous CO2 should have been absorbed by the beer. You'll need to repeat this procedure a few times. Then, you'll probably need to let it set for 24 hours, as the rocking will have foamed it up pretty good.

I've never had a lot of luck with it, which is why I just let standard pressure carb it over the course of a week. But, I understand your predicament.

 

[rycov]

thank you. yeah. im sure that, as with most things, the proper way is better. and in the future i will try to give myself more time to brew. but at the last minute i thought i'd brew a pumpkin ale for the holiday. thanks again.

 

[malkore]

when did you brew? Its only 14 days to thanksgiving. I guess if you wanted green beer...

but assuming its already brewed and you wanna keg this weekend or something, 7-10 days at 12psi would be ok too. I'm assuming 12psi is real close to your serving pressure...or at least hoping.

But really, I wouldn't try a pumpkin ale in under 14 days start to finish if that's your master plan. It just won't be ready.

 

[rycov]

you mean it wont age and mature properly? or it will still be fermenting? i mean. i'm still gonna brew it. if its not ready then i just have pumpkin beer for later. but whats this about green beer. i've seen that in some other posts. how much will flavor be affected? what kinda of off flavor is associated with beer thats not mature. and ive read that while it varies a week in primary and a week in secondary is usually ok. relax don't worry and all that.
thanks

 

[rycov]

also its cool how quick i get replys when i post on here. this forum is awsome.

 

[NWMOBrewer]

I suggest trying to have it done for Christmas and giving some as Christmas presents. If you do crank and shake carbing, to get it back down to proper carb level might take a few days anyway, otherwise you will usually have way over carbed beer. I'm considering making a pumpkin spice beer for Christmas for my family.

 

[rjwhite41]

I have frequently done the shake n bake method to force carbonate due to lack of patience. When you crank it to 30, don't rock gently, shake the hell out of it for 5 minutes. I've done both ways and this works a lot better. You should hear a continuous hissing from the CO2 tank. Then quit and let it sit for a couple of hours. Turn the pressure down to 5, burp the keg once, and draw off a pint. If the carbonation is right turn it up to 12 PSI or whatever you want your beer to be. If it's too little repeat. Word of caution; it is better to under carbonate initially because you can always add more. If you over carbonate it will be days or even weeks before it regulates itself. I believe there are probably quicker ways to fix but I always err on the side of caution to prevent any issues. As far as properly aging your beer you will always be dissapointed if you rush it. I've never brewed a pumpkin ale so I can't speak of conditioning times but the earliest I have gone grain to glass with decent results would be 3 weeks.

 

[snowman]

I've had excellent luck on my force carb trials. The green beer flavor may be more evident depending on the type of brew, but the thing is that if it tastes 'green' (whatever that is) it will still continue to condition over time. My current wheat beer has become much smoother about 10 days after tapping that keg. Lately I've been keeping my kegs in the garage where it's been from 30 to 45 deg overnight. After a one day cold crash I keg then put on 30lbs. I close the co2 tank valve but leave the gas line connected so that the pressure in the tank is indicated on the gauge. Rocking the keg on my knees I can watch the pressure drop as the gas is dissolved in the beer, it drops fairly soon to 20psi then I open the valve to bring up to 30 again. After 3 repititions the keg will pretty much hold the 30 lbs at which time I disconnect the gasline and leave the keg for 24 hrs, then bring up the pressure to 30 lbs again the next day. After 3 days of this routine it has been ready to serve. If you overcarb you can bring the keg into a warm room, release all the pressure and let it sit for a day, the warmth will help the co2 come out of solution... try a small glass at about 4 psi each day until the carb level is ok then re-chill and leave it at 8-10 psi

 

[rycov]

would adding yeast nutrient help with a quicker ferment? again i understand everyones concern for my beer's happyness, and if i over carb then ill turn it down and be patient. but im still gonna give it a shot at having it done by thanks giving. thanks again for all the info guys. its been real helpful

 

[phatuna]

You should view BobbyM's writeup on force carbing: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

everything you need to know and more

 

[andrew300]

making sure you pitch the right amount of healthy yeast and controlling your temperature would be my best advice if you want to turn it around this quick

 

[Yooper]

Shaking kegs to quickly carb them hasn't worked for me- it's just made a sediment-filled foamy mess.

If you want to carb up a beer really fast, you could do what I do- I chill the keg, and hook it up to 30 psi for 36 hours. Purge and reset at 12 psi. It's carbed up in a bit over 36 hours, and not foamy. The first pint has some sediment, but after that it's fine. Otherwise, I set it at 12 psi for a week, and it's carbed up then.

Some beers are better young than others- a British mild, a low OG pale ale, a hefeweizen, etc, all could be ready in 2 weeks. A pumpkin beer, especially if there are spices in it, will need more time. If you want a good tasting beer on Thanksgiving, I wouldn't recommend starting a pumpkin beer for it. Even Christmas is pushing it.

 

[BendBrewer]

I have had good success force carbing. I think the key is hooking the gas up to the OUT post when doing so.

I have force carbed the night before and had good flowing beer the next day. Ideally, like Yooper I just purge the kegs and set them to 12 psi for a week when I can.

 

[Round3r]

Brew a quick session syle low ABV amber ale, add pumpkin spices before bottle or kegging and you will have a nice festive brew in no time.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's one thing to sneak some samples of a beer that isn't really ready but do you want to tarnish the reputation of you're own brewing (and homebrewing in general) by serving a rushed, unconditioned beer to your guests? 14 days grain to glass? Not for me, but if you have to;

Overpitch the hell out of the yeast, I mean like 4 smack packs or the full cake from a previous batch.

After it's done, probably 4 days, crash cool it to 33F, then use gelatin to fine it or you'll have to run it through a plate filter.

Even then, 5 bucks says you overcarb the crap out of the keg and have to serve half a glass of foam.

 

[rycov]

It's one thing to sneak some samples of a beer that isn't really ready but do you want to tarnish the reputation of you're own brewing (and homebrewing in general) by serving a rushed, unconditioned beer to your guests?

Touche. well if i do attempt to force carb right from secondary, if fermentation is complete. if the beer doesnt taste good or ready then have i ruined it? or would leaving it alone for several weeks still give it time to mature. i guess im asking can it mature after its been carbed?

 

[Round3r]

Touche. well if i do attempt to force carb right from secondary, if fermentation is complete. if the beer doesnt taste good or ready then have i ruined it? or would leaving it alone for several weeks still give it time to mature. i guess im asking can it mature after its been carbed?

Many of my brews continue to get better with age as they sit fully carbed on tap.

Cool the uncarbed beer to approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit

Hook up co2 at 27-30 Psi fur 30 hours.

Turn co2 off. Disconnect. Purge headspace.

reconnect at serving pressure.

serve.

(if it still tastes very green either let it age on tap, or disconnect and set aside for a few weeks.)

I think your biggest concern here should be getting to your desired FG before cooling and carbing. Thus the reason I recommended a low ABV session brew in this case.

 

[GSM]

Many of my brews continue to get better with age as they sit fully carbed on tap.

Cool the uncarbed beer to approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit

Hook up co2 at 27-30 Psi fur 30 hours.

Turn co2 off. Disconnect. Purge headspace.

reconnect at serving pressure.

serve.

(if it still tastes very green either let it age on tap, or disconnect and set aside for a few weeks.)

thats what I do - i'm having trouble filling the pipeline so I basically have had to force carb every beer I've made so far. No complaints

 

[snowman]

Another success. Note that I am working with wheat beer on my fast carb trials. I read somewhere that wheat beer is the best candidate for fast boil to glass time, and my current batch was boiled on 10/25 and is totally good to serve this am. Even though I admit that I'm a beer slut, I have no doubt that my brewing reputation will be well served for first week of deer camp. But then I've only been brewing for a couple months so my reputation has nowhere to go but up ... I have 35 gal in the queue and this keg is my second wheat batch. Perhaps wheat beers just need less conditioning than other beers... I have a black ipa on deck that I will give over 4 weeks before carbonating, boiled on 10/16, that will be for second week of deer camp.

This morning I went out to the garage (34deg) to see what pressure was in the new wheat keg. I set this keg pressure to 30lb on Tuesday morning after agitating/purging 3 times, and again Wed and yesterday morning (without more agitation or purging). Each day the pressure will drop in proportion to the co2 that has been dissolved, the temp has varied to the warm side this week, staying between 42 and 55 until last night down to 30.

The keg pressure this am had dropped to about 22 lbs and I am quite sure I have no pressure leaks on the keg and it sits with nothing connected to it.
This particular keg contains closer to 4 than 5 gallons so has quite a bit of extra head space, therefore any given pressure drop would represent quite a bit more co2 was dissolved than in a full keg so this might be a worthy consideration if you want a fastest possible carb... You could leave some brew back in the fermenter/secondary and bottle it so that there would be more head space for Co2 in the keg. If you can leave the co2 connected then this is not a factor but I use mine for the serving keg(s) and have just a straight hose connection which I will upgrade over the winter.

I don't have a firm grip yet on what a 'volume' is, but I know we are looking to dissolve approx 2 volumes of co2 for proper carbonation, perhaps somewhat more for wheat beer, less for some others. btw I turn off the co2 tank and release the pressure at the ball/pin lock hose fitting, hook it to the keg so the gauge reading is what is in the keg.

Gas laws are fairly straightforward in that if you go with x lbs for a week and it is good for you, someone else may be over or under carbed if they do it in a significantly colder or warmer environment.

 

[rycov]

hey guys. update/ new questions for this beer. i brewed thursday and pitched the american ale smack pack that came with the pumpkin ale kit, also i pitched a packet of dry knottingham yeast, and a vigorous fermentation ensued shortly after. it was bubbling a lot. more than any of my previous brews. this morning i checked and didn't have any action going on. i took a hydrometer reading and it was down to around 1.01. the beer is still very cloudy obviously. but is my fermentation done? it actually tastes pretty good. just lacking co2. also it doesnt really taste very strong alcohol wise. any thoughts? should i go to secondary? or straight to keg?

 

[rycov]

After it's done, probably 4 days, crash cool it to 33F, then use gelatin to fine it or you'll have to run it through a plate filter. QUOTE]

i dont have geletin on hand and there's no brew store in myrtle beach. so i'd have to order it wich would take a week but i do have some sparkolloid from a batch of mead i just did. could i use that as a finning?

 

[Yooper]

After it's done, probably 4 days, crash cool it to 33F, then use gelatin to fine it or you'll have to run it through a plate filter. QUOTE]

i dont have geletin on hand and there's no brew store in myrtle beach. so i'd have to order it wich would take a week but i do have some sparkolloid from a batch of mead i just did. could i use that as a finning?

Knox gelatin is available in every grocery store.

 

[rycov]

nice. put it in the keg? or in secondary? how long does it take?

 

[Bobby_M]

I'd chill the primary down to 34F for at least 24 hours, rack to secondary and stir in the gelatin (premixed into water first). Let that settle for a while, then rack to keg.

 

[lumpher]

many times ive taken the co2 bottle and the keg into the living room. stand the bottle up, lay the keg down. roll the keg with my feet for 30 minutes. next day, i'm drinking that keg

 

[rycov]

am i crazy to think that fermentation is done at this point? i mean my hydrometer said it was i guess that's pretty much done right? i kinda didn't think i would be able to get this done this soon. i was thinking thanksgiving day would come around and i would be a little sad about my beer not being done, then i would have good beer several weeks later as it carbed and conditioned, but now I'm kinda thinking this is a real possibility. obviously i wouldn't try to do all my beers this fast. is this some kind of thanksgiving miracle in progress? any one ever had a beer go grain to glass in two weeks? thanks for all your support in my attempt to rush (hopefully not ruin) good beer! thanks again guys you rock!:rockin:

 

[rycov]

Guess what... its actually good! my dad and i just took a sample to see how things were goin and it was good. a little cloudy, but im ok with that. i was really impressed with how good this came out. im sure it will continue to get better as it ages over the next few weeks. but i still like it now. thanks again everyone who replied. and i promise not to rush beer again. happy thanksgiving

 

[sh00t]

lumpher

many times ive taken the co2 bottle and the keg into the living room. stand the bottle up, lay the keg down. roll the keg with my feet for 30 minutes. next day, i'm drinking that keg

what psi?