force carbing.
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Hudini56
Well-Known Member
Thats one option, I use the set it and forget it method - Set to about 12psi (after sealing the keg with about 20psi) and leave it sit for 7 days or so. Then start sampling, usually about 2 weeks is prime time for NeIPAS
Yes you are correct. After you turn the pressure down from 30 to serving be sure to bleed off the excess pressure.
That's the best way. But what will your beer temperature be? If the temp is at serving temps then 30 psi will work. If the beer is room temperature then 30 isn't going to be high enough.
For my setup I've noticed I get the best carbonation 30 PSI for 36 hours at serving temps. After that I relieve the pressure and let it sit at serving pressure.
For my setup I've noticed I get the best carbonation 30 PSI for 36 hours at serving temps. After that I relieve the pressure and let it sit at serving pressure.
stevedasleeve
Well-Known Member
I do max pressure (40-50) for a day, then turn down to 15 for a few hours, pour and drink, then dial in serving pressure. I don't vent usually.
I cold crash my fermenter to about 32 degrees, then rack to a keg. That goes in the keezer (set at 38 degrees) and I will set the pressure at 36 psi for maybe 24 hours. At that point it's close, and I'll dial it back to serving pressure and that should be that. Might take another day or so to settle in, but it's drinkable the next day.
If you connect it to the out post for force carbing you push co2 into the bottom of the keg and it bubbles up through the beer. This should make it carb a little faster, but I've never done it myself.
There are as many force carb opinions as there are homebrewers. If you really want it carbed fast, shake the keg while it's cold and under pressure. (Be careful with the pressure and time, it's really easy to overcarb that way.)
Personally, I'm on the set-and-forget team. Sometimes i go a little high (20psi) for the first day, but IMO, two weeks of cold conditioning time does great things for the beer so I want to leave it in the keezer for that time anyway.
I am sure once I have come beer in a keg I will go to more a set and forget, but I am anxious to get my first batch ready for tasting
Well....that makes you different from NO ONE WHO EVER BREWED THEIR FIRST BATCH.
My wife said last weekend that I'd learned a great deal about brewing beer, but what I hadn't yet learned was patience.
No so! I have a lager in my keezer on set and forget, it's been 10 days since I put it there and I have not even come close to tasting it. I'm continuing, each day, to set a new record for patience!
I am sure once I have come beer in a keg I will go to more a set and forget, but I am anxious to get my first batch ready for tasting
If your keg is filled, cold, and has been flushed with co2 several times, lay it on it's side on the floor with the gas in port up. Hook up your co2 and set to serving pressure (~10psi). Rock the keg back and forth on the floor quickly enough to hear some splashing. (Note: The rubber on most corny kegs will leave marks most floors, put an old towel or something on the floor if this is a concern.) Shaking for 5 minutes will generally get you some carbed beer.
Do yourself a favor though, don't plow through the whole keg this weekend. Make sure you have enough to try it again at least once a week for the next month so you start to get an idea of how the beer changes over that time.
TheHopfather
Well-Known Member
I usually do 30 psi for 24 hours, then reduce to serving pressure. I don't bother venting when reducing pressure, the beer will absorb the excess CO2 sitting in the head space anyway as it isn't fully carbed up in 24 hours. Usually another day, maybe 2 at serving pressure and its good to go.
The beer will change in flavor, usually for the better, with additional time in the keg however.
The beer will change in flavor, usually for the better, with additional time in the keg however.
I usually set my regulator for 30psi for 24-48 hours, then vent and set it to 12psi. Some beers need a few days to "condition" and taste better, but that's usually one a day or two but some a week. But the carbonation level seems pretty spot on with this method.
Don't worry this batch should last quite a while. I usually drink a couple beers a couple nights a week. Probably average about 6 pints a week. Sometimes a little more sometimes a little less. Interested to see how the taste changes over time and how long it keeps it's flavor and aroma. I do have hops sitting in the keg too so that should keep it interesting for a bit.
I brewed this about 10 days ago so I am sure it's a little green. I shall see soon. Been sick the last few days so trying to hold off until I feel better. Don't want my first taste impacted by sickness.
I brewed this about 10 days ago so I am sure it's a little green. I shall see soon. Been sick the last few days so trying to hold off until I feel better. Don't want my first taste impacted by sickness.
is anyone bottling from their kegs? i typically set mine around 18-20psi and leave it for a good week, and then drop it to about 4psi to bottle. my thought process is having it carbed a little higher than regular serving psi, will counter any pressure i lose during the bottling process? does that make sense?
maybe something to think about if you end up bottling from your keg.
cheers,
maybe something to think about if you end up bottling from your keg.
cheers,
I use the Last Straw bottle filler to bottle from my kegs. I follow my process listed above and bottle at what it's set to. Usually 12psi sometimes 10psi, but I don't lower the pressure to bottle and just leave it at the serving pressure.
I know it's a different filler than what you're using @xpops but thought I should share.
I know it's a different filler than what you're using @xpops but thought I should share.
And it doesn't create too much foam bottling at that psi? It sure would be quicker....
Only when I've over carbonated a batch of beer was it a PIA with foaming. My last batch went smoothly and had very little foaming.
If my memory serves me correctly the instructions for the last straw say to leave it serving pressure when bottling.
So I gave the two batches a quick sampling tonight. One was very under carbed and the other one seemed over carbed. This was a split batch that did not end up quite even so one is probably a little over two gallons and the other around three. The smaller batch is the over carbed one. I am guessing this is due to the volumes?
Speaking of batch size, I plan on doing a lot of split batches. Basically a pretty generic wort and the. Change up the flavoring hops in dry hopping stage. I have 5 gallon kegs but still need one more and wonder if it would be better to get a 3 gallon keg so there is less headspace? Or does that matter?
As far as taste not bad not great. One batch was better, the more carbed one, so going to give the other some time. Also they are both pretty green at 10 days since brewing so interested to see how they change the next week or two. I also am on the tail end of being sick so I don't think anything would have tasted great tonight.
Speaking of batch size, I plan on doing a lot of split batches. Basically a pretty generic wort and the. Change up the flavoring hops in dry hopping stage. I have 5 gallon kegs but still need one more and wonder if it would be better to get a 3 gallon keg so there is less headspace? Or does that matter?
As far as taste not bad not great. One batch was better, the more carbed one, so going to give the other some time. Also they are both pretty green at 10 days since brewing so interested to see how they change the next week or two. I also am on the tail end of being sick so I don't think anything would have tasted great tonight.
Do you get any "carb bite" drinking it after only 2 days at that high of PSI? or do you still let it settle at serving psi for a few days to mellow down a bit?
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
I have pin lock and ball lock kegs. In order to purge the air from the pin lock kegs, I hook up the CO2 to the beer out port, put on the gas at 5-10 psi and then depress the valve in the gas port to vent the air out. After that, I
hook up the CO2 in the normal way. Not sure if this is the right way to do it, but seems logical to me. Some people say that you can carb faster by having the CO2 bubble up through the beer from the bottom, but I haven't seen any side by side comparisons to prove that.
Nothing that's gonna not make me want to drink it
Its take a day or 2 for it to fully clear once its carbed but delicious none the less.
normonster
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Yeah, with only 2 gallons in a 5 gallon keg I'd be purging that badboy several times.
If your beer lasts long enough you'll come to find that after like a month in the keg it is just better. I've brewed quite a few batches now and it strikes me every time that the beer is at it's best just before the keg kicks.
Cheers! Good times!
It won't matter...if you think of it, as a keg empties the headspace increases. Doesn't harm the beer.
However, you'll use a lot of CO2 purging that much headspace. Let me suggest a procedure that will get you a virtually oxygen-free keg into which you can rack your beer.
Fill the keg you're going to rack the beer into with 5 gallons of Star-San. Attach the gas line, then purge the headspace 10 times or so. At that point, very, very little O2 left in the keg.
Then, use CO2 pressure to push that Star-San out into either a bucket or the next keg that you'll use (I store that Star-San always in the next keg to be filled with beer). As the Star-San leaves the keg, what replaces it is CO2--and no oxygen.
When the keg is empty of Star-San, then rack your beer into a QD connected to the OUT post. That allows the keg to fill from the bottom rather than the beer splashing in. Open the PRV to allow the CO2 to exit. Once you've filled the keg with your 2-3 gallons, you now have a virtually pure headspace above that beer, and can release the PRV and proceed to force carb or whatever you want to do.
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When I push out the Star-San from one keg to the next I use a jumper, such as here, but I made my own out of a couple QDs and a piece of tubing.
I'll crack the lid of the keg receiving the Star-San, and when the originating keg is empty of Star-San, you'll start getting bubbling in the bottom of the receiving keg. Immediately remove one of the QDs unless you want Star-San all over your floor. Then I'll continue to connect and disconnect that QD a couple of times until I have bubbles and foam coming out of the opening. I'll put the lid on, and guess what? All that foam and bubbles are filled with what? CO2! So now I have a keg filled with Star-San whose headspace is completely CO2. No purging required at that point.
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I've included a pic below showing how I do a closed-loop racking of the keg, recovering the CO2 and feeding it into the top of the fermenter. I use a cutoff airlock because it fit the tubing I had, but you can use any short piece of tubing. Friend of mine uses a piece of a ballpoint pen.
See that tubing connected from the fermenter to the keg?
I use that to purge any last Star-San from the keg I've just purged of Star-San. I'll tilt the keg toward the pickup tube (or if it's centered, let it sit square), put on that racking QD, and it'll blast out any remaining Star-San. Not a big deal, but it clears everything.
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Some of the above, I'm sure, could be written better or sounds confusing, but it works, and works very well. It'll get oxygen out of your system as much as you can, and it's pretty easy.
