Force Carbonating Warm

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midipitti

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Hey Guys, I'm new here but having some issues force carbonating. I know that CO2 holds better in cold but I don't yet have a kegerator and I read you can still carbonate warm with more pressure. I tired that and it works warm but when I bottle and put the beers in the fridge to cool them down - they end up flat. Have done this with two batches and I know I'm missing something simple. Do you have to carbonate at serving temp? Why is it going flat. Its fine when it's warm.

My process was to set the psi in the keg to 30 and leave it for a week. It's about 75 degrees out. Bottled it and sampled and it was perfect. In fridge for 24 hours and flat.
 
The force carbing part will work. It's the bottling that's the problem. All your CO2 is escaping when you bottle. It needs to be near ice cold to bottle that way to keep the CO2 in solution.
 
How do you go from keg to bottle? Do you have a counterpressure filler or do you just fill the bottle with a regular tap?
30 PSI at that temperature is just about 2.4 vols which is already on the low side, if you have any significant losses then you're heading straight for undercarbonation.
 
So I'm using a Blichmann Beer Gun, blasting the co2 in the empty bottle filling with the gun and purging with another blast after it's full then capping per usual. If I pour a warm beer from the keg it's perfect, at about 2.3 vols super carbonated so it's for sure something with the temp change and the bottling.

Qhrumphf- the bottle's need to be ice cold? how is C02 escaping if it's capped like normal? there's not much room in there.
 
No way you're using a Beer Gun with warm beer without getting a ton of foam. Most people can get it to fill properly when the beer is ice cold. All that foam you're getting is CO2 that won't be in the beer any more once you serve the beer cold. My guess is that you're not getting more than 2.0 vols in the bottled beer, maybe even less.
 
Agree. Its almost impossible to bottle 2.5 volumes without carbonation loss when yhe beer is cold. You have to use every trick in the book to get a good fill. If you are not filling half a bottle of foam when the beer is warm then you are not actually as carbed as you think.
No way you're using a Beer Gun with warm beer without getting a ton of foam. Most people can get it to fill properly when the beer is ice cold. All that foam you're getting is CO2 that won't be in the beer any more once you serve the beer cold. My guess is that you're not getting more than 2.0 vols in the bottled beer, maybe even less.
 
If i pour from the picnic tap the beer looks carbed with good head, maybe it's not as carbed as I think but it sure seems that way. Also honestly it's not foaming up in the line when I'm using the gun! It pours from the gun very nice and it even looks carbed, so maybe that's the problem maybe it's just not as carbed as I think.. but it sure does not seem that way... I'm at about 75 degrees and let it sit for a week with 30psi. thanks for the help guys I'm learning a lot.

So- I'm investing in a kegerator, it seem like this just won't work without it being cold.
 
Beer that warm will always appear to be well carb because CO2 tends to be realeased more readily the higher the temperature. My bet is that if you could serve your beer at a proper temperature it would immediately appear undercarbed to you.
One week to fully carb is a bit short, your beer is probably not yet at equilibrium.
 
Since you are going to bottle it anyway, just use priming sugar and let it carbonate in the bottle.

Skip the keg until you have everything you need to go that route.
 
If i pour from the picnic tap the beer looks carbed with good head, maybe it's not as carbed as I think but it sure seems that way. Also honestly it's not foaming up in the line when I'm using the gun! It pours from the gun very nice and it even looks carbed, so maybe that's the problem maybe it's just not as carbed as I think.. but it sure does not seem that way... I'm at about 75 degrees and let it sit for a week with 30psi. thanks for the help guys I'm learning a lot.

So- I'm investing in a kegerator, it seem like this just won't work without it being cold.
Even if it's as carbed as you think, bottling warm, unless under counter pressure to keep CO2 in solution (which a beer gun does NOT do), you're gonna lose CO2 when bottling. The warmer, the less CO2 stays dissolved, the more you're gonna lose.

That's if it's as carbed as you think. For a set and forget head pressure carb, a week is fairly short. As said above, warm beer seems more carbonated as the CO2 escapes rapidly.

When I use a beer gun, I like to do it 30-32F (all equipment, including bottles), and rapidly at serving pressure. Minimal foaming until I deliberately foam it up at the end with CO2 to cap on foam, and perfect carb with minimal oxidation after a year of warm storage.
 
Since you are going to bottle it anyway, just use priming sugar and let it carbonate in the bottle.

Skip the keg until you have everything you need to go that route.


the point here is not to have the yeast in with sugar at the bottom, my friends think it's gross- even though it's harmless. I'm not actually new to brewing, just in a bind and I have all the stuff I need. I was just curious as to why if it's fully carbonated it wouldn't stay in a bottle at a warmer temp. Either way guys thanks for all the feedback. I'll try to wait longer to see if that works. If not my kegerator will be here and I'll just go the cold route. cheers
 
the point here is not to have the yeast in with sugar at the bottom, my friends think it's gross- even though it's harmless. I'm not actually new to brewing, just in a bind and I have all the stuff I need. I was just curious as to why if it's fully carbonated it wouldn't stay in a bottle at a warmer temp. Either way guys thanks for all the feedback. I'll try to wait longer to see if that works. If not my kegerator will be here and I'll just go the cold route. cheers

Did waiting longer work?
 
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