Force Carbonation Questions

[Spoony]

I am working on force carbonating my second kegged beer and am curious/nervous that I am not doing this properly. The first time around I was dumb enough to leave the valve shut off and didn't let CO2 into the keg initially. After turning on the CO2 I left both the keg and CO2 in a fridge for a week to finish. In the end after correcting that mistake the beer turned out ok but did not seem to be perfectly carbonated.

This time around my beer has just finished fermenting and has been transferred into my corny keg, my CO2 pressure is set to 30lbs and has been on for 1 day now. Every so often I will go out and shake the keg to attempt to mix the gas into the beer. Ideally I will let this go for another 6 days then disconnect the CO2 and have freshly carbonated beer.

However my confidence is very low right now and I feel I may be doing something or several things incorrectly, any advice will be appreciated.

 

[BierMuncher]

If your beer is already cold, 30 PSI should carbonate within 36 hours.

If your beer was room temp when you placed it in the chiller and hooked it up, 48 hours is the norm.

Do not shake the beer anymore.

I'm a hurry up force carber and the 48 hours at 30PSI is my normal method.

Many folks set there beer at serving PSI (10-12) and leave it for 10-14 days and call it done.

 

[Yooper]

You don't disconnect the gas after the beer is carbonated. You will need the gas to serve ("push") the beer, and to keep it carbonated. I keep mine at 11 psi, which is perfect in my 39 degree fridge.

 

[Spoony]

So assuming that I leave this on for 48 hours as it was 68 degrees when I started that will finish the carbonating. At that point I get a little confused if I dont plan to drink the beer am I able to disconnect the CO2 at that point and then reconnect when dispensing?

 

[BierMuncher]

So assuming that I leave this on for 48 hours as it was 68 degrees when I started that will finish the carbonating. At that point I get a little confused if I dont plan to drink the beer am I able to disconnect the CO2 at that point and then reconnect when dispensing?

Assuming it is properly carb'd...yes. There is no need to disconnect unless you want to use the gas for another keg. Leaving it at your proper serving pressure is best.

When you get close to your 48 hour mark, shut off the gas and release the relief valve on the keg until most the excess gas escape. This will allow you to draw a taste test and see if it is properly carb'd.

If not, hook it back up for a few hours longer.

After a few batches, you'll be able to dial in your carbonation regime with your eyes closed. Note that the bigger the beer...the longer it takes to carbonate.

 

[Spoony]

Excellent I will be finished with this today and be sure to let you know how it turns out! Thanks for all your help.

 

[dragonlor20]

Excellent I will be finished with this today and be sure to let you know how it turns out! Thanks for all your help.

How did it turn out?

 

[TipsyDragon]

Do not shake the beer anymore.

im curious why not shake till its fully carbed?

 

[BierMuncher]

im curious why not shake till its fully carbed?

To much risk of over carbing the beer. Plus, every hour your beer sits peacefully in the keg is an hour it clears and conditions. The chill effect on a fresh keg goes a long way to help particulates settle out and get that beer closer to servable.

 

[TipsyDragon]

im not willing to say your wrong. your probably right. i guess i don't understand how a beer can get over carbed that way. the beer is only going to hold so much CO2 at a particular temp and pressure. as long as you don't crank the pressure up to high for the temp of the beer and desired carbonation level i don't see how it can get over carbed.

 

[Yooper]

im not willing to say your wrong. your probably right. i guess i don't understand how a beer can get over carbed that way. the beer is only going to hold so much CO2 at a particular temp and pressure. as long as you don't crank the pressure up to high for the temp of the beer and desired carbonation level i don't see how it can get over carbed.

Right. It may not get overcarbed IF you set it at 12 psi and shake it.

However, it will still be foamy and cloudy and need to sit. Some people set it really high- like 30 psi- and shake to quick carb. Then, they have cloudy, foamy, and overcarbed beer. Since the bere needs to chill anyway to really absorb the CO2, I find it easier to just set it for 30 psi for 36 hours, purge and reset to 12 psi and drink. So, that's what? 36 hours for carbed up and clear beer. Shaking might carb up a bit faster, but I can guarantee you it won't be clear any faster than my method.

Shaking works for some, I guess. For me, no. I let the beer sit, and clear, and while it carbs up it's "cold crashing". So, after a day or two when I try it, the first 3 ounces are yeast sludge, which is dumped, and I have perfectly clear beer after that. I HATE cloudy beer, and I HATE sediment and floaties in my beer. I'd have to have someone actually prove to me that shaking is better, the beer is perfectly carbed and clear, before I'd embrace the idea.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

I have never shaken and have perfectly carbed beer (in my opinion). I follow the rule of cold crash in my keg for 24-48 hours, put on gas for 30 psi for 48 hours, purge all gas, reset to 8-10 psi and serve. Perfect.

However, it always seems to take another week or two for the beer to get rid of the chill haze. any tips there to speed it up?

 

[Yooper]

I have never shaken and have perfectly carbed beer (in my opinion). I follow the rule of cold crash in my keg for 24-48 hours, put on gas for 30 psi for 48 hours, purge all gas, reset to 8-10 psi and serve. Perfect.

However, it always seems to take another week or two for the beer to get rid of the chill haze. any tips there to speed it up?

The easiest way to get rid of chill haze is to prevent it in the first place! Using whirlfloc in the boil with 15 minutes left, and getting a really good cold break right after the boil seem to be the best ways to prevent chill haze in my experience. Otherwise, it takes a week or two at fridge temperatures to get rid of it.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

Ah. I have recently moved to whirflock after using irish moss for most of my brews and it made a difference when racking to the keg. however when i cold crashed it and carbed it it still had chill haze. I just built a new CFC and got a March pump, so maybe by using the new toys I can get a better cold break after the boil. Worse case after 2 weeks it is crystal clear!

 

[MeanGreen]

Your beer lasts 2 weeks?

Must be terrible beer

 

[v2comp]

after 12 years of doing this, I can honestly say that it took me several trials and tribulations to get to where I am now, I can also honestly say that for me, I can shake the hell out of any beer I brew and have it clear, carbonated and ready to drink in 2 days.
first, I do use whirlfloc at 15 minutes as others have posted, I then crash cool in the carboy, down to near freezing (34 deg) for 2 days after fermentation is complete, then I transfer under c02 pressure to the keg through the BEER OUT fitting and connector, when full, I slam the c02 at 35 psi for 15 seconds, (shake the hell out of it), wait about an hour and do it again. I then place it in the freezer and leave it overnight, place it in the fridge the next morning and drink it the next day.
clear everytime since 2004,
one thing I will say is about how you start is how you will finish, lots of people dump everything from the kettle into the carboy/fermenter and let it go, I only rack clear wort into my fermenters and I leave the cold break/trub/hops in the kettle.

 

[bbbrew]

Would you say the that force carbing at 30-35 psi has to be done at a specific temperature? The reason why I ask is that I only have one chest freezer converted to be my kegerator. It is 15 CU FT so besides having room for a couple of different pours I thought I'd try my luck at making a lager. Presently, I'm holding it at the 49-50F mark but notice that my serving beer is really foamy and the other Ale that I have been force carbing hasn't really got much carb to it. I have had this one on 30 psi and 49-50F for 3 days now. If I purge and reset its pressure to about 10 psi, I get alot of foam out of the tap and very few bubbles along with a hazey beer.

BTW, I've got a couple more days and then I'm going to drop the temps 2-4F per day down to 35 for the Lager. So I'm going to have another large swing. Thanks for your suggestions.

BB

 

[daveyo33]

If your beer is already cold, 30 PSI should carbonate within 36 hours.

If your beer was room temp when you placed it in the chiller and hooked it up, 48 hours is the norm.

Do not shake the beer anymore.

I'm a hurry up force carber and the 48 hours at 30PSI is my normal method.

Many folks set there beer at serving PSI (10-12) and leave it for 10-14 days and call it done.

I tried this method, and am not getting any beer to flow from the tap. Pressure is still holding, but when I went down to 11psi to serve, nothing came out. It could be a clog somewhere, but wonder if I didn't make a mistake somewhere along way. Any suggestions?

 

[Yooper]

I tried this method, and am not getting any beer to flow from the tap. Pressure is still holding, but when I went down to 11psi to serve, nothing came out. It could be a clog somewhere, but wonder if I didn't make a mistake somewhere along way. Any suggestions?

If there is gas going in, but no beer coming out, then the diptube or post on the beer line is plugged, the black quick disconnect is not hooked up right, or the diptube is not installed correctly.

Assuming you have the long diptube on the "out" post correctly:

Take off the tap and line first, and then reduce the pressure in the keg. Take off the post, and inspect the poppit, as it could be plugged with hops or something. Then take the diptube out (it's long!) and hold it up to the light and eyeball it to see if it's plugged. If that's all clear, then use a flat head screwdriver and take apart the black quick disconnect. There are four important little pieces, so I'd do this over a piece of white paper on a counter so you don't loose any of those!

Those are the first ways to trouble shoot this.

 

[states02]

If there is gas going in, but no beer coming out, then the diptube or post on the beer line is plugged, the black quick disconnect is not hooked up right, or the diptube is not installed correctly.

Assuming you have the long diptube on the "out" post correctly:

Take off the tap and line first, and then reduce the pressure in the keg. Take off the post, and inspect the poppit, as it could be plugged with hops or something. Then take the diptube out (it's long!) and hold it up to the light and eyeball it to see if it's plugged. If that's all clear, then use a flat head screwdriver and take apart the black quick disconnect. There are four important little pieces, so I'd do this over a piece of white paper on a counter so you don't loose any of those!

Those are the first ways to trouble shoot this.

You per is right.. Make sure not to overtighten as the o rings are delicate. I personally had a spring that had Hops in the Quick connect. Used an air tool, cleaned diptube and quick connect.. Great beer flowing in no time.. And relax, have a homebrew.