Force carbonation with a countertop keggerator/dispenser

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

drewskimac

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2022
Messages
14
Reaction score
2
Location
Northwest Arkansas
So I didn’t do as much research as I should have. The company that I purchased my brewing kit from told me I could force carbonate with my keggerator. I didn’t realize this takes time… so I’ve got it set up, with the co2 flowing into it. How long should should the force carbonation take? When I dispense there there is a lot of foam, but it doesn’t have much carbonation yet. Do
I just need to continue to let it sit in this environment?
 
Give it a couple weeks.

Or you could try fast force carbonating. but I don't recommend it, especially for beginners. But someone will probably explain it.
 
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated.73328/
1660003776443.png



Cheers!
 
Give it a couple weeks.

Or you could try fast force carbonating. but I don't recommend it, especially for beginners. But someone will probably explain it.
I didn’t add priming sugar. I just siphoned it into the growler after 2 weeks fermentation under the understanding that this machine would force carbonate it. Maybe I misunderstood…
Thank you. I completely misunderstood carbonation. I think now my machine is more meant for dispensing already carbonated beer. Is it possible for me to remove the beer and bottle it with sugar now?
 
I didn’t add priming sugar. I just siphoned it into the growler after 2 weeks fermentation under the understanding that this machine would force carbonate it. Maybe I misunderstood…

Thank you. I completely misunderstood carbonation. I think now my machine is more meant for dispensing already carbonated beer. Is it possible for me to remove the beer and bottle it with sugar now?

Exactly what machine is this?
 
Instead of bottling and adding priming sugar, I'd just add the sugar to the beer in the reusable growler, let it carb up and then use your dispenser.
 
This is the machine
Homecraft Black Stainless Steel Easy-Dispensing Tap Mini Kegerator Cooling System, Includes Reusable Growler, CO2 Cartridges, Removable Drip Tray & Cleaning Kit, Beer Fresh For 30 Days, 5-liter Amazon.com: Homecraft Black Stainless Steel Easy-Dispensing Tap Mini Kegerator Cooling System, Includes Reusable Growler, CO2 Cartridges, Removable Drip Tray & Cleaning Kit, Beer Fresh For 30 Days, 5-liter : Appliances

Theoretically, you should be able to carbonate with it, but the fact that there's no true regulator makes that impractical. And the tiny CO2 cartridges would be a very expensive way to do it.
 
Yeah, I agree that this doesn't look like something that would be easy to force carb with. I have a more basic one of these and in order to force carb I cold crash, connect the CO2, pump up the pressure to 30psi, and then use the shake method to carb up the beer. I found if I can just leave it at the higher pressure for a day or two, but when I do that I almost always run out of CO2 before the keg is done.

I've actually stopped doing that altogether and instead add priming sugar to the keg, let it carb up naturally, cold crash the day before serving, and try to get through it within a day or 2.
 
Yeah, I agree that this doesn't look like something that would be easy to force carb with. I have a more basic one of these and in order to force carb I cold crash, connect the CO2, pump up the pressure to 30psi, and then use the shake method to carb up the beer. I found if I can just leave it at the higher pressure for a day or two, but when I do that I almost always run out of CO2 before the keg is done.

I've actually stopped doing that altogether and instead add priming sugar to the keg, let it carb up naturally, cold crash the day before serving, and try to get through it within a day or 2.
Thank you! Is there a reason you try to get thru it in a day or two? My brew kit recommends boiling water with sugar and adding it for bottling. But since I’m adding to the entire volume, should I just add sugar ?
 
Thank you! Is there a reason you try to get thru it in a day or two? My brew kit recommends boiling water with sugar and adding it for bottling. But since I’m adding to the entire volume, should I just add sugar ?
My guess is that my process sucks and O2 gets in there while I'm setting up the keg. If I drink it in a few days, the taste stays pretty good, but mine tend to get stale fairly quickly. YMMV.

As far as bottling, I'm a heretic. 1/2 tsp plain white sugar goes in per 12oz bottle, beer follows, cap it and be done. I don't use solutions or bottling buckets. For a full gallon, I'd just throw ~2 Tbsp in (maybe a bit less) and call it a day. Never have had an issue doing it this way, but again, YMMV. Just feels like a step that I can (and have) easily mess up.
 
My guess is that my process sucks and O2 gets in there while I'm setting up the keg. If I drink it in a few days, the taste stays pretty good, but mine tend to get stale fairly quickly. YMMV.

As far as bottling, I'm a heretic. 1/2 tsp plain white sugar goes in per 12oz bottle, beer follows, cap it and be done. I don't use solutions or bottling buckets. For a full gallon, I'd just throw ~2 Tbsp in (maybe a bit less) and call it a day. Never have had an issue doing it this way, but again, YMMV. Just feels like a step that I can (and have) easily mess up.
Thank you! It’s probably not a full gallon at this point (I’ve tested it several times). Maybe I’ll go with 1.5 Tbsp with the lower volume ? Does it need to be stirred in?
 
Thank you! It’s probably not a full gallon at this point (I’ve tested it several times). Maybe I’ll go with 1.5 Tbsp with the lower volume ? Does it need to be stirred in?
Again, heretic, I just dump it in the bottom before I fill it up. Figure it's no worse than the fizz drops you get from Nothern Brewer and I had a friend that just used a sugar cube per bottle.
 
Back
Top