Forced Carbonation problems

[cervezafausto]

Yesterday was the first time I tried forced carbonation, I looked on the internet at a lot of videos about how to do it. I found two ways, first using a chart and putting the beer into my fridge for 3 days at 12 PSI, and the other one, putting the beer at 30 PSI shaking the keg frequently and letting it sit for 2 days. Well I have two kegs so I tried both; but Im getting worried about the second way because on the video I saw the guy shaking the keg, and the PSI number going down rapidly. This did not happen to me, I shaked it a lot and nothing happened. What did I do wrong?

I ended up releasing all the pressure from the keg and doing it by putting them in the fridge.

Another question, how can I know when my beer has carbonated? I put 12 PSI because my recipe in Beersmith recommend that pressure.

And the last question is, how can I bottle my beer once it finished the forced carbonation. I bought a Beergun, should I use two CO2 tanks?

Thanks

 

[douglasbarbin]

CO2 absorbs more rapidly into cold solutions. If your beer was warm when you shook the keg, it probably wouldn't absorb much CO2.

You will know when it is carbonated by tasting a bit after a few days. There are certain things that can speed up the process, like carb stones (or the shaking method you mentioned).

Once carbonation is finished, you will need a beergun or a counter-pressure bottle filler. You will need to hook the beergun up to the liquid out post on the keg, and hook a CO2 tank up to the gas in post on the keg. It can be the same CO2 tank in your kegerator, if it is easy for you to remove. Turn the pressure low, around 5 PSI or so. Then you fill each bottle up and cap.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

I like the set and forget method. Set the psi to achieve desired volumes according to style and temp, and let it sit for a week or 2.

To counter pressure fill from keg, you turn off all pressure to keg. Bleed off excess CO2, then turn gas back on to about 1-3 psi, just enough to get beer to flow. Beer must be fully Carbed before you do this though.

 

[Natdavis777]

I like to set my PSI @ 25-30PSI dempending on style for 24hrs on a cold beer. Carbs up in a day.

 

[cervezafausto]

I put my kegs in the fridge for 24 hours, it was like 40F

Thanks for your reply

 

[cervezafausto]

Natdavis777 Do you usually shake the keg when yo put it at 30 PSI? What can I do know if I want to accelerate the process but my kegs already have one day at 12 PSI, Can I put them right know at 30 PSI?

 

[peterj]

You should read this sticky from the Bottling/Kegging section: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/.

That will answer all of your questions.

And I would just add that in my opinion you should never shake CO2 into the beer at high pressure. It's way too easy to overcarbonate it doing it that way, and de-carbonating a beer is a PITA. I usually put it at about 30 psi for 24-36 hours in the fridge and then drop it down to serving pressure for a few days. Use a temp vs psi chart or this calculator to figure out what pressure you should set it to.

 

[Natdavis777]

Natdavis777 Do you usually shake the keg when yo put it at 30 PSI? What can I do know if I want to accelerate the process but my kegs already have one day at 12 PSI, Can I put them right know at 30 PSI?

I do not shake. Like stated, its easy to overcarb... Plus, it can be considered a variable in the carbing process. You may shake for 2 min on one instance and the beer turns out fine, but the same process may not yield the same results for a future beer (more rocking in that two min, not rocking as vigorous, etc). The more constants you have, the easier it is to replicate a result.

I let my beer get cold, hook up my gas, set my psi, and check it 24 hr later. If its a stout, I will start off at 20psi bc I like a lower carb vol. For most ales, 25-30psi will suffice. That has been my experience at least...

 

[Sam_B]

Here is what I do for fast, reasonably consistent results. I do not understand the reasoning behind this method but it works for me:

Make sure beer is chilled.

Hook up CO2 (20 psi) to the beer out valve so that gas bubbles up through the beer from the dip tube at the bottom

Wait for the bubbling to stop and give the keg 6 shakes. Then set it down.

Wait for the bubbling to stop again and repeat process 6-7 times total, depending on the desired carbonation level, shaking 6 times each.

Wait for 10-15 minutes and release the 20psi from the keg to pouring pressure. Then it is ready to drink.

I have not overcarbed a beer using this method. Usually comes out with a fairly consistent carb level, depending on how full the keg is and how cold it is.

As a beer gun I use a bottling wand pushed through a bottle-sized stopper with the top of the bottling wand stuffed into a picnic tap.

 

[Upthewazzu]

Yesterday was the first time I tried forced carbonation, I looked on the internet at a lot of videos about how to do it. I found two ways, first using a chart and putting the beer into my fridge for 3 days at 12 PSI, and the other one, putting the beer at 30 PSI shaking the keg frequently and letting it sit for 2 days. Well I have two kegs so I tried both; but Im getting worried about the second way because on the video I saw the guy shaking the keg, and the PSI number going down rapidly. This did not happen to me, I shaked it a lot and nothing happened. What did I do wrong?

I ended up releasing all the pressure from the keg and doing it by putting them in the fridge.

Another question, how can I know when my beer has carbonated? I put 12 PSI because my recipe in Beersmith recommend that pressure.

And the last question is, how can I bottle my beer once it finished the forced carbonation. I bought a Beergun, should I use two CO2 tanks?

Thanks

How soon are you looking to drink the beer? I find that putting it on 30psi for 24 hours and then lowering to 9 or 10 does the trick pretty quickly. I've never shaken any of my kegs. In my experience, I found that 12psi was too much. 10-11 does the trick in the summer time when my fridge is ~40°, but I have to lower it to 7 or 8 in the winter when the internal temp gets down to ~32°. For reference, i usually stick to lighter ales, or IPA's.

 

[cervezafausto]

How soon are you looking to drink the beer? I find that putting it on 30psi for 24 hours and then lowering to 9 or 10 does the trick pretty quickly. I've never shaken any of my kegs. In my experience, I found that 12psi was too much. 10-11 does the trick in the summer time when my fridge is ~40°, but I have to lower it to 7 or 8 in the winter when the internal temp gets down to ~32°. For reference, i usually stick to lighter ales, or IPA's.

But what can I do if I want my beer for bottling? So you're saying that I should put it on 30PSI for 24 hours an then lower it to 9 o 10 PSI ? for how much hours till I can bottling?

 

[hendo80]

so are you kegging or bottling? unless you've got a counter pressure filler like this http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/kegging/draft-bottling/counter-pressure-filler.html you will likely have poor results in filling your bottles from an already carbonated keg.

now if you are bottling, then you just use priming sugar (corn sugar usually). You'll need to add some water, boil it, cool it, then mix it with your beer (gently). Use this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/. You can then fill your bottles. After filling your bottles, you will need to let them sit for a couple of weeks to "self carbonate".

there are a lot of instructions out there on to do both techniques. Bottom line is that most people (without proper equipment) use sugar to carb their bottles. For kegs, you can use sugar or force carb as has been discussed.

 

[cervezafausto]

I want it for bottling and I am trying forced carbonation to make beer without sediment. You can bottling with a carbonated keg using a beergun