Huh?

[duskb]

I brewed my first Porter a few weeks ago, kegged it, and it tastes gorgeous. Black as Coke and sweeter than corn syrup!

Only problem is it's been on C02 for 3 weeks and it's barely showing traces of any carbing. It's still pretty flat. Meanwhile, a wheat kegged a week later is ready to rock. Flowing with bubbles...

???

I've checked (and switched) hoses multiple times and I swear everything is ok. So, am I missing something here?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I'm going to guess it's a leak in your keg. Is it not carbed, or does it just lack head?

 

[AnOldUR]

. . . and sweeter than corn syrup!

What was the gravity when you kegged? A more viscous solution won't carb the same as a thin one.

I'm going to guess it's a leak in your keg.

If his CO2 was leaking for three weeks I think the zero reading on his pressure gauge would give it away.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

And more importantly, what pressure and temp are you trying to carb at?

 

[davefleck]

Unless you're using 3psi to carb it i'd guess it's your seal. Do you use keg lube?

Lube the seal every time you fill a keg. Hook it up to the gas and purge out the air from the keg's head space. Then I like to blast in about 30psi of CO2 to back pressure the lid in place and then purge it down. (i've added sugar to naturally carb the keg) If i didn't add sugar I just hook it up to the gas at serving pressure and wait it out.

Never had a problem with this method.

 

[Homercidal]

Carbing warm is going to take a lot longer than carbing cold.

If you just hit it with CO2 then turned off the tank, or disconnected, it will not carb. There is not enough volume of CO2 in the headspace to do much to the rest of the beer. You need to have the pressure on for the whole time. I like to hit with 30 lbs to start, on a cold beer, then shake or roll the keg to get it mixed in, then hit it again and leave the pressure on for a few more days. it's usually done by then if it's in the fridge.

If you have a leak, you just have to fix it. Spray the fittings and joints with starsan adn look for bubbles. You can even make a dam with tape and check the Quick Connects.

 

[duskb]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I'll doublecheck the seals (though if there was a leak I think my tank would've drained after 3 weeks).

To the best of my knowledge the keg was properly conditioned. It was kegged, purged, cooled and 24 hours later CO2 @ 10 PSI (@ ~35 degrees) was attached. Like I said I used the same process for the wheat and it's fine, REALLY fine. This is just lightly carbed, like it's been there for a few days at best.

I'm going to assume the seal is bad and use keg lube. I'll post what I find.

 

[davefleck]

use some soapy water at the lid. That might expose a leak. 10psi will take a while to carb but 3 weeks should get you there. I'll often bump it just up to about 15 and try it every couple days.