Keg beer not carbonating

[Sheadogs]

Hey guys, I may need some help. I brewed up an all extract amber kit ( 5 gallons ). Instead of bottling after fermentation I decided to use a sanke 7.75 gallon keg I had. I did not use any priming sugar. I read that I could force carb the beer, so I sealed it all up put in the CO2 at 19psi I think and shook the bejesus out of it and left it for about 3 days. I just poured a little to see if anything was going on, and it was pretty much flat.
What should I do?
Thanks everyone for your help. This is my first try and I'll drink it but I would love to enjoy it ;-)

 

[Yooper]

Hey guys, I may need some help. I brewed up an all extract amber kit ( 5 gallons ). Instead of bottling after fermentation I decided to use a sanke 7.75 gallon keg I had. I did not use any priming sugar. I read that I could force carb the beer, so I sealed it all up put in the CO2 at 19psi I think and shook the bejesus out of it and left it for about 3 days. I just poured a little to see if anything was going on, and it was pretty much flat.
What should I do?
Thanks everyone for your help. This is my first try and I'll drink it but I would love to enjoy it ;-)

Is it in the fridge? What made you choose 19 psi? It's sort of an "odd" choice!

My kegs are at 40 degrees, and mine is set at 12 psi. It takes about 10 days to carb up fully, though. I'm not a fan of shaking because it will not be a very reliable way to gauge carbonation as it causes foaming.

 

[birvine]

Leave the beer to calm and settle for 48 hours with 10-12 psi on it for a few more days. Then draw a nice draught. I'm guessing that the shaking did not help too much.

B

 

[BeerBDrew]

no real experience with sanke's, but 3 days @ 19 psi doesn't seem like it would do the trick. Without any more info, I can't really tell you much, so I'll tell you what I do.

- Once racked to the keg, I put it in a dedicated beer fridge, which runs at around 45 degrees.

- I hook up the gas and crank it to about 30 psi and leave it (no shaking) for 48 hours.

- I then dial the pressure down to 10-12 psi and leave it there. This is my general serving pressure with about 3 feet of beer line at about 45 degrees.

Usually I can pour beer with the appropriate carbonation in a week. If I want to sample earlier than that, and I usually do , I simply bleed the excess pressure before pouring.

My set up is the typical 5 gallon corny keg. Not sure if the larger volume would effect the time needed to carb up, but I doubt it as the vessel will cease absorbing the gas once it hits equilibrium anyway. If you need more info I think Bobby M has a sticky on kegging and pressure if I'm not mistaken.

 

[theonetrueruss]

seriously.. give it time, and drop own to 12psi. in a couple weeks it will be perfect. physics totally works

 

[WahineArt]

I just did my first try with a keg too.

I tried to force carb and got a sore back with flat beer to go with it! Finally, after some great advice from the people around here, I just set it to it's serving pressure and let it sit for 2 weeks in the fridge. I tried it after just one week and it was carb'ed but really needed that extra second week.

 

[slogger]

I set my chilled beer to 30 psi, bleed the keg, let it refill roll it gently once or twice and leave it for a day. 24 hours later I bleed the keg, set to 11 psi and I have carbed beer! I'm not a patient person when it comes to beer and have immediate gratification issues but this does work nicely.

 

[TJTHEBEST]

Ive had my sanke keg on the gas at 30 psi for at least 48 hours and im not getting any carbonation. I have a feeling that the gas isnt actually getting all the way into the keg. Though i am still able to pour beers with the faucet. Im pouring at 30 psi but it doesnt seem to be coming out too fast like i thought it would.

Does anyone have any input?