I did a force carb for 48 hrs @ 35 psi and wasn't completely excited about the results (taste of the beer). I'm wondering what the purist thinks about techniques for carbonating the beer in the keg. I've tried to read the sticky, but I don't feel I could get a defined answer that i understood. So any input would be incredibly helpful.
Preferred Method for Carbonating Kegs?
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My kegerator is at 39 degrees. The perfect psi for me is 12 psi. So, my regulator is set at 12 psi. It takes about 7-10 days to have perfect carbonation.
No sugar or anything? Do you shake the keg at all, or does the co2 carbonate it fine by itself? Should I age the keg outside of the kegerator at all?
No sugar, no shaking. That's the beauty of "set it and forget it". My tank's regulator is always set at 12 psi for all five kegs, unless I have something unusual in there, like an English mild that I want carbed lower. That's on a different regulator.
You may or may not need to age your beer outside of the kegerator. I make mostly IPAs and APAs that I drink pretty young, so those go into the kegerator out of the fermenter. Usually, they are about 3-4 weeks old and clear when I keg them. I place the keg right in the kegerator then, if I have room. For some beers, like my oatmeal stout, where there is a need for a bit of age at room temperature, I just leave the keg at room temperature a week or two so that the roasty flavors can meld and then it goes into the kegerator.
I have used priming sugar in the past, when I knew the keg would sit for a while at room temperature. I've just found it is easier to do it the way I'm doing it now.
More or less. You just have to take into account the temperature, your desired level of carbonation, and your beer line length, but other than dialing that in you can set the pressure to the desired level and that's all there is to it. The beer will carb up great.
ksbrain
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It's worth the wait of a few extra days to not have to hit it just right with high pressure shaking. Besides once it's cold after a day or two, you can still taste test it even if it isn't fully carbed yet.
wildwest450
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No, no, no ,no. The setting on your regulator depends on two different things. First is beer temp, second is the level of carbonation. There's a chart in my sig, use it and be amazed.
Edit- oops I took it out. http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
I don't understand how to read the chart. How do I calculate volumes CO2?
Cpt_Kirks
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How old was the beer? The "taste" issue may just be that the beer is still green.
Volumes of CO2 correspond to the level of carbonation of the beer (over a few weeks assuming you leave the beer alone). Very carbonated beer has many volumes of CO2, lightly carbonated beer has less. See the key at the bottom of the chart which explains the color coding of the CO2 volumes.
To read the chart, find your temp on the left (the temp of your kegerator--38*F for me). Then, determine how carbonated you like your beer (I like mine more than most at, say, 2.9-3.0). So, you find your temp, look across the row to find where you want the CO2 volumes to be (in my case 3.03), and then look up--that tells you the PSI you should use to acheive that level of CO2 volumes at that temperature (in my example, 17 PSI).
The chart can work in reverse too: know your PSI and your temp, and where they intersect will tell you your CO2 volumes. Theoretically you could also use the chart to determine what temperature to set your kegerator if you know your PSI and volumes of CO2 you want to acheive.
Very young. 9 days. After each one that I had, the beer got significantly better tasting. The foam calmed down, the beer turned a darker color, and tasted much better.
How do I figure out Volumes of CO2?
Is the set-it-and-forget-it method the best; sorry, I mean "preferred" method of carbonating kegs?
I'm new to all of this and it's all a lot to take in at once.
ok, I'm pretty sure that I understand, but this brings up a few other questions.
1. Since my kegerator works best @ around 4 psi, is there no way to carbonate my keg while being able to drink the other kegs I have in there?
2. How do I tell how carbonated I like my beer? I've never really payed much attention to it.
3. What else do I need to know that will be beneficial to me? I'm reading through the "Keg Force Carbing Methods" sticky.
wildwest450
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1- Thats not the case, a balanced system will work at nearly ANY psi. Don't let psi control your system, it's should only ever be based on temp and volumes of c02. Get used to drinking milds if you only carb at 4 psi, or flat beers.
2- No one can answer that for you, trial and error is best. I go in the middle range of the style if i'm not familiar with it.
There's another great chart on carbing by style. Runs off to look for it.
Here it is, bookmark it and use it often. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html
I think you've misunderstood me. I'm wondering if I can carb @ serving pressure, so I can drink kegs, while carbonating others? On my system the ideal serving pressure is 4psi. Is my system an anomaly? Do most of you serve @ 12 psi? I tried this with my kegerator, and it was like I was trying to shoot a garden hose in to my pint glass.
jaobrien6
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If you replace your beer lines with longer ones, you can probably both carb and serve at 12 psi. How long are your lines? I'm guessing they're on the short side if you need to serve at 4psi.
That depends on many factors. Temperature, inside diameter of the beer line, pressure loss for the type of line you're using, what psi you're running at, what kind of taps you have, etc. You may even need something as long as 10 feet in some cases, but there's no single length that just works for all setups.
Setup is: CO2 5lb Tank > Regulator > 3 ft of tubing > 4 way splitter > 4 way splitter = 5 lines, roughly 6 ft. in length
Temp: 36*F
Inside Diameter: 3/8" (I think)
Type of Line: Plastic tubing, not really sure (seems standard...)
PSI I'm Running at: 4psi and the beer is dispensed quickly, but not garden hose quick. IMO a perfect stream.
Taps: picnic taps (I think)
Temp: 36*F
Inside Diameter: 3/8" (I think)
Type of Line: Plastic tubing, not really sure (seems standard...)
PSI I'm Running at: 4psi and the beer is dispensed quickly, but not garden hose quick. IMO a perfect stream.
Taps: picnic taps (I think)
Cpt_Kirks
Well-Known Member
Right or wrong, here is how I keg:
Fill the keg to the weld line. Put on lid, hit keg with 30psi, remove gas, purge. Repeat. Put keg back on 30psi for 48 hours. Drop pressure back down to about 14psi. Let it sit for a week. Taste. If it is not ready, leave it at 14psi for another week.
If it still needs aging after that, I either leave it in the kegerator, unhooked, or sit it in my office for a few weeks.
Lagers, I carbonate as above, then disconnect it and move it to the back of the kegerator for a month or two. Your best bet with lagers is to just forget you have them, then later "discover" the keg.
Volumes of CO2 is a GOAL and it's based on the style of beer. For example, English Mild = 1.2-1.5 volumes. American Pale Ale = 2-2.5 volumes. Etc. OR..... maybe you just like highly carbonated beer. Either way. 2 volumes is "moderate" carbonation.
Measure the temp of your kegerator then find it on the chart. Consider the volumes you want. Trace your temp column or row until you find the volumes you want, then find the corresponding pressure. If it says 10psi, set your regulator to that and wait 2 weeks.
Oh, but you say you can't pour higher than 4psi? That's a line balancing problem. You need longer lines or smaller diameter lines. Start with 10 feet of 3/16" ID. If it pours too slow for you over time, cut a foot off.
See, you don't carbonate to the pressure that pours best. That's ass backwards.
Measure the temp of your kegerator then find it on the chart. Consider the volumes you want. Trace your temp column or row until you find the volumes you want, then find the corresponding pressure. If it says 10psi, set your regulator to that and wait 2 weeks.
Oh, but you say you can't pour higher than 4psi? That's a line balancing problem. You need longer lines or smaller diameter lines. Start with 10 feet of 3/16" ID. If it pours too slow for you over time, cut a foot off.
See, you don't carbonate to the pressure that pours best. That's ass backwards.
