quick keg force carbonation question

[zodiak3000]

i usually set and forget and it carbs in about 2 weeks. last time, i hit 30psi for 24 hours, then turned it down to 10psi, no bleeding. it was ready at about 9 days. i was wondering if anybody has tried hitting it at 30psi for say 3-4 days, then knocking it back down to 10psi. i assume the beer would be carbed by then? would you need to bleed your keg first before serving at 10psi? i dont want to shake my beer...

 

[trizzant]

I read your post and had the same question. I think this sums it up best
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

 

[zodiak3000]

I read your post and had the same question. I think this sums it up best
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

do you know were exactly in that post it gives an example? the chart doesnt really descibe what im asking. i was looking for more personal experience of leaving it at 30psi for 3-4 days and then dropping to 10 with or without purging the keg, thanks though...

 

[trizzant]

The blue line is just an example of a well executed boost carb. You'd leave it at approximately 3 times the equilibrium pressure for 24 hours, then drop it down and purge the keg so the headspace is now at the "chart pressure". If you do it right, you'll get close and then it will only take a couple more days to reach your desired volumes.

In the chart it says to hold at 30 then drop to 12. I guess 10 would work too.

 

[zodiak3000]

In the chart it says to hold at 30 then drop to 12. I guess 10 would work too.

it describes holding it at 30 for 24 hours (ive already tried this method). i was wondering about holding it for 3-4 days...

 

[RedIrocZ-28]

I've left it on 30psi for 2 days before, carbed up quickly but the beer was still "green". I, like you, wish there was an easy way to force carb a beer quickly and have it ready to drink within a few days but I think the beer still needs some time to meld the flavors while its carbonated.

If you were to make a beer thats OG was in the lower 1.040's, you could probably get away with 3-5 days on the CO2 and it would be ready to drink. I did this with my "20 Otter" beer and it was gone within 7 days of being hooked up. It never got old enough to see if the flavor changed so I don;t know if this was ideal.

 

[zodiak3000]

I've left it on 30psi for 2 days before, carbed up quickly but the beer was still "green". I, like you, wish there was an easy way to force carb a beer quickly and have it ready to drink within a few days but I think the beer still needs some time to meld the flavors while its carbonated.

If you were to make a beer thats OG was in the lower 1.040's, you could probably get away with 3-5 days on the CO2 and it would be ready to drink. I did this with my "20 Otter" beer and it was gone within 7 days of being hooked up. It never got old enough to see if the flavor changed so I don;t know if this was ideal.

haha gone within 7 days? thats awesome. did you purge your keg with the 30psi for 2 day method or just dial it down to serving?

 

[matpat]

I made an extract version of BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde on January 11th. It was in the primary for 7 days then transferred to secondary and cold crashed for 3 more days at 40 degrees. I kegged it on the evening of January 21st at 30 psi and put it in the fridge at 40 degrees. On Monday the 24th I dialed the CO2 back to 12 psi (without purging) and it was carbed up nicely when it was tapped on the evening of the 28th. The first pour came out pretty fast but after that it poured nicely. I used the same method for carbing up BierMuncher's Nierra Sevada Clone with the same results. It carbed up nicely after about a week in the keg but it still needs at least another week to age...it tastes a bit green.

Another batch of BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde was kegged on February 2nd. Since I didn't have room to store this one in my fridge I hit it with 45psi of CO2, disconnected it from the CO2 and left it in my garage which averages 55 degrees. I purged it yesterday, put it in the fridge at 12 psi and tapped it. It was a bit warm and slightly undercarbed but it still tastes good. I'm guessing this one will be carbed up nicely and ready to drink either tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[paraordnance]

I think if you hold it at 30 psi for 3-4 days it will be overcarbed. 24 hours just not enough. Most people here do a 30 psi for 48 hours than dail it down to 12-16 psi and hold it there for couple more days without purging.

 

[bctdi]

30 psi for 4 days is my normal procedure, but the keg is warm for 1/2 of the first day...this gets me abot 75% carbed, then I dial it back to 10 psi so I don't overcarb.I used to do 2 days, but it wasn`'t near carbed, so I bumped it up to 3, which still didn't get it there...so now I do 4 days.I wouldn't go more than 4 days (3 if the keg is already cold)...since if you overcarb you'll be working harder to get it back to normal....and slightly undercarbed is still pretty drinkable. Of course this all depends on temperature...my fridge is around 38-40 f so adjust for less time if yours is colder, or more time if you keep it warmer. It waould be really nice if there was a chart that showed the exact time for force carbing for a given temperature / quantity / pressure applied and abv of the beer (not sure if the abv matters or not... most likely not).I have seen a chart where it shows the set / forget method with temps and pressures, but not one where someone has extrapolated with the pressures.Maybe someone on here can figure this out, but I'm not sure if it would be linear.

 

[ShakerD]

I haven't read many success stories for carbing kegs with CO2 at room temperature. Liquid absorbs CO2 much more readily at colder (basically serving) temps.

All my kegs age now for at least 2 weeks at room temp...following a three week stay in the fermenter/secondary. Then it's into the chiller and onto the gas at 30PSI for 48 hours. Kill gas. Bleed. Drop PSI to 10 and serve. (I'll drop that to 36 hours if the keg is already cold when I hook it up.

The warmer conditioning time is also important for another reason (spoken from experience):
Rushing from the fermenter to the cold keg will suspend yeast activity...not kill it...just suspend it. The beer may taste perfect while it's on tap and this isn't an issue if you're going to kill the keg. But if you decide to BMBF some of your beer into bottles to save for a later date...storing those bottles at room temp will re-awaken the yeast and they will convert the small amounts of residual sugars into CO2.

I'm still pulling bottles off the shelf that were perfect in the keg...that are now over carbonated. If you have any inclination to bottle off some beers from your keg...either age that beer warmer...longer, or plan to refrigerate those bottles immediately.

Post #15 from this thread

 

[zodiak3000]

thanks for the responses, i think im gonna just hit it at 30psi for 48 hours with no purging when dialed back down to 10...

 

[kkramer56]

I've done it; 30 psi for 3 days and no bleed off. Worked fine for me. I should note that the beer was right out of my secondary and into the keg which was put into the keezer. So, initially the beer wasn't cold. Bleeding off the pressure may help to avoid the first few wild taps though, if you don't want to wait to taste it. I would say, if you are going to want to drink it right away after the 3 days, then bleed off the 30 psi. Otherwise maybe not.