quiet_dissent
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2013
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 3
I think I've finally have reached the point where I am seriously wondering why I spent the money to by a kegerator. The time and the hassle (and the total waste of perfectly good beer!) is just as much, if not more, than bottling. I'm failing to see the allure. It seems like one needs a graduate degree of some sort to operate this thing properly. It seems like if one minor element is off, all bets are off and I'm likely to experience a sub-par experience.
I'm now onto my second batch of kegged beer that is flat as hell. The first batch of beer was likely overcarbed, so I can blame myself for that. But this new batch I used PRIMING SUGAR in the keg, let it condition for two weeks at room temperature, put the keg in the kegerator to cool, and then put the CO2 on at 8 psi. I let this sit overnight. I went to pour this afternoon and noticed that the psi regulator had moved to zero. So my first question is, why is it doing that?
Second question is -- with already primed beer, do I simply need to turn on the CO2 to pour and then shut it off otherwise?
This beer has almost no head and no bubbles rising. My previously overcarbed hefeweizen had a huge head but was flat. I made the mistake of thinking I could do the "crank it up to 30 psi!" and all would go well. Not at all. Now this primed keg is flat as well. I really don't understand this at all. Somehow I am losing carbonation from the keg into my glass.
I've checked for leaks. I've cleaned the lines thoroughly with several rounds of hot water and line cleaner. All connections are on tight. My kegerator temperature hovers between 36 and 38 degrees F. Maybe I need more line in the keg? I am just using the standard amount of line that came with the kegerator. I have a Kegco model with one tap faucet.
I'm ready to return to my tap-a-draft system. I had little to no issues with that setup and it seems to take the same amount of time as the kegerator. I think I am willing to brew one more batch and try force carbonation again with the "set it and forget it" method. If that doesn't work, I think this kegerator needs a new home.
I'm now onto my second batch of kegged beer that is flat as hell. The first batch of beer was likely overcarbed, so I can blame myself for that. But this new batch I used PRIMING SUGAR in the keg, let it condition for two weeks at room temperature, put the keg in the kegerator to cool, and then put the CO2 on at 8 psi. I let this sit overnight. I went to pour this afternoon and noticed that the psi regulator had moved to zero. So my first question is, why is it doing that?
Second question is -- with already primed beer, do I simply need to turn on the CO2 to pour and then shut it off otherwise?
This beer has almost no head and no bubbles rising. My previously overcarbed hefeweizen had a huge head but was flat. I made the mistake of thinking I could do the "crank it up to 30 psi!" and all would go well. Not at all. Now this primed keg is flat as well. I really don't understand this at all. Somehow I am losing carbonation from the keg into my glass.
I've checked for leaks. I've cleaned the lines thoroughly with several rounds of hot water and line cleaner. All connections are on tight. My kegerator temperature hovers between 36 and 38 degrees F. Maybe I need more line in the keg? I am just using the standard amount of line that came with the kegerator. I have a Kegco model with one tap faucet.
I'm ready to return to my tap-a-draft system. I had little to no issues with that setup and it seems to take the same amount of time as the kegerator. I think I am willing to brew one more batch and try force carbonation again with the "set it and forget it" method. If that doesn't work, I think this kegerator needs a new home.