I have been kegging my beer for about the last three batches. I can't seem to get it to carbonate. I've let it sit for two days plus at 30 psi...meh, I've also tried the rocking it back and forth for fifteen minutes at the same pressure(as per Craigtube)... meh. Although I have had moderate success with that method. Now don't get me wrong I'm still drinking my cold barley juice, and its delicious, I'd just like a little fizz. Help please!
What am I doing wrong?
- Thread starter jbrown76
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johngaltsmotor
Well-Known Member
How long after each of the various methods do you let it sit to equalize?
I've had success with both shaking and 2days high pressure - as long as I follow them up with a week of serving pressure while at serving temperature. Or the set it and forget it of 2 weeks at serving pressure and temp.
I assume you're using a carbonation table to determine the pressure and temperature for the level of CO2 you want in solution at serving temp?
I've had success with both shaking and 2days high pressure - as long as I follow them up with a week of serving pressure while at serving temperature. Or the set it and forget it of 2 weeks at serving pressure and temp.
I assume you're using a carbonation table to determine the pressure and temperature for the level of CO2 you want in solution at serving temp?
As long as you are doing the shaking method after the beer is cold it should work. The set and forget method works best, but if you want to shake it I suggest setting the reg at 2PSI more than what you are aiming for and shaking at that setting for 10-15 minutes. You won't overcarb too far with this method. You then let the keg sit for a few hours and then pull a sample. It should be close to your target carb level. You then disconnect the gas line, purge the keg, set the reg for your target pressure, and hook the gas back up.
Also, if you are pouring cups of foam there isn't going to be much carb left since most of it came out in the foam. Proper length beer lines and proper serving pressure will get you the right amount of head on the pour. Too much head is escaping CO2
Also, if you are pouring cups of foam there isn't going to be much carb left since most of it came out in the foam. Proper length beer lines and proper serving pressure will get you the right amount of head on the pour. Too much head is escaping CO2
Thetonymartin
Well-Known Member
Have you seen this from MoreBeer?
http://morebeer.com/themes/morewinepro//kegging.pdf
"Saturation Over Time:
The principal of this method is simple: If you leave constant pressure on the beer it will absorb the Co2 until the pressure pushing down on the beer equals the internal pressure of the gas dissolved in the liquid.
Depending on the temperature and Final Gravity (F.G.) of the beer, beer will usually take an average of 510 days to stabilize.
1. Hook the Gas-In Quick Disconnect to the Gas-In Body Connect and turn the gas on.
2. Adjust your regulator to the desired PSI and let the beer sit at this pressure for 710 days.
3. You can test your beer by pulling a pint off of the keg after 57 days.
4. If the beer is under-carbonated to your taste, let it sit for another 13 days, testing periodically as necessary.
The great thing about carbonating over time is you give your beer a period of cold aging while avoiding any chances of over carbonating, which can lead to excess foam and make serving beer very difficult. Although this method takes longer than the others, this is by far the easiest and least involved method."
Drinking = Lucky Red ale, Blonde Hag ale, Amber Tomahawk ale
Secondary = Baby shoes IPA
http://morebeer.com/themes/morewinepro//kegging.pdf
"Saturation Over Time:
The principal of this method is simple: If you leave constant pressure on the beer it will absorb the Co2 until the pressure pushing down on the beer equals the internal pressure of the gas dissolved in the liquid.
Depending on the temperature and Final Gravity (F.G.) of the beer, beer will usually take an average of 510 days to stabilize.
1. Hook the Gas-In Quick Disconnect to the Gas-In Body Connect and turn the gas on.
2. Adjust your regulator to the desired PSI and let the beer sit at this pressure for 710 days.
3. You can test your beer by pulling a pint off of the keg after 57 days.
4. If the beer is under-carbonated to your taste, let it sit for another 13 days, testing periodically as necessary.
The great thing about carbonating over time is you give your beer a period of cold aging while avoiding any chances of over carbonating, which can lead to excess foam and make serving beer very difficult. Although this method takes longer than the others, this is by far the easiest and least involved method."
Drinking = Lucky Red ale, Blonde Hag ale, Amber Tomahawk ale
Secondary = Baby shoes IPA
Thetonymartin
Well-Known Member
That's even better.
Drinking = Lucky Red ale, Blonde Hag ale
Primary = Tomahawk Amber ale
mvcorliss
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the waiting is the worst part of brewing. Once you get a pipeline built up you won't have as much of a problem waiting. You do need to drink your beer throughout all of it's stages though, at least IMHO you do. Taste the grain, taste the mash, taste the wort, taste the starter, taste the hydro samples, taste it at bottling/kegging, taste the slurry, taste the finished beer week to week. After a while you will get to know the flavors and smells of all of the components and know what to expect at each stage. If something is wrong you will be able to pick up on it and take action. For instance, if you used a slurry without tasting the beer that was on it, how do you know if it's a good slurry?
Sorry, I kind of went OT there....
