What do the big boys do for keg carbing?

[fuzzybee]

Do professional brewers typically force carbonate their kegs? I've never really though about that portion of their production.

 

[pcollins]

No, once the beer is filtered and put in the bright beer tank it is carbonated en masse in there. Force carbonating in the tank, yes, but not in the keg.

It'll sit overnight at a certain psi with a carbonation stone in it (like the aeration stones in aquariums) and the next day should be up to spec CO2 volume. This is all dependent on psi and temperature and volume same as in your home set up.

From the bright beer tank it is then kegged or sent for filling bottles.

 

[fuzzybee]

Thanks! I figured they did it all at one time, but wasn't sure about the procedure.

 

[SweetSounds]

Do professional brewers typically force carbonate their kegs? I've never really though about that portion of their production.

They carbonate in large tanks, and fill the kegs with already-carbonated beer.

 

[wildwest450]

Budweiser krausens. At least that's what they say.

 

[samc]

Depends on the meaning of "big boys". Some bottle condition beers and kegs are done differently . That's why some people notice big differences between on tap commercial beer vs. the bottled variety, in addition to other factors.

 

[babalu87]

Budweiser krausens. At least that's what they say.

Sam Adams Lager is also krausened

 

[TXCrash]

Rogue, IIRC, ferments for 3-5 days at atmospheric pressure then routes the escaping CO2 through a spunding valve set at an appropriate pressure.

 

[remilard]

Krausening also takes place in tanks, not the keg. Some breweries carbonate in-line on the way to packaging. Some carbonate naturally in kegs or bottles (the former is rare outside of the UK). Force carbonating in kegs would never happen, no room to leave them sitting around with fittings attached.

 

[moosetav]

By krausening, SA and AB are not talking carbing. I was at Sam Adams 2 weeks ago and asked him to clarify what they mean by using that term. It's just another way of conditioning the beer. All carbonation is added later. I guarantee AB does not naturally carb their beers.

 

[klyph]

From my understanding, krausening can be used to give the yeast one last kick to clean up any final byproducts. It's not just for carbonating.

 

[944play]

I guarantee AB does not naturally carb their beers.

So every bubble in every Budweiser on Earth comes from bottled CO2? Fascinating. Citation, please?

 

[wildwest450]

By krausening, SA and AB are not talking carbing. I was at Sam Adams 2 weeks ago and asked him to clarify what they mean by using that term. It's just another way of conditioning the beer. All carbonation is added later. I guarantee AB does not naturally carb their beers.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Kraeusening

 

[moosetav]

So every bubble in every Budweiser on Earth comes from bottled CO2? Fascinating. Citation, please?

Easy now. No, I don't have a citation, but I will bet my bottom dollar that 99.99% of carb in bud is forced, probably after it's moved through the final filtration process like other breweries do. I'm not saying I know everything about commercial beer production, but they are able to go from grain to glass in a very short time, especially for lager. They do that by controlling their process very closely and kraeusining the beer to use the fresh yeast to clean up by-products.

When I was talking to the dude @ SA, he said no carbonation comes from the krauesining, only conditioning....I guess that could be my citation?

 

[oldschool]

I know of a few places that use that German technique (can't remember the name) of sealing the fermenter around 1 degree plato from terminal gravity and adjusting the carbonation via bottled gas in the bright tank. It was a method developed by adhearing to the Bavarian purity law.

 

[944play]

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.ph...tional_fermentation_in_a_German_lager_brewery

During the secondary fermentation (a.k.a lagering) the tanks are closed and the pressure build-up is controlled by a pressure sensitive bleeder valve. This system, called Spundungsapparat, ensures the proper carbonation of the beer during lagering. The German Purity Law prohibits the use of non-fermentation CO2 for beer carbonization. It is also more economical for a brewery to use the CO2 produced during fermentation.

...which apparently gets Anglicized to "spunding valve."

 

[dstar26t]

Some breweries carb in the keg...Breaker for example:

 

[pcollins]

That's an interesting picture. I'm surprised they wouldn't set it up for gas-in going through the beer-out port on the coupling head. That way they get the CO2 bubbling through the beer. I've found it to be a much faster way to carb the beer.

Considering that set up is for CO2 only I'm wondering why they went that route.

 

[moosetav]

I know some breweries kraeusen for carb. I've personally done it. I'm just saying when mega brewers like Bud say they kraeusen, they use it as a conditioning method and gas off the produced CO2 to better control the carb later on via force carbing.

 

[dstar26t]

That's an interesting picture. I'm surprised they wouldn't set it up for gas-in going through the beer-out port on the coupling head. That way they get the CO2 bubbling through the beer. I've found it to be a much faster way to carb the beer.

Considering that set up is for CO2 only I'm wondering why they went that route.

I'm sure it would carb faster but wouldn't you be risking foam stability by continuously bubbling/foaming the CO2 into the keg?