What is the best way to Carb a keg?

[Festmaster]

In looking on various posts I've seen various methods to carbing a keg. I've never kegged beer before and I would like to keg my current beer thats fermenting now as I have aquired the equipment to do it. I'm just wondering what the best method would be? Force carb it with high PSI? It needs to be cold for that right? OR can I leave it in the keg at 65-70 degrees and carb it at a lower psi? How long would it take before its ready to serve? Does serving PSI really vary much?

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

Oh you opened up a can of worms here Everyone has a different way to carb.
I've done two batches so far and just put them in the kegerator at 40 degrees and 12 psi. They both carbed up and were ready to drink in a couple weeks.

 

[Yooper]

Ohhhhhhh, boy, what a can of worms!

The "best" way is arguably just the best way that works for you.

Cold beer absorbs co2 better, but you can certainly carb at room temperatures simply by using a higher pressure.

Here's a carbonation table to check: http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/ForceCarbonation.html


For my system, a kegerator at 39 degrees, I find that "set it and forget it" works the best for me. I keg the beer, and give it a shot of co2 and pull the pressure relief valve. That helps purge out any oxygen hanging around in the keg. Then, I give it another shot, check the lid and posts for leaks (spraying with star-san is great!) and then place it in the kegerator at 12 psi. In one week, it's carbed enough to drink, and it's perfect in 10 days to two weeks.

I'm NOT a fan of "burst carbing"- shaking the keg or putting it at ultra high pressure so it'll be faster. In a real pinch, I've set the regulator to 30 psi for 36 hours, then purged and rest to 12 psi, which carbs it up in about 3-4 days. But the beer is better in a week or so.

 

[Orlock]

What excellent timing, I just kegged my first batch last night, so I'm obviously an expert. I read it all, and then just did it my way. Kegged it up, put the pressure to it like 30-40 or so.... Shook it like hell for a while like half the people say... Lowered the pressure to about 10-12 and put in fridge overnight. My picnic tap leaked a bit (I'll have to clean that crap up tomorrow) but had to leave in morning so I just pulled the tap and left it all day. Got home connected the tap, and drew a great pint.

 

[JuanMoore]

Many differing opinions on this one. IMO the set and forget method is the easiest and most reliable, but that doesn't necessarily make it the "best". It works well for me, but probably isn't the best method for those who are less patient. Some of it also comes down to the equipment at your disposal. I might be more tempted to burst carb if I had more secondary regulators since it would make it easier, or I might want to carb at room temps if I had less room in my keezer. Use whatever method method works best for you and your situation.

 

[Mikey_Dawg]

I've only force carb'd myself and have always been happy with results. I just dont have the patience to use the "set to serving PSI level and forget for a few weeks method."

This is a good "How to" video on the force carb process. The only thing I really do differently is I dont let the beer get cold prior to force carbing... again, just too impatient on my part.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/kegging-force-carbonation-video-233233/

EDIT: I started thinking about this after I posted and realized that when I force carb warm a 2-5 minute force carb shaking at around 30psi didnt seem to get the beer carbed fast enough. My first few force carb sessions I shook it closer to 8-10 minutes when the beer was warm and the next day the beer seemed to pour fully carbed. So, just something to think about if you decide to force carb... probably need to shake longer if you do it prior to chilling beer.