Whats the best way to force carb a keg?

[covered95]

So I have a batch of honey molasses porter that is ready to keg. I was wondering what the best way to force carb it is. I have read that hooking it up at serving pressure and temp, waiting 10-14 days, is best. Others say 30 psi for 1-3 days at serving temp. What is best? What tastes/feels best in your mouth?

 

[Bobby_M]

Ask cheese what feels best in his mouth. ;-)

You can shorten the 14 days to about a week if you do 3 days at 30psi. Just don't forget about it. Also, giving the keg some shakes/aggitation during that three days shortens the carbing time too.

 

[PUD]

i just forced carbed my first keg, it's a blue moon clone. i did 30psi for a day and it way over carbinated it. so i let all the carbination out and let it sit for two days then hooked it back up. now it's back to 18 from the chart i have adn it tastes pretty right on to me. it has a little flat taste to though.

guess i kinda have the same question. it pours fast and i have a lot of head when i pour.

 

[BierMuncher]

Ask cheese what feels best in his mouth. ;-)

You can shorten the 14 days to about a week if you do 3 days at 30psi. Just don't forget about it. Also, giving the keg some shakes/aggitation during that three days shortens the carbing time too.

I like the 3 days at 25-30PSI.

I used to shake, but two things: 1-I got inconsistent results and only gained maybe 1 1/2 days. 2-I got a chest freezer for charging kegs and lifting those things in and out to shake became impractical.

Here's my exact routine:

48 hours at 30 PSI.
Close manifold to keg, bleed pressure and remove cap.
Use a sanitized paddle to give a gentle stir to "mix" the different CO2 concentrations.
12 more hours at 30PSI and then shut er down to 12PSI to maintain.

I have a seperate kegerator for serving so I keep that one at around 6 PSI.

 

[david_42]

The easiest way is just attaching it at serving pressure for 2 weeks.
The fastest way is to chill the keg, hook it up to 30 psi and shake.
The best way is a matter of opinion.

And it doesn't change the aging time, regardless of how you do it. I go for easy.

 

[syvmn]

Maybe Im the only one, but what I do is hook it up at 13psi or so, and let it cool in the fridge for a day. I then take it out of the fridge, still attached to CO2, set it on my lap sideways and rock it back and forth for about 10 minutes. Put it back in the fridge, wait and hour, take it back out and repeat. You'll be able to hear the CO2 bottle "hissing" everytime you tip it. Just keep sloshing it around until it stops hissing. I've drank beer that I put in the keg 24 hours ago.

Its not perfect, your beer will benefit from a bit of waiting even after this, but if you have a simple beer and a party coming up, it can work just fine. I would NOT recommend the 30psi stuff. Theres just too much chance of overcarbing it.

 

[BierMuncher]

...I would NOT recommend the 30psi stuff. Theres just too much chance of overcarbing it.

Ummm,


Never had an overcarb'd keg using the 30PSI x 3 days routine.

I have had overcarb'd kegs using the shake-n-bake method. I think I just got greedy.

As long as you don't forget your keg at 30PSI, you'llget pretty consistent results.

This is a fresh pour after using my 30-PSI routine...

 

[rdwj]

set it and forget it - it's the easiest way and you won't over-carb your beer. You need that time to age anyway

 

[Bobby_M]

i just forced carbed my first keg, it's a blue moon clone. i did 30psi for a day and it way over carbinated it. so i let all the carbination out and let it sit for two days then hooked it back up. now it's back to 18 from the chart i have adn it tastes pretty right on to me. it has a little flat taste to though.

guess i kinda have the same question. it pours fast and i have a lot of head when i pour.

No. I don't think so. It would take at about a week (or at least 4-5 days) to overcarb at wit at 30 psi. You need to be more patient. Even when there are bubbles in your glass, it's more likely from the violent high pressure pour than actual carbonation.

 

[denimglen]

What about setting the regulator to the correct serving/carb pressure and then shaking?

Isn't that the best of both worlds? Quicker carbonation but won't overcarb because the reg isn't cranked up.

Or does it not work in practice?

 

[Bobby_M]

It does get you carbed a bit faster if you shake but at serving pressure but you'd have to do it often and that keg gets heavy.