Will tasting your beer before it is done carbing mess up the force carb?
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wildwest450
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Dude, taste away. It's good to get a feel for how the beer is carbing.
Just tasted it. Tastes so much better than when I used to bottle even though I am sure right now it is flat. Should I carb it at 10 or 12 psi. Guy at the store said he has his at 10 psi and people on here seem to say 12 psi
BeerCrazy
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I just set gas to 30-40 psi and taste a bit with breakfast and dinner. When it tastes right, I blow off extra pressure through relief valve and set to serving pressure.
What is your serving pressure? How long do you you usually leave it at 30-40 psi? 2-3 days?
I am not sure what tastes right lol
BeerCrazy
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About 2-3 days. Serving pressure depends on the length and size of your beer line and temperature. About 5-8 on direct draw. Anything more than about 20 and you need a beer pump for long draw. I'm assuming your a short draw with less than 8 feet of line. If so, get the narrowest ID line you can (forget size) and start low and increase until head does not grow after pour. Another rule of thumb is 4 seconds for a pint on direct draw.
wildwest450
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Sorry bro, this is bad info. Psi is determined by beer temp and volumes of co2 not line length. You need your beer carbed and you need it to stay carbed. Carbing it and then lowering the pressure to serve will cause the co2 to break out of suspension (bubbles in line) and eventually flatten your beer. For normal line length runs(10' and under at 3/16") it's simply beer temp and volumes of c02.
This is good info for a bar who goes through kegs in days, not weeks.
Click on the link in Wildwest's sig, listen to Wildwest's advice. You will be taken to a table that will help you decide on your psi. 2.4 volumes of CO2 is pretty typical for most beers.
I just kegged my first batch as well. (first batch being kegged, not first brewed) It may have been a bad idea to taste it before it was fully conditioned. I am on number 2 and will most likely keep going! At this rate it wont make it to the three weeks!
shortyjacobs
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It's probably still a bit flat, but no worries. I do 30 PSI for 48 hours then down to around 10-12 depending on how much carbonation I want. At normal fridge temps, 8-10 PSI gives you a lightly carbonated beer, (good for stouts, lots of english types of ale, etc.), 12-14 psi gives you fizzier beer, (good for APAs, creams, etc.).
This is highly simplified. Really just look up a carbonation chart and you can find out exactly what temp/PSI will give you a certain volume of CO2, but honestly 10-12 does me fine for nearly everything.
You can taste whenever you'd like. Sometimes I even pull samples at 30 psi to see how the carbonation is doing. A short shot doesn't seem to foam too much with 10' lines, even at 30 PSI.
This is highly simplified. Really just look up a carbonation chart and you can find out exactly what temp/PSI will give you a certain volume of CO2, but honestly 10-12 does me fine for nearly everything.
You can taste whenever you'd like. Sometimes I even pull samples at 30 psi to see how the carbonation is doing. A short shot doesn't seem to foam too much with 10' lines, even at 30 PSI.
