YES!... success kegging.

[iamwhatiseem]

Been a homebrewer for many years.
Always bottled. Wanted to keg for several years, but at the time didn't have space for a kegerator etc. Or a place where the wife would be OK with it.
I do now.
First time kegged a holiday red ale... 6.8% abv. Have made this recipe several times.

I force carbed at 38 degrees temp at 25 psi.
After 5 days, I release pressure till about 12 psi. and poured a partial glass.

Almost all foam, once it settled a bit the beer itself was flat. Read all kinds of stuff here, and decided to lower the temp to 36, turned the psi to 20 and waited 2 more days.
Then released pressure down to 8 psi. Waited a few minutes... poured a glass... a WHALAA!!
About am 1 1/2 head, reinforcing bubbles, looks carbed to me... taste... YES!!

 

[Dland]

Glad you are having success. Sounds like you might not have allowed enough time for CO2 to be absorbed in the beer the first time around, since it was foamy but flat.

Forced carbing does take a little practice, and there is more than one approach. You'll likely figure out what works for you after a few kegs.

At first I used to "speed carb" using higher pressure over short time. This can work, but results often inconsistent.

Then I went with the set to desired pressure and be patient approach, which works well if you can be patient.

Now I spund, which gets one perfect carbing as soon as beer is finished working, assuming you do it right.

 

[HB_ATL73]

Congrats. You'll now look back and think how horrible it is to bottle

 

[bracconiere]

Congrats. You'll now look back and think how horrible it is to bottle

Always bottled. Wanted to keg for several years,

he said he's been thinking about how horrible it was for several years!

and congrats on the pour!

Almost all foam, once it settled a bit the beer itself was flat.

(you do have balanced draught lines?)

 

[day_trippr]

38°F at 25 psi for five days and another two days at 20 psi surely overcarbonated that keg as the symptoms clearly confirm.
That's the down-side risk of "burst carbonation": it's all too easy to overshoot the carbonation level and end up with uber foamy pours. And lines that are intrinsically too short even for a nicely carbonated beer (trust me, an all too common paradigm) will behave badly.

Might want to give the better part of this thread to get a better feel for carbonation methods and things to avoid (like ^all that^).

Reference our favorite carbonation table to determine the ideal CO2 pressure for your chosen beer temperature to reach your desired carbonation level expressed in "volumes of CO2", where 2.4-2.5 volumes is typical for most ale styles. That pressure should be what is used for dispensing as it will keep the keg at that same carbonation level to the last drop - and if carbing using the so-called "set and forget" method, that's the same pressure to be used. Using lower dispensing pressure will result in the keg slowing losing carbonation, not the ideal way to go.

With that pressure in hand, you can then use the only beer line length calculator worth using to determine the optimal line length to keep the keg carbonation in the beer. For the 3/16" ID PVC lines most use you'll find the math works out to a bit under 1 foot of beer line per PSI, and that's a fair rule of thumb.

Finally, to rapidly knock down the CO2 content of an overcarbed keg, see this thread. I had to use that technique once and it worked great!

Cheers!

 

[bracconiere]

With that pressure in hand, you can then use the only beer line length calculator worth using to determine the optimal line length to keep the keg carbonation in the beer. For the 3/16" ID PVC lines most use you'll find the math works out to a bit under 1 foot of beer line per PSI, and that's a fair rule of thumb.

damn! that calc tells me with my 1/4" line i need 47ft of line! my 12ft isn't enough! no wonder i can only carb and serve at 8 psi....

time to redo my taps...

 

[william_shakes_beer]

once you use the calculator to determine the correct length, add 6 feet or so. Its a lot easier to make the lines shorter than longer.

I cut this board twice and its still too short

 

[bracconiere]

once you use the calculator to determine the correct length, add 6 feet or so. Its a lot easier to make the lines shorter than longer.

I cut this board twice and its still too short

that's what couplers, and trim are for!

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Ideal approach for me has become brewing enough so I can have a keg or two slowly carbing/conditioning at serving pressure while I'm drinking what's on tap. I hate having to rush a keg because I need to tap something. I moved to the slim torpedo kegs so I could fit more in my keezer to do this.

 

[Beer666]

I serve my lagers at 20psi around 2c with 3m of 3/16" line. I get a large fluffy head and lacing but its hard to fill a pint up to the top. I am not bothered by this as i like to drink my beer cold but i still wonder if i am doing anything wrong?
I have to bottle from the keg soon for a comp and starting to wonder if i am making things hard for myself.

 

[bracconiere]

I have to bottle from the keg soon for a comp and starting to wonder if i am making things hard for myself.

you do have a counter pressure filler of some sort? shouldn't get any foam bottling with pressure....i just use a rubber bung with a hole for my 1/4" tubbing that fits perfectly in my picnic taps, just crack the bung from the bottle when it starts slowing down a bit....

 

[Beer666]

you do have a counter pressure filler of some sort? shouldn't get any foam bottling with pressure....i just use a rubber bung with a hole for my 1/4" tubbing that fits perfectly in my picnic taps, just crack the bung from the bottle when it starts slowing down a bit....

I don't have a counter pressure filler. Is there anything cheap you can recommend? Would be grateful for a photo of your setup, last time i tried one hack i got beer all over the ceiling. Cheers

 

[bracconiere]

here ya go...no foam, cheap....

normally i'd have the tube to the bottom of the bottle though.....1/4" tubing fits a picnic tap perfectly, and the bung fits the top of a bottle where i can just hold on tight enough to hold pressure, and just crack it a bit when the pour slows down....

 

[day_trippr]

Dude! Your help totally missed cleaning the beer fridge!

 

[bgmac]

Its very easy to over carb a beer. Set the CO2 at intended serving pressure/temp and wait about a week. Might be a little under carbed but by day 8 or 9 or so, its good to go. Over carbing can cause carbonic acid which tastes horrible.

Chill the keg down to 34-38 and use 10 feet or more of 3/16 tubing and you dont have to worry about a glass of nothing but foam.

Force carbing over serving pressure does work but is easy to overshoot. Maybe just for the 1st day or day and half at like 20 psi. I stopped doing that a few years ago. I just go to the store and get a six pack if the beer isn't ready yet. Plus it gives the young beer more time to mellow out.

 

[bracconiere]

Dude! Your help totally missed cleaning the beer fridge!

i'll have to get on them/myself about that.....