carbonating kegs

[Cummy]

Warning - Noob kegging question. If I just hook up a keg (3 lines from one bottle) over some time it will carb up, or does it always need to be force carbed using high pressures and rolling the keg? Approximately how long would it take at around 3-4 degrees. Thanks.

 

[Coodgee]

Short answer yes. If you hook up the beer to the gas it will carbonate to whatever the combination of temperature and gas pressure dictates. There are heaps of charts online that will tell you the carbonation level you will get for a given temperature and pressure.

This calculator says 2 volumes of co2 (a good starting point for an average apa) at 4 degrees requires 6.5 psi. Just set it at this for a week and you're done.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

Note in the hundred or so kegs I've carbonated i have never once been patient enough to do this.

 

[Cummy]

Sweet, thanks for the link.

 

[Chris7]

Personally I set mine for 2 weeks at serving pressure (12psi) and have never had an issue. Only once have I tried the roll method rather than set and forget, and found I still prefer set and forget. Let's the beer settle and gives it a bit of time to mellow etc.

 

[nosco]

Im too impatient to wait for 2 weeks so i force carb. I have a seperate gas line with a beer disconect on it so i dont have to roll it. The has goes down the beer dip tube and comes out at the bottom of the keg. You still have to rock it but no rolling involved.

Another method I read here that i am using latley is to leave the chilled keg over nightish @40 psi. The next night purge the co2 and set to serving pressure. Works very well. A bit less hit and miss.

 

[Rocker1986]

I just went and got a spare beer out disconnect to put on my 4th gas line today to do exactly that if I want/need to. My plan is once I get a stockpile of kegs going, I can basically 3/4 carbonate them using the quick method, then store them in waiting and when it comes time to put them in the kegerator they can just sit at serving pressure for a couple of days or whatever and should be pretty well ready to go.

At the moment though, they just get filled straight from cold crashing and go into the kegerator at serving pressure for about a week and they're sufficiently carbonated. Those charts and calculators are quite handy too.

 

[Brewman_]

Carbonation with CO2 is only one way, and there are lots of ways that work great, some above.

You can also carbonate a keg by the addition of Dextrose, (Or other sugars). The keg will carbonate just like a big bottle. This is a particularly useful technique if you have more kegs with beer in them that will fit into your kegorator. Or if you are in no rush, or maybe you want to carbonate a different beer to a different level and don't have enough space or regulators to achieve that.

It also allows you a fair bit of control over the final carbonation, as you can weigh the dextrose by the gram.

Just thought I would throw it in as another approach. It is what I do most of the time.

And it's cheap!

 

[tugger]

Then there's the stone method. 3 hours.

 

[pist]

Ive got a liquid disconnect hooked up to my 2nd gas line to bubble co2 down the liquid dip tube does same thing as the carbonation stone

 

[rude]

3 one minuet bursts @ 60 psi over 2 days shutting bottle off each time

Gauge should then hold to 13 psi

If not I then just give it a tickle to get it there

 

[lickapop]

Ferment with a spunding valve.
You can drink that green beer straight from the fermenter half carbed. No need to wait for it to reach potential..

 

[Brooa]

Short answer yes. If you hook up the beer to the gas it will carbonate to whatever the combination of temperature and gas pressure dictates. There are heaps of charts online that will tell you the carbonation level you will get for a given temperature and pressure.

This calculator says 2 volumes of co2 (a good starting point for an average apa) at 4 degrees requires 6.5 psi. Just set it at this for a week and you're done.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

Note in the hundred or so kegs I've carbonated i have never once been patient enough to do this.

Haha. when i first started reading this I was thinking, "Gee this guy's either got heaps of beer or he's very patient". Then I read the line after the link.

 

[Brooa]

I just went and got a spare beer out disconnect to put on my 4th gas line today to do exactly that if I want/need to. My plan is once I get a stockpile of kegs going, I can basically 3/4 carbonate them using the quick method, then store them in waiting and when it comes time to put them in the kegerator they can just sit at serving pressure for a couple of days or whatever and should be pretty well ready to go.

At the moment though, they just get filled straight from cold crashing and go into the kegerator at serving pressure for about a week and they're sufficiently carbonated. Those charts and calculators are quite handy too.

Ok Rocker,
Please explain. What is a "Stockpile of Kegs" & how does one create such a beast?

 

[Brooa]

Incidently, I let my keg sit in the keg fridge connected to CO2 at 30ish psi for about 36 hours. Of course I check at 24hrs but it's usually still too flat.

 

[Tropico]

Ok Rocker,
Please explain. What is a "Stockpile of Kegs" & how does one create such a beast?

 

[Rocker1986]

Ok Rocker,
Please explain. What is a "Stockpile of Kegs" & how does one create such a beast?

I'm still trying to figure out how to create one. Being on holidays for 4 weeks isn't helping either :lol:

The eventual plan is to have 3 in the kegerator and 3 or 4 sitting in the garage waiting. I really don't care how long it takes to achieve this though because it just means brewing more often - I ain't complaining about that!

 

[bourbonandoj]

Also looking for advice here. I have an IPA that I put into the keg, sealed her up and then chucked it into the fridge connected only to the gas at 30PSI. I intend on leaving it like this for about 36 hours, then purging the pressure. Setting to serving pressure and hooking up the beer line and leaving it at serving pressure for a couple of days. Does this sound right? This is my first go at it all!! Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Rocker1986]

Sounds fair enough to me mate. I use a similar approach with fresh kegs that go into my fridge as well, but that will change when I have more full kegs than can fit in the kegerator. These ones will be fast carbed to about 3/4 carbonation, stored, and then simply hooked up at serving pressure for a couple of days when they go in.