Carbonation Confusion

[sgw86]

Howdy All,

Without trying to flood this board with similar messages (how do I delete a previous post) I am totally confused as to the carbonation of a minikeg. I have now cracked my third mini keg of the first brew (Coopers Pale Ale) and it is still flat.

Firstly these mini kegs were primed with 23g of dextrose (which apperantly is too much and 15g is the suggested amount) and the minikeg i just cracked has been in the cupboard in the laundry for about 3.5 weeks and in the fridge for about 4 days.

The first few pours were all froth (which is expected) and then as I added CO2 as required to keep the beer coming from the keg. 7 of the glasses I poured came out with a little too much head, but it settled down to a nice full head but there was little to no bubbles. On the bottom of the glass I reckon there would have been about 6 bubbles total.

Strangly though I did pour a glass in between those 8 that was full of bubbles and I sat it under my tounge for a few seconds and i felt the fizz.

Considering one glass did have fizz in it I am a little confused, considering the rest were dead flat.

My understanding for the minikegs is that you only use CO2 for pouring (cannot force carbonate)

I am thinking it could be a few things, though if anybody could help me out with this problem that would be grealty appreciated.

1. too much dextrose (though I would have thought the more dextrose you put in the more fizz you get??)

2. temps in the laundry cupboard probably drop to about 12-15C in the morning and during the day probably hover around 20-22C. Could the low temps cause the carbonation to stop?

3. I need to leave the minikegs for potentially a min of 4-6 weeks?

4. I am filling the mini kegs up too much (currently leave about 1 inch head room)


I currently have a Blue Mountain Lager fermenting and planning on adding 15g of dextrose to this one.

Thanks again for everyones help, and apolagies again for another post though I thought the title for this one was more fitting.

 

[beerbog]

Check your glasses are clean. Only rinse them in hot water, not detergent. :beerbang:

 

[adryargument]

if you can connect CO2 to it, i see no reason why you cant set it to serving pressure (70-80kpa) and shake it for 20-25m which will absorb the CO2 in a gentle force carb.

 

[sgw86]

Check your glasses are clean. Only rinse them in hot water, not detergent. :beerbang:

Glasses are clean, though they were washed in detergent and then thoroughly rinsed with hot water.

 

[beerbog]

Glasses are clean, though they were washed in detergent and then thoroughly rinsed with hot water.

Ditch the detergent, that is your problem. It still leaves a fine film on the glass. :beerbang:

 

[sgw86]

Ditch the detergent, that is your problem. It still leaves a fine film on the glass. :beerbang:

This seems odd to me that it could be that issue. As a test, glasses that have been washed in the sink in detergent, how do I go about removing this film of detergent from them...is it just a long soak in very hot water or something similar?

Also when I store my mini kegs away to carbonate I do leave them on the tiles in a cupboard in the laundry....perhaps they are too cold sitting on the floor?

 

[Amber Fluid]

slightly OT sorry but I constantly see posts on this forum and others accusing soaps and detergents being the issue. I have always washed my glasses in soapy water and rinsed them in hot water then dried them and I have never found the glass to be the problem. If it was, then I didn't wash the glass properly. That would be my fault, not the glass or the use of soaps.

imo its an old wives tale. Some believe it and some don't. I don't.

 

[mr_tyreman]

Yeah interesting you say that, I always run my glasses through the dishwasher, and have never had a problem... Wonder if it comes down to the particular machine/detergents being used

 

[michael_aussie]

I have now cracked my third mini keg of the first brew (Coopers Pale Ale) and it is still flat.

...........

2. temps in the laundry cupboard probably drop to about 12-15C in the morning and during the day probably hover around 20-22C. Could the low temps cause the carbonation to stop?

i'd suggest the low temps are putting your yeast to sleep, so they haven't converted your carbonation sugars .. so flat beer.
Try to store your kegs somewhere where the temp is stable ... and around 18-24 degrees. Then .. after 2-3 weeks you will have carbonated beer.

slightly OT sorry but I constantly see posts on this forum and others accusing soaps and detergents being the issue. I have always washed my glasses in soapy water and rinsed them in hot water then dried them and I have never found the glass to be the problem. If it was, then I didn't wash the glass properly. That would be my fault, not the glass or the use of soaps.

imo its an old wives tale. Some believe it and some don't. I don't.

as for the detergent question .. are other beers in the same glasses ok? if so detergent isn't your issue .....
although I agree with AmberFluid .. too much is made of detergent. If you rinse in hot clean water your glasses will be fine.

 

[sgw86]

i'd suggest the low temps are putting your yeast to sleep, so they haven't converted your carbonation sugars .. so flat beer.
Try to store your kegs somewhere where the temp is stable ... and around 18-24 degrees. Then .. after 2-3 weeks you will have carbonated beer.

as for the detergent question .. are other beers in the same glasses ok? if so detergent isn't your issue .....
although I agree with AmberFluid .. too much is made of detergent. If you rinse in hot clean water your glasses will be fine.

I have now moved my mini kegs to the top shelf of the cupboard in the laundry, as originally they were sitting on the tiles on the floor. This should hopefully provide a few more degrees warmth. After doing some more research I believe I just havn't left these for long enough...as mini kegs appearantly take twice as long as bottles. 4-6 weeks seem to be the norm for these kegs.

Is it also worth while slightly shaking the kegs every few days to mix the beer around inside? or am I better off just leaving these alone for the 4-6 weeks?