Carbonation in closed fermenter.

[j-dunn]

Hi all,

My first brew in my conical fermenter is under way.

I pitched the yeast starter and it came to life, bubbling away through the air lock for the first 4 days.

At day 5 I fitted my pressure relief valve to seal the fermenter and let the pressure build up to 5 PSI. It has been holding 5PSI now for 3 days.

My question is : Can the beer be carbonated fully this way? I can't see why not but hey, I am no expert!!

Is there a formula that I can apply or possibly an online "calculator"?

Cheers

Joe

 

[Bats]

I may be missing something... But why do you want to carbonate in a conical?

 

[j-dunn]

Hi Bats

My fermenter is capable of holding 10/12 PSI. I had a thought that when I close it off the pressure in the fermenter would start to carbonate the beer, saving me force carbonating it as usual.

I found this article http://www.terifahrendorf.com/Closed-Pressurized-Fermenatation.pdf and it seemed to shed some light on the subject.

Having read this I am still unsure as to the amount of carbonation that would occur.

Cheers

Joe

 

[Yob]

HERE

 

[j-dunn]

Cheers for that Yob.

 

[Doogiechap]

This chart which was put together by Wortgames a few years ago will give you an indication of what sort of carbonation pressure is required at what temp for the appropriate style of beer. The chart has a HEAP of other invaluable info that is worth looking at too.
At Ale fermenting temps it looks like your conical probably isn't up to the task.
Cheers
Doug

 

[j-dunn]

Thanks for the info Doogiechap.

I see the pressures are quite high.

I wonder if at 5 to 10 psi how much carbonation would occur?