Flat commercial beer from Keg system

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Rosy

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I purchased a keg system recently to take away with me on holiday so I could have lovely cold tap beer while on holidays. I filled my 19 litre vessels with Resches and New which I purchased from a local supplier. Obviously the beer was already carbonated. I did this because I did not have enough time to put down a home brew batch before I went away. The transfer technique was not really good but we managed to get the vessels close to full. Once we arrived I hooked up the system put the kegs on the fridge to cool and let them settle for a day. When I went to pour the beer was very flat but pouring with a head. I am using headmaster glasses and was looking for the beer to be working in the glass which is not happening. I have tried a couple of quick carbonation methods to get the beer there but don't seem to be making too much progress. Please help.
 
All you can do is pump more co2 into it and wait. Ensure there isn't a leak.
Or drink it warmer? Frustrating when you don't have other (ready) Beer to drink.
 
If I drink it as is am I letting Co2 out, meaning do I have to just gas it up and let it sit and if so how long should I leave it. I was worried I had over carbonated as the beer is pretty heady coming out but doesn't hold the head and is flat underneath.
 
You can force carb but the beer will need to be cold. This would involve cracking the pressure up to about 200 kPa, putting the keg on its side, and rocking back and forth gently for about 30 secs. Just be wary that if you disconnect the gas, drop the line pressure and reconnect, foam at the top of the keg will run back up your line and potentially kill your reg. give it 45 mins to settle, burp excess gas from the gas post, and if nothing comes out you're safe to plug back in.
Danscraftbeer said:
All you can do is pump more co2 into it and wait. Ensure there isn't a leak.
Or drink it warmer? Frustrating when you don't have other (ready) Beer to drink.
You're a braver man than me if you're prepared to drink New warm.
 
You would have lost a heap of gas when they transferred it behind the bar or wherever it came from. Pub beer is served quite fizzy and in larger pubs where there is a long line between the cold room and the bar it's pushed by a Nitrogen and CO2 mixture to avoid it being too fizzy, the Nitro does the pushing. Also the beer is kept at near freezing. If you get it as cold as possible and force carb as above, it should come good.
 
Thanks guys will try the quick carb method and go and buy a carton of resches so I am not tempted to touch until tomorrow morning. Hopefully will come goodby then.
 
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