Force Carbing And Increased Bitterness.

[Truman42]

(Not sure if this should be posted here or in Gear and Equipment so apologies in advance if it upsets anyone..You know who you are )

Ive just recently filled my second keg. I added to much gas to it on day 1 (58 PSI because Im an idiot and was reading BAR instead of PSI) so left it for a couple of days and tried it today. Some bubbles and slight head but probably needs an extra day or two on the gas.

But one thing I did notice was that this beer along with my first kegged beer seems very bitter. It wasn't this bitter coming out of the fermenter.

I'm using a CO2 fire extinguisher and the gas in it is possibly quite old. It ran out of service this year and needs to be re-stamped before I fill it up, so the gas has been in there since it was last tested and stamped.

Not sure how long that would be but do they need re-stamping every 5 years or is it longer??

Anyway my question is can CO2 go off? Its just a gas so I'm thinking no but want to at least rule that out?

I've got some bottled so waiting for them to carb up so I can compare but when I tasted it out of the fermenter I was actually worried it wasn't bitter enough and I hadn't used enough hops.

 

[slash22000]

Carbonating a beverage produces carbonic acid. Overcarbonated beer will have a distinct "tartness" from excessive carbonic acid. I'd say 58 PSI for a few days is absolutely overcarbonated. I set my kegs to 30 PSI for 2 days and they come out almost perfectly carbonated.

 

[Truman42]

I didnt add 58PSi for a few days though. I hooked up the gas waited until it reached 58PSI (Well 40 BAR because I thought it was 40 PSI) and then disconnected the gas. After when I realised what I had done I bled off some gas and just left it for two days.

It still doesnt seem carbed up properly now, not many bubbles in the beer and very little head. But does taste very bitter. So its the carbonic acid thats causing this? The word "TARTNESS" is certainly a good description of how it tastes.

 

[stux]

I didnt add 58PSi for a few days though. I hooked up the gas waited until it reached 58PSI (Well 40 BAR because I thought it was 40 PSI) and then disconnected the gas. After when I realised what I had done I bled off some gas and just left it for two days.

It still doesnt seem carbed up properly now, not many bubbles in the beer and very little head. But does taste very bitter. So its the carbonic acid thats causing this? The word "TARTNESS" is certainly a good description of how it tastes.

I don't think its possible for C02 to go "off". Carbonic acid is often described as "carbonic bite"

I don't think the gas is the cause of your bitterness. But its also possible that lack of carbonation could cause excessive percieved bitterness.

I often find that brews need a week in the keg to come round... so carb it up properly, give it a week, and then see how you feel

 

[billygoat]

I didnt add 58PSi for a few days though. I hooked up the gas waited until it reached 58PSI (Well 40 BAR because I thought it was 40 PSI) and then disconnected the gas.

40 Bar is 580 PSI not 58 PSI.

 

[Nick JD]

Please refer to my signature below.

 

[GalBrew]

40 Bar is 580 PSI not 58 PSI.

That's a lot of PSIs right there.....

 

[stux]

40 Bar is 580 PSI not 58 PSI.

4.0 Bar maybe?

 

[Diesel80]

1st week carbonic bite is most noticable. Disappears though. Beer will be fine.

Cheers
D80

 

[Truman42]

Yeh my bad, its 4 BAR not 40 BAR.

@Nick...I would if it wasnt so ******* bitter...LOL

 

[Maheel]

i am bitter when i over carb a forced carb keg... very bitter


best not speak to me in fact.....

 

[Truman42]

So all this talk of being able to keg a beer and be drinking it in a few days that Ive heard so much about, isn't quite true then??

Some of you must be getting kick backs from the HB shops to convince me to spend more money on kegging...

Guess I'll just have to wait then. Thanks for the help and advice gents. :icon_cheers:

 

[GalBrew]

So all this talk of being able to keg a beer and be drinking it in a few days that Ive heard so much about, isn't quite true then??

Some of you must be getting kick backs from the HB shops to convince me to spend more money on kegging...

Guess I'll just have to wait then. Thanks for the help and advice gents. :icon_cheers:

You can drink it after 5 minutes of force carbing. It tastes better after a week or so, but you can drink it straight up.

 

[Muscovy_333]

Are you carbonating at constant 4 degrees Truman?
Temp fluctuations while carbing will mess with your bubbles

 

[Truman42]

Are you carbonating at constant 4 degrees Truman?
Temp fluctuations while carbing will mess with your bubbles

Ummm..Actually as per my other thread I went away for the weekend and the fridge was at -2C tonight when I got home. But I only added 58 PSI of gas at 4C on Friday and left it at that until tonight.

Ive put an STC1000 on the fridge to hold it at 4C until I can sort out the problem with the thermostat on the fridge.

 

[Screwtop]

So all this talk of being able to keg a beer and be drinking it in a few days that Ive heard so much about, isn't quite true then??

Some of you must be getting kick backs from the HB shops to convince me to spend more money on kegging...

Guess I'll just have to wait then. Thanks for the help and advice gents. :icon_cheers:

Efficiency???? End of sparge runnings gravity?? Lack of maltiness, tart astringent??

Screwy

 

[dr K]

Just as turning your oven thermostat to 250C is not going to get your oven to 170C any quicker than just setting 170, beer is just not going to get carbonated quicker at a higher pressure, put simply its a function of temperature (colder more gas dissolves) and time. Sure you speed things up by rolling or shaking or rattling the keg but you should never increase the pressure above serving pressure at your serving temp.
RDWHAHB

K

 

[browndog]

So all this talk of being able to keg a beer and be drinking it in a few days that Ive heard so much about, isn't quite true then??

44psi or 3bar for 24hrs at 5C will give you a perfectly carbonated beer (not english)

 

[browndog]

Just as turning your oven thermostat to 250C is not going to get your oven to 170C any quicker than just setting 170, beer is just not going to get carbonated quicker at a higher pressure, put simply its a function of temperature (colder more gas dissolves) and time. Sure you speed things up by rolling or shaking or rattling the keg but you should never increase the pressure above serving pressure at your serving temp.
RDWHAHB

K

What a load of rubbish Dr K.

 

[Truman42]

Just as turning your oven thermostat to 250C is not going to get your oven to 170C any quicker than just setting 170, beer is just not going to get carbonated quicker at a higher pressure, put simply its a function of temperature (colder more gas dissolves) and time. Sure you speed things up by rolling or shaking or rattling the keg but you should never increase the pressure above serving pressure at your serving temp.
RDWHAHB

K

I didn't mean to set it that high. It was an accident because I read the gauge wrong. I was supposed to add 40 PSI disconnect and leave for 24 hours then add another 40 PSI disconnect and leave for another 24 hours then check on day 3 and top up to serve pressure if required. But I read the gauge wrong..