Increasing carbonation level in keg

[welly2]

Just tested my black IPA (it's delish) and I'm thinking the carbonation level is a bit low. It probably has another few more days to carbonate but I'm interested in whether it's possible to increase the carbonation/fizziness after it's been carbonating for a week? Once the beer has taken the co2 in, is that that? My black IPA I've recently kegged is coming out of the tap like it's been serves by nitro, which is fine but I'd rather it was a bit more sparkling.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Crank up the pressure 0.5PSI , give it a few more days and recheck.

Essentially the pressure you apply dictates how much CO2 the beer will absorb, which is the carbonation level. So by increasing the pressure slightly you allow the beer to absorb more CO2. This is also temperature dependent, but I assume you won't be adjusting your fridge temperature so applying my above suggestion will work. Hope that makes sense.

 

[welly2]

Cheers, I'll try just that!

 

[mxd]

may sound strange
But I think you'll find it's over carbed and your losing the co2 in the line/pour.

have you done all the balancing check, how did you carb, line length etc.. ?

 

[welly2]

may sound strange
But I think you'll find it's over carbed and your losing the co2 in the line/pour.

have you done all the balancing check, how did you carb, line length etc.. ?

Ok, that's an interesting angle. Beer line length is about 2.5m, carbed at just over 10psi - so far for about 4 days so a bit early and obviously needs a bit more time where it might get a little bit more fizzy. Carbonation level at the moment is a bit like a cask British bitter.

 

[mxd]

Ok, that's an interesting angle. Beer line length is about 2.5m, carbed at just over 10psi - so far for about 4 days so a bit early and obviously needs a bit more time where it might get a little bit more fizzy. Carbonation level at the moment is a bit like a cask British bitter.

I force carb mine as for some reason it feels like it never carbs when I just leave it alone

your comment
"coming out of the tap like it's been serves by nitro,"

sounds like your losing co2 there, that's why I thought it may be overcarbed (your numbers look fine, assuming your temp is around 3 deg ?)

 

[Rocker1986]

Yeah I reckon it'll take a few more days. If I stick a keg in at serving pressure straight away it's usually at least a week before it's at or close to my intended carb level.

At the moment I'm sticking them in at 35PSI for ~24 hours before disconnecting the gas and letting it settle a few hours before burping it and re-hooking the gas up at normal serving pressure. Seems to have them pretty well carbed in 3-4 days.

 

[fraser_john]

10psi seems a little low

 

[fraser_john]

10psi seems a little low

Cripes, most worthless response ever! Here is the proper response....

10 psi seems a little low, I run mine on about 16psi and it carbonates about perfect for most ales, a bit low for lagers/weizen.

 

[TheWiggman]

My normal carbonation pressure is 75 kPa, around 11 psi. I've found going above this with a regular tap and 3m of line can lead to foam. I then found out that having the beer a few °C colder reduces foam.
100 kPa would be the practical limit.

 

[mxd]

My normal carbonation pressure is 75 kPa, around 11 psi. I've found going above this with a regular tap and 3m of line can lead to foam. I then found out that having the beer a few °C colder reduces foam.
100 kPa would be the practical limit.

it all depends on temp, line size, etc..
the wonderful balancing spread sheet is a great spot to start.

 

[Grott]

Yeah I reckon it'll take a few more days. If I stick a keg in at serving pressure straight away it's usually at least a week before it's at or close to my intended carb level.

Carbonating at dispensing pressure sure does take a week plus, that's why I force carb to just under required and hook up at dispensing pressure for whenever needed.
Out of interest I use a tap on the fridge door with 1 metre or 4mm id beer line, never had a problem (touch wood and all that).
Cheers

 

[TheWiggman]

I was astounded at the difference a few degrees makes to foam when serving. A hot tap on a hot day will foam the poo out of the first 30ml or so, and after that all good. I didn't realise but my fridge wasn't cold enough (dodgy thermostat and I didn't place the probe on the controller correctly) and I couldn't pour a beer for teh life of me. The beer was about 6°C, which was fine for most of my beers. Foam city when the carbonation was highish though, even with a 3m line as the CO2 would settle at the high points in the line. Dropped the liquid down to 2°C, changed to a 400mm line and BOOM - good pours. The hardest part is waiting for your cold stout to warm up, which is manageable.

 

[Grott]

The hardest part is waiting for your cold stout to warm up, which is manageable.

Keep one ahead, meaning pour two stouts, drink one cold whilst the other warms up, then after that if you keep pouring a glass ahead they'll all be at a nice temp.
Cheers

 

[Rocker1986]

I have mine at 10-11PSI because the beer sits about 0C in the kegs. According to online calculators this gives me around 2.6-2.7 vols carbonation which I like in most styles I brew (I have ideas for keeping lower carbed styles where I want them). Only reason for this low temp is because by the time it hits the glass it's sitting at about 4-5C and in the summer heat it does not take very long to warm up further. And it does help reduce the time/amount that it foams out of the tap too I suppose.

I'm gonna do the force carb to not quite where I want it thingy once I end up with more kegs than my kegerator can fit in it, so that when they do make it in I don't have to wait ages. My current method is handy now as it does give them time to settle all the crap out a bit before I start pouring them.