Co2 Carbonation

[Mka]

Hello!

After brewing every week and depending on bottles to drink the brew finally I'm using Co2 carbonation today.

is a pale ale, what PSI do you suggest and temperature in the fridge. How many days in the corny keg before trying. (I already looked at the brewers friend keg carbonation calculator).

I currently have haft of Co2 tank, would you suggest that would be enough or not ?

Any tips you can give I would appreciated!

Cheers!

Mk

 

[Craigerrr]

I have always set the reg at 30 to 35 psi for 24 to 36 hours, then turn down to about 8 to serve after that. How long, and what size is you serving line? I would recommend 3/16" tubing at about 10 feet.

 

[Bubba Wade]

Note that you can also naturally carbonate in the keg. It takes about a week to carbonate.

 

[Craigerrr]

Note that you can also naturally carbonate in the keg. It takes about a week to carbonate.

Absolutely! You can set it at 8-10 PSI and leave it for a week. I have just never had the patience for that!

 

[Steve SPF]

So many ways to skin the carbonation cat. My take is to put it under serving pressure, 10-12psi, and leave it until it's ready. Usually 5-7 days.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

....but if you want to drink now instead of later force carb like the others mentioned

 

[Mka]

I have always set the reg at 30 to 35 psi for 24 to 36 hours, then turn down to about 8 to serve after that. How long, and what size is you serving line? I would recommend 3/16" tubing at about 10 feet.

Thanks for the reply, I finally was able get everything going, is fermented and attached to the co2 tank but is coming out foamy, I have it about 10 to 11 psi (PALE ALE) suggestions?

 

[Blackmuse]

Thanks for the reply, I finally was able get everything going, is fermented and attached to the co2 tank but is coming out foamy, I have it about 10 to 11 psi (PALE ALE) suggestions?

You have a couple options. Turn down the psi to 6 or 8... OR lengthen your line. This would be why Craigerr recommended 10'.

I also like having a flow control tap...

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the reply, I finally was able get everything going, is fermented and attached to the co2 tank but is coming out foamy, I have it about 10 to 11 psi (PALE ALE) suggestions?

What's the temperature? If it's about 39 degrees, 11 psi is perfect. A good rule of thumb is that you need about 1 foot of 3/16" beerline for every psi on the regulator- so for my 12 psi on mine, I have 12' lines to balance it.

Several brewers will mention reducing the pressure to serve but that's an issue because you will also lose carbonation so you have to turn it back up. Which increases foaming, so they reduce the pressure. That loses carbonation, so they would have to increase the pressure, etc.

That's why the longer lines- it balances out the pressure and doesn't cause the c02 to break out of solution. Think of a garden hose. You can pinch it to make a stronger flow, or use a longer hose to slow the flow. It's the same rules of physics in play here.

 

[TetersMillBrewing]

A good rule of thumb is that you need about 1 foot of 3/16" beerline for every psi on the regulator

Is this for bottling off a keg only or does this same rule of thumb apply to a home made kegerator?

 

[thunderwagn]

Is this for bottling off a keg only or does this same rule of thumb apply to a home made kegerator?

Beer serving line from keg to tap, and depending on how you plan on filling bottles, the same would probably still apply.
If I'm going to friends or dinner or whatever where the beer will be served fairly quick, l just use a piece of silicone tube about 10 -12 inches long slipped right on the end of the tap and fill a growler or whatever. And again, cap on foam.
If I'm bottling beer that I want to store for whatever reason, I use a counter pressure bottle filler. Line length, size, and pressure always apply from keg to tap.

 

[TetersMillBrewing]

I have always set the reg at 30 to 35 psi for 24 to 36 hours

As my bottling day is slowly approaches I have stepped up my reading which in turn has just added that much more confusion. I have read several online articles that talk about swapping your gas and liquid connections on the keg. This would allow CO2 to run down the liquid tub and up through the liquid to aid in carbonation. Same with shaking the keg. None of this has been mentioned in this thread which would lead me to believe it really doesn't aid enough in carbonation to mess with. Can I just pressure up to 30 psi for about 36 hours, drop pressure, and drink / bottle?

 

[Craigerrr]

As my bottling day is slowly approaches I have stepped up my reading which in turn has just added that much more confusion. I have read several online articles that talk about swapping your gas and liquid connections on the keg. This would allow CO2 to run down the liquid tub and up through the liquid to aid in carbonation. Same with shaking the keg. None of this has been mentioned in this thread which would lead me to believe it really doesn't aid enough in carbonation to mess with. Can I just pressure up to 30 psi for about 36 hours, drop pressure, and drink / bottle?

My comment is regarding express force carbonating in the keg. I do not bottle beer from the keg, although I do sometimes fill growlers, or bottles as travelers to be consumed that evening. If I am bottling batch of beer, which I sometimes do, I will use priming sugar. I'm not saying that you can't carbonate in a keg, then bottle, but I would personally want to do one or the other. I suspect that you are wanting to eliminate the sediment from bottle conditioning. One way to deal with that is, after your 2 week conditioning period, refrigerate the bottles as cold as you can for several days before opening. This will compact the sediment, and help keep it out of your glass. My thoughts are, that if you can keg your beer, keg your beer. You run the risk of the beer not "keeping" if you are going to try and bottle it from the keg, then store for future consumption.
Hope this helps.

 

[TetersMillBrewing]

You run the risk of the beer not "keeping" if you are going to try and bottle it from the keg, then store for future consumption.

Well, there is a bit (ok, a lot) of impatience on these first batches of beer. We want to drink some of them this weekend which is where the keg comes in. Plus some is going home with friends after the weekend. Pretty sure that the beer will be gone pretty quickly so not overly concerned about shelf life on these batches. Appreciate the help, will just bottle what is going out the door this weekend and leave the rest in the keg. Thanks

 

[Craigerrr]

Well, there is a bit (ok, a lot) of impatience on these first batches of beer. We want to drink some of them this weekend which is where the keg comes in. Plus some is going home with friends after the weekend. Pretty sure that the beer will be gone pretty quickly so not overly concerned about shelf life on these batches. Appreciate the help, will just bottle what is going out the door this weekend and leave the rest in the keg. Thanks

Cheers

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I belong to a beer swap group and I fill all kinds of bottles, jugs etc. from the kegerator. There is foam but hey. I say, "if you want beer, and the only way I can GIVE it to you is in a soda bottle, then you're good. that doesn't work, well........."