Force carb?

RAtkison

RAtkison

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I have 2 ales i just kegged and this is my first time to keg beer. I put both on 12 psi last night, and from what I am told, should expect it to be ready in ~2 weeks. I have been looking at the idea of force carbing and wanted to see what everyones thought on that is. From what I understand I can kick the regulator up to 25-30 psi, shake the kegs slightly for 15 minutes and leave it at this level for 24 hours. After that drop it down to 20 psi for another 24-48 hours, then drop down to dispensing pressure (10-12 psi) and begin to taste until it gets to desired carbonation. Is this correct?

Any thoughts on doing this?

I know it is not ideal but I would like to have them ready in time for Christmas if possible, but I do not want to ruin the beer either.

Any feedback is appreciated!
 
if your wanting it fast don't shake it up, the reason it clouds the beer back up and mixes any yeast that may have fallen to the bottom
 
That's pretty much what I do all the time. Blast it for 24 hours or so with around 35 PSI through the liquid line so it bubbles up, then I transfer to my serving gas lines which sit around 10 PSI for a couple days and it's good to go.
 
I shake my keg with a 25-30 lb line on it for about 5 minutes. The next day, I’m happy enough with it, although the carbonation will improve with age and serving pressure and temperature on it.
 
So is it best to hook up to the gas line or the liquid line for the 24 hour period, or does it matter? Is the alternative to hooking up to the liquid line hooking it up to the gas line and shaking for 5 minutes?
 
Oh one thing I have learned the hard way is don't fill the keg above the gas line level if you are doing a big pressure differential or you have beer going up your gas line.

The liquid line is faster because the gas goes through the liquid whereas the gas line has to permeate down from the top.
 
I don’t think the gas lasts long enough in the liquid to make it worth injecting into the liquid. It blurps right to the top, doesn’t it?
 
Yeah but it helps a little. I like to think it's an enormous difference.
 
I force carbed my second Holiday Cheer this morning, using the method I described above. (I gave my first batch away with the Christmas cookies.) Let’s go see how it is. Please stand by...
 
Fizzy enough! Cloudy, but it will settle quickly, and it’s the first pour out of the keg. That’s where the sediment goes when it drops. It’ll be beer clear enough to please my favorite customer very soon. But it’s drinkable now in my book.
 

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jeffpn said:
Fizzy enough! Cloudy, but it will settle quickly, and it’s the first pour out of the keg. That’s where the sediment goes when it drops. It’ll be beer clear enough to please my favorite customer very soon. But it’s drinkable now in my book.
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I don't think it is ready. I think you need to taste it several times each day until you think it is just right. This process could last til Christmas Eve. That's what I'd do anyway;).
 
I hit mine with 35 psi and let it sit for 34 hrs. (ish). Purge off pressure and set to 12-14. It's decently carb'd at that point, but will greatly improve after a few days. For sure ready by xmas. Most of the ales I do are ready to be consumed rather quickly.
 
RAtkison said:
I have 2 ales i just kegged and this is my first time to keg beer. I put both on 12 psi last night, and from what I am told, should expect it to be ready in ~2 weeks. I have been looking at the idea of force carbing and wanted to see what everyones thought on that is. From what I understand I can kick the regulator up to 25-30 psi, shake the kegs slightly for 15 minutes and leave it at this level for 24 hours. After that drop it down to 20 psi for another 24-48 hours, then drop down to dispensing pressure (10-12 psi) and begin to taste until it gets to desired carbonation. Is this correct?

Any thoughts on doing this?

I know it is not ideal but I would like to have them ready in time for Christmas if possible, but I do not want to ruin the beer either.

Any feedback is appreciated!
Click to expand...

Something that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, that helps for clarity is cold crash. Bring the beer down to about 32f for at least overnight. The yeast will settle better then when racking keep the cane out of the yeast cake. Doing this it doesn't matter if you shake it or not the sediment is already mostly out. I think jeffpen uses a secondary for this sediment removal. The cold beer accepts the co2 better also.
 
I cold crash and gelatin fine personally and it's worked really well straight off the primary.
 
I do use a secondary. I don’t use gelatin, nor do I cold crash. Well maybe I cold crash in the keg. I have 8 kegs in my keezer, but only 6 of them are tapped. The other 2 are on deck.
 
In your opening statement, I believe if you follow that process you will be over carbonated.
I've found that getting your beer perfect will take some time and experimenting. Variables in your system may require you to make some small adjustments.
Whether you gas from the top or bottom, the co2 still will take some time to get absorbed into solution.
In theory, a measured amount of gas will give you the right amount of carbonation and pressure, but, time is another factor.
You can follow any number of methods out there, but in the end your process will evolve into what works for you.
Good Luck and Merry Christmas!
Brian
 
Thanks for all the comments, i put the gas on the liquid line this afternoon and set both kegs at 25 psi. Will bleed it down and go back to 10-12 tomorrow.
The clarity of both are very clear, after fermentation i dropped the temp to about 34 and cold crashed in my fermenting vessel for several days. I haven't been brewing that long but it is definitely the clearest beer i've ever made.
Much thanks again to everyone, this website is such a good source of information. Hope I will be able to repay others with advice down the road as you guys have provided to me!
 
That's why we're all here man, also I am curious to see how it looks when it's done.
 
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