Co2 Pressure after carbonation

[Mka]

Hello! I have 6 gallons of Belgian Pale ale ready to go into my kegerator for a week.

Doing the calculations from brewers friend Keg carbonation calculator, Belgian ale 2.4 at 36 F = 9.2 Psi (Please advise if I'm incorrect).

After is carbonated, at what pressure would you serve this style of beer or any beer style you have brewed, 20 psi, 30 psi ?

And do you care if the Co2 tank is inside the fridge with the keg (mine is homemade and it sits inside, I'm planning to customize it to be outside).

Cheers!

M

 

[Steve SPF]

Running CO2 at 30psi will be trouble. Usual serving pressure is 10-12psi so if you've carbed the beer at 10psi or so then just try it at that and see how you go.

CO2 tanks inside fridges seem fine, it's quite common. Don't know how you would go at freezing temps though.

 

[Mka]

Running CO2 at 30psi will be trouble. Usual serving pressure is 10-12psi so if you've carbed the beer at 10psi or so then just try it at that and see how you go.

CO2 tanks inside fridges seem fine, it's quite common. Don't know how you would go at freezing temps though.

Thanks Steve. It will stay steady at 36 F.

 

[Donoroto]

CO2 in the fridge (or freezer) is fine, but the pressure regulator, not so much. Condensation moisture that forms on/in the regulator will eventually damage it, so either keep it in the fridge all the time or (preferably) locate it outside as you have planned.

I serve from a keg at about 6-8 PSI, so 9-10 is probably OK. If it foams excessively, lower the pressure.

At 10 PSI it may take days to carbonate. I usually cool the keg, pressurize to 30-40 PSI, shake/rock the keg several times, wait 12-24 hours, then turn it down to the right value.

If serving pressure is lower than carbonation pressure, then increase pressure again when you are done serving (say, at the end of the day) or the beer will go a little flat.

 

[Nosybear]

Hello! I have 6 gallons of Belgian Pale ale ready to go into my kegerator for a week.

Doing the calculations from brewers friend Keg carbonation calculator, Belgian ale 2.4 at 36 F = 9.2 Psi (Please advise if I'm incorrect).

After is carbonated, at what pressure would you serve this style of beer or any beer style you have brewed, 20 psi, 30 psi ?

And do you care if the Co2 tank is inside the fridge with the keg (mine is homemade and it sits inside, I'm planning to customize it to be outside).

Cheers!

M

Not to give a "read a book, lepton!" answer, but there are plenty of carbonation tables out there on the Internet. The pressure will depend on your elevation, serving temperature and the volumes of CO2 you want in the finished beer. I suppose there's very little elevation correction to be applied in Bethesda so snag yourself a carbonation table, take the temperature of your holding area (it's a variable due to solubility of CO2 in beer) and set your regulator to the pressure the table tells you. Easy peasy! Even easier than the calculator - I find the vols CO2 I want and read across to the serving temperature.

Or, as you did, use the Keg Carbonation Calculator. You can trust the results. I usually run mine around 12 PSI, 6,000' elevation, serving temp around 34 degrees F. Setting the CO2 tank inside the refrigerator will result in your tank pressure showing low (I bet you never thought you'd actually need those gas laws you studied in high school) but will not affect either the amount of CO2 you have or the serving pressure.

 

[BOB357]

I've always served at the same pressure as standard carbonation to maintain equilibrium. Serving at a lower pressure will lower the carbonation level over time.

 

[Donoroto]

I've always served at the same pressure as standard carbonation to maintain equilibrium. Serving at a lower pressure will lower the carbonation level over time.

Yes, the beer will go flat. What to do when carbonation is 16 psi and serving is 8?

 

[thunderwagn]

I've always served at the same pressure as standard carbonation to maintain equilibrium. Serving at a lower pressure will lower the carbonation level over time.

Yep.Yep. I do the same. I ferment under pressure at about 14psi and that's what I keep my serving pressure at as well. For my elevation, hose lengths, etc. this works perfect for me.

 

[BOB357]

Yes, the beer will go flat. What to do when carbonation is 16 psi and serving is 8?

Either have lines long enough to balance at 16 psi or use a flow control faucet. A lot less hassle to just keep the keg at a constant pressure.