Over carbonated keg

[Brewer #450121]

I moved my beer into the corney keg 3 days ago. I set the psi to 40 to start and after 12 hrs dropped to 12psi I also turned off the gas at the same time. On day 3 I turned the gas on ( to pour a test) and the regulator shot up to the max and the beer was all foam. Why would the PSI be so high with the gas off and regulator set to 12? Any ideas??? Thanks

 

[Brew Cat]

Either your regulator is faulty or your beer is still fermenting is all I can think of assuming you released the 40 psi before reset to the 12

 

[Brew Cat]

The more I believe
My regulator reads tank pressure not keg pressure
Maybe your's is different

 

[J A]

If you have a check valve on you system, you're reading tank pressure, not keg pressure. If you didn't purge your tank when you reset the pressure, it still had 40 lb. Relieving the high pressure before you set for serving pressure is important.
In terms of force carbing, 40 lbs for 12 hours seems like a lot, but it's temperature dependent. When I've started with flat beer, I would pressure to between 30 and 40 and disconnect the gas, leave it overnight, repeat in the morning and one more time in the evening. That usually gave me about what I wanted and then I could connect the gas and set to serving pressure and let it even out.
To get rid of the extra CO2 in the beer, let it warm up and purge it a few times over a day or so and it'll settle down.

 

[Minbari]

Either your regulator is faulty or your beer is still fermenting is all I can think of assuming you released the 40 psi before reset to the 12

Good possibility. One of my regs needs to torn down and fixed. Set to 10 psi, but after 2 days it is 40psi. Usually a dirty reg seat or the piston is dirty and sticks

 

[Bigbre04]

if you get your gas back to normal and it is still way over carbed you can bleed pressure off the corny and shake it to break co2 out. let it settle and relieve pressure. put normal serving pressure on it and try it.

you need to give the beer an hour to settle before you try the sample. but after a few shakes you should be able to degas it enough to either serve or bring it back up to carb.

patience is key!

 

[Dave Y]

if you get your gas back to normal and it is still way over carbed you can bleed pressure off the corny and shake it to break co2 out. let it settle and relieve pressure. put normal serving pressure on it and try it.

you need to give the beer an hour to settle before you try the sample. but after a few shakes you should be able to degas it enough to either serve or bring it back up to carb.

patience is key!

Confirmed.

I had a seriously over carb'd lager 2 years ago and had to go through this. I did what any troubleshooting engineer worth their weight in malt would do.

searched on youtube for the answer Because everyone knows, if it's on the internet, it HAS to be true.
just like described, I shook the keg, bled off, repeat. After a few rounds, it was on the high side of normal and I could pour a glass without way too much foam.

Who knew?

 

[Bigbre04]

Confirmed.

I had a seriously over carb'd lager 2 years ago and had to go through this. I did what any troubleshooting engineer worth their weight in malt would do.

searched on youtube for the answer Because everyone knows, if it's on the internet, it HAS to be true.
just like described, I shook the keg, bled off, repeat. After a few rounds, it was on the high side of normal and I could pour a glass without way too much foam.

Who knew?

i knew? #beefin'

 

[Sandy Feet]

I'll go to 30 to set the seal and turn it off. I never tried 40. At 30, it will fall to about 12 PSI in 12 hours. Not sure about 40.

 

[Hawkbox]

It is fairly easy to accidentally over carb a keg when doing the fast carb method. Bleeding it a couple times almost always deals with it though.

 

[Minbari]

I'll go to 30 to set the seal and turn it off. I never tried 40. At 30, it will fall to about 12 PSI in 12 hours. Not sure about 40.

I speed carb almost every keg i do. 45-50psi for a day or two. Then turn down to serving pressure and vent it

 

[J A]

I speed carb almost every keg i do. 45-50psi for a day or two. Then turn down to serving pressure and vent it

Continuous pressure? I can see filling to that pressure and disconnecting to sit for a day or two but 50 PSI for 2 days would be a LOT!
Even when I top up to 30 or 40 overnight, I'll start tapering off to 20 and 15 for a couple of subsequent fills

 

[Bigbre04]

Continuous pressure? I can see filling to that pressure and disconnecting to sit for a day or two but 50 PSI for 2 days would be a LOT!
Even when I top up to 30 or 40 overnight, I'll start tapering off to 20 and 15 for a couple of subsequent fills

if you really want to speed carb, set it to 45 psi and shake the shit out the of the keg. drop pressure to serving, bleed off head pressure and taste. rinse repeat until carbed. can get a workout and a buzz at the same time.

 

[Brew Cat]

in my experience with force carbonating I still think the beer is better after a week or two. Sure its drinkable sooner but it gets better with a rest

 

[Bigbre04]

in my experience with force carbonating I still think the beer is better after a week or two. Sure its drinkable sooner but it gets better with a rest

it takes about 24 hours IMO for the carb to truely settle. But i use carb stones, so i am very different. takes me about 3 hours to carb a tank.

 

[Minbari]

Continuous pressure? I can see filling to that pressure and disconnecting to sit for a day or two but 50 PSI for 2 days would be a LOT!
Even when I top up to 30 or 40 overnight, I'll start tapering off to 20 and 15 for a couple of subsequent fills

Yup, continuous

With 5 gallons, comes out to about 2.3 vol co2.

 

[J A]

if you really want to speed carb, set it to 45 psi and shake the shit out the of the keg. drop pressure to serving, bleed off head pressure and taste. rinse repeat until carbed. can get a workout and a buzz at the same time.

Yeah, if I'm starting with still beer, like when I split into a carboy on occasion, I'll fill the keg, pump 40 psi into the out tube, shake the crap out of it for a few minutes and then get it cold and repeat if I'm in a hurry or just pump it up to 40 overnight. When I'm starting with a weak carb level in the unitank, like if I haven't capped soon enough but it's cold crashed, I'll give it a blast and shake for a couple minutes to boost the level. After that, it's just nursing along for a day or two to see if it needs a little extra or is ready for serving pressure.

 

[J A]

Yup, continuous

With 5 gallons, comes out to about 2.3 vol co2.

Man, I would check that regulator...that doesn't add up.

 

[Minbari]

Man, I would check that regulator...that doesn't add up.

Been doing it that way for years

 

[west1m]

if you really want to speed carb, set it to 45 psi and shake the shit out the of the keg. drop pressure to serving, bleed off head pressure and taste. rinse repeat until carbed. can get a workout and a buzz at the same time.