Carbing Corny Kegs

[Braindead]

Ive carbed heaps of cornies but never been entirely happy with the results, tends to get a lil overcharged and frothy. I usually do the 15 minute roll and force carb at 30 psi.

I thought id have a bash at a different way, Im trying at 13 psi but attaching it to the Beer out post. Just thought it may carb a lil better if its passing from the bottom.

Question is though should I hear the CO2 passing into the keg as I can't unless I crank it a little.

 

[Drunkula]

If you shake it you'll hear it bubble again. I've got a petainer and force carb through the spear and you can actually watch it happening.

 

[Braindead]

See thats what Im thinking, will co2 still be going into solution even though I cant hear it, Like you say, if I shake I can hear

 

[Drunkula]

Yeah, it'll still go in. If you're doing the "set and forget" method rather than shake there's no real reason to carbonate through the dip tube but it won't hurt. Well, not unless you run out of gas and it backs up into the regulator.

 

[Braindead]

Cheers Drunkula, Just be curious to see how It turns out. When I tend to do the force carb I tend to get a great head but the carb not on point.

 

[braziliain]

I roll back and forth for 4 mins at 30psi and that gives me plenty of carb. I roll it with the gas post at the bottom, so that it is in the beer.

I think I saw that on a YouTube video by Gashslug originally

 

[Ghillie]

I burst carb all my beers at 50PSI for 24 hours but i'm going to stop because it's pretty pointless...

I like clear beer, so time in the keg is essential. 1-2 weeks is optimal for clarity, so burst carbing is a waste of time when clarity is concerned.

Another issue is my beers (when burst carbed) seem to lack any decent carbonic "bite" until about 4 days later. Again, I could have set and forgot in that instance. Burst carbing is now strictly reserved for emergencies. The "I need a keg in a couple of days time" emergencies.

I read about the beer post gas in trick the other day. But apparently you have to vent the keg for this to work? Doesn't make sense to me but this is what they were saying:

Another technique used to cut down on carbonation time is to inject the carbon dioxide into the beer from the bottom of the keg. This method increases the gas surface area and also increases the time of gas exposure to the beer as the bubbles rise. Some brewers simply inject gas through the dip tube on the keg and slowly bleed gas from the headspace of the keg.

Bleeding off the pressure is important to keep the gas flowing through the beer. The idea is to bleed the headspace so slowly that the headspace agrees with your target equilibrium pressure and the beer does not foam from the top of the keg. This can be accomplished by barely unscrewing the pressure relief valve on the top of most Cornelius kegs. Kegs without the screw-in pressure relief can be manually bled.

https://byo.com/article/3-ways-to-carbonate-your-keg-techniques/

 

[Braindead]

Very interesting thx.
Only problem with venting the keg is I loose precious Aroma from the NEIPA.


This is just an expensive trail but who knows may work

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @Braindead
You won't hear the CO2 bubbling through the beer. Set at 13 psi, the keg will soon reach equilibrium, and as the beer absorbs the CO2 slowly, the regulator will only bleed gas into the keg slowly; hence, you won't hear it.
I assume that you've balanced your lines correctly.

 

[Braindead]

Howdy Bigcol49
Yeah all balanced hopefully.
How long do you think it would take at 13 psi and roughly 1-3 degrees outside.
Im poor so no brew fridge

 

[Drunkula]

How long do you think it would take at 13 psi and roughly 1-3 degrees outside.

Are you planning on dropping the pressure down after a few days - at that temperature that's almost 3 volumes of co2.

 

[Braindead]

Well the temp at the moment is 5 degrees but its dropping to 1-3 tomorrow.
So yeah it could be wise to drop a little.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @Braindead
https://ukcbn.co.uk/force-carbonation-chart-psi-and-degrees-celcius/

 

[Drunkula]

Hi @Braindead
https://ukcbn.co.uk/force-carbonation-chart-psi-and-degrees-celcius/

I was just looking for that chart in C. If I ever meet that Fahrenheit guy I'm going to kick him in the sprouts.

 

[Sadfield]

http://ale.gd/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/JollyGoodBeer_PSI_Chart_for_CO2.png

Here's a prettier one.

 

[BeerCat]

I set mine to 60psi and check after about 18 hours. Normally carbed up by then i set it back to 20 which i use for serving.
And don't forget to disconnect the tap while your doing this. You also might need to vent the keg a little.

 

[Ghillie]

I set mine to 60psi and check after about 18 hours. Normally carbed up by then i set it back to 20 which i use for serving.
And don't forget to disconnect the tap while your doing this. You also might need to vent the keg a little.

A little!? I would make a right mess if I connected any lines at that pressure. Disclaimer, don't have non-return valves in my gas lines - I really need to get some...

 

[BeerCat]

A little!? I would make a right mess if I connected any lines at that pressure. Disclaimer, I have no check valves in my gas lines - I really need to get some...

Lol, you have reminded me when i started kegging i had beer squirt in my face, all over the ceiling and out the door. I had conveniently forgotten about that. Now searching for check valves. Cheers :)

 

[Ghillie]

Lol, you have reminded me when i started kegging i had beer squirt in my face, all over the ceiling and out the door. I had conveniently forgotten about that. Now searching for check valves. Cheers :)

Haha, everyone has done it. The last time it happened with me I was burst carbing my keg which I'd overfilled with beer (didn't notice because of the starsan foam).

When I reduced the pressure, I forgot to vent... The beer went right up the gas line and shot out the tiny relief port in my regulator. Of course the regulator was pointing directly at me, at head height. Ffs...

MM have a couple of non returns that look good. Not sure what I'd prefer, the inline JG ones or the QD ones. There really isn't much room between my QD's and the top of the fridge, so the JG valves may work out better...

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/disconnect-check-valve/

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/john-guest-38-single-check-valve/

 

[Honk]

Those check valves look good.
Maybe it's because I don't like my beer too carbonated but I'm quite happy giving an initial burst at 30 psi whilst rolling the keg for a few minutes, then after that I might do again the next day or so without the rolling, then top up the gas as and when I feel it needs it.
Never leave the gas line connected and the one gas disconnect serves all my kegs. Only exception would be if drawing off several pints when I want to keep it flowing well.