Force carbonation

[theQ]

What is the best way to force carbonate, I am going to do my very first brew very soon so I was wondering what the best way.

Should I push gas thru the liquid line will that carbonate it faster ?

Then that leads me to the other question is the gas quick disconnect interchangeable with the beer quick disconnect ?

 

[Demus]

The disconnects aren't really interchangeable, though you can force them on (I've done it by accident!). There's no benefit though. I just hook em up normally and turn up the pressure to 15 psi for a few days. If you are in a hurry you can slosh it back and forth as often as you can to help diffuse the Co2 and make sure it's cold, but it's mostly about the pressure. I find the few extra days needed by leaving it alone force me to let it age a little longer which is a good thing!

 

[Euphist]

Personally, I hook it up at 30 psi for a day and then crank it down to 10. Usually ready in 2 or 3 days.

 

[kombat]

What is the best way to force carbonate, I am going to do my very first brew very soon so I was wondering what the best way.

Make sure the beer is cold. Hook up the CO2 and set the pressure to around 12-15 psi (depending on the style). There's a chart mapping volumes with PSI, colour-coded by style if you really want to be exact.

Store it in the fridge, wait 2-3 weeks, it'll be carbed.

Or if you're in a hurry, lay the keg on its side and roll it back and forth with your foot while you watch TV for 20-30 minutes or so.

Should I push gas thru the liquid line will that carbonate it faster ?

I suppose you could, but you'd need to rig up a special line connecting your CO2 tank to a liquid QD instead of the usual gas QD.

Then that leads me to the other question is the gas quick disconnect interchangeable with the beer quick disconnect ?

NO! As others mentioned, they will go on if you force it, but they're a nightmare to remove again. The one time I made that mistake, my fingertips went numb trying to pry the QD off the wrong post. I had to use a rubber mallet and almost cracked the QD. DO NOT mix them up.

 

[cbrown9064]

I'm pretty new to brewing, but +1 on setting it to 10–12 psi and waiting a week or two. I have done the higher psi and then lower, which works also, but the beer always seems better after a couple weeks under 10-12 psi.

 

[theQ]

I am not going to disagree with anyone here since I am also very new

I think, after reading lots and lots of posts and articles that the force carbonation needs to be done in accordance with the type of beer and temperature.

Here's a nice chart that I think that's very useful

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Time wise I don't know how long one needs to carbonate the beer. some say 24 hrs. I will force carbonate at the given pressure as long as I can stay away from the beer since this is my very first one.

 

[b-boy]

Like everything else in brewing, you're better off waiting. Shortcuts work sometimes, but when they don't they're a pain to fix. You can't screw it up if you hook up to serving pressure and wait.

 

[diS]

Agree.
I am happy with "set and forget" except for some dry hopped light beers which I want on tap in short time. But even then they are on a week schedule.

 

[glugglug]

The connections on the keg are not really referred to as quick disconnects. When I think of a quick disconnect it is an in line connection done on the tubing. I think the first responder was thinking the same thing. Those fittings can be interchanged if they are the same size and type.

The ball lock and pin lock fittings are not interchangeable, and as mentioned, are a pain to get off. The colored o rings on the posts are a useful quick visual aid. I have put the wrong ball lock fitting on the wrong post, very hard to get off. I remember getting pretty pissed.

 

[wailingguitar]

I highly recommend getting a CO2 stone and hooking it to the gas in on the keg. Will cost you about $17 for the stone and a piece of tubing. You can carb cold beer at dispensing pressure in a couple days without screwing around with jacking the pressure up and down, rolling/shaking, etc.

 

[oakbarn]

You can interchange the grey or black keg connectors if you use the kind that are threaded. This is a link to them at one supplier:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/threaded-keg-fittings.html

Be advised that you need to be careful as they can leak, so you need to check them regularly with soapy water.

We have a regulator set up this way so we can "force carbonate" from the bottom.

The best way to fast force carbonate is:
1. Have the keg cold.
2. Pump up to desired psi and disconnect connector.
3. Shake or roll until Co2 is in solution.
4. Repeat until desired pressue is in solution. (No More Co2 will go in at that pressure).

The best way to slow force carbonate is:

1. Have the keg cold.
2. Pump up to desired psi and leave connected.

The first method is quicker and you can start with a higher PSI to get to the end quicker, but if you have any parcipitate (ColdBreak, Protiens, Dead Yeast), which you will unless you just fitlered, It will also go back in solution and be very cloudy. We normally let it set for a few hours after a fast carbonation. But as we have little patience when we have a great brew waiting and not carbonated because we did not properly plan, we will throw caution to the wind and force carbonate and drink!

 

[cbrown9064]

I am not going to disagree with anyone here since I am also very new

I think, after reading lots and lots of posts and articles that the force carbonation needs to be done in accordance with the type of beer and temperature.

Here's a nice chart that I think that's very useful

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Time wise I don't know how long one needs to carbonate the beer. some say 24 hrs. I will force carbonate at the given pressure as long as I can stay away from the beer since this is my very first one.

From my experience, not quite...

Commercial beer is kegged with a certian Volumes of CO2 (VV). To properly dispense the commerical beer, you need to know what VV it was kegged at. For instance A-B is usually 2.6 VV (used to be higher). Then you use that chart you found to determine what PSI to run depending on the tempature. That is called a "balanced" setup. It is balanced when you are applying the same volumes of CO2 as the brewer intended and was kegged at.

Since we get to determine what VV we want in our beer the chart does not apply for intial carbonation. For instance, if you set your kegerator to keep the beer (not the air) at 39 degrees and you put 12 PSI on it, you will be carbing your beer at 2.52 volumes of CO2.

However, this information is not really relevant unless you; 1-change temp or PSI, or 2-move the keg to another kegerator.

Usually (preface usually) excessive foaming is caused by incorrect balancing the keg.

Once I figured this out on commercial kegs, the beer dispenses much better.

Also, when taking the temp of the beer, use the 2nd glass out of the tap. Not the air temp of the inside of the cooler or the temp of a glass of water. For whatever reason (not known to me, nor am I that interested in finding out), the temp of the beer in the keg may not be the same as the temp of water in a glass. So, draw two glasses of beer and measure the temp in the 2nd glass to find your beer temp.

Chris

 

[HootervilleHops]

I usually check the temp of the third or fourth glass. but that is just me.
After that it gets harder to read the thermometer.

 

[cbrown9064]

I usually check the temp of the third or fourth glass. but that is just me.
After that it gets harder to read the thermometer.

That cracked me up!!!