Force Carbination

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Suffolkbrewer
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Force Carbination

Post by Suffolkbrewer » Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:02 pm

Evening All

Had a bit of a fail today on my first forced carbination. Here is what i have done so far

Crash chilled my beer down to 4 degrees prior to putting in the corny keg

Transferred into the corny keg and upped the pis up to 30 and opened the CO2 and rolled the keg on the floor for two mins. Plenty of noise within the keg as the beer absorbed the gas.

Turned the psi down to 15 and put the keg into the fridge to maintain around 10 degrees temp.

Went to pour a beer tonight and it was as flat as anything. Where have i gone wrong? Checked the corny key to ensure that is is holding pressure which it is, not quite sure where i've gone wrong.

Any help greatly appreciated

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Jim
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Jim » Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:23 pm

I've not tried the rolling the keg method myself, but it sounds like the CO2 either didn't dissolve in the first place, or came out of solution afterwards. I did think you had to repeat the topping up to 30 psi (or whatever) and rolling about several times though.

How long did you leave it at 10C and 15 psi?
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Suffolkbrewer
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Suffolkbrewer » Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:32 pm

Thanks Jim

It was sitting at 10C and 15 psi for a good few hours

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Secla » Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:51 am

The set and forget method take a lot longer than a few hours, probably more like a week !
If you sure theirs no leak from the keg you could try the rolling method for a bit longer just be careful not to overcarb

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by gregles » Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:47 am

Stick it on the gas for 24 hours at 30psi. Job done.

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Suffolkbrewer » Thu Nov 08, 2018 6:36 am

Thanks everyone

I've checked and no leaks and put it on at 30 psi last night. Will check when i get in later if uts carbonated.

Thanks

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by LeeH » Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:09 pm

One week at serving pressure is the better way IMO.

You get the correct carbonation and gives the beer time to settle and condition.
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Jim
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Jim » Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:16 pm

Suffolkbrewer wrote:
Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Thanks Jim

It was sitting at 10C and 15 psi for a good few hours
Yeah, as has already been said, that's not long enough to do it, assuming the rolling about wasn't effective.

From this link, you probably didn't shake it up for long enough. Plus you would need to re-pressurise at intervals as the CO2 is absorbed.

https://learn.kegerator.com/force-carbonating-beer/
Continue to shake the keg for 20-30 minutes then lower the pressure to 20 PSI and allow the keg to carbonate for 2-3 days. Check the carbonation levels and enjoy!
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orlando
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by orlando » Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:25 pm

LeeH wrote:
Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:09 pm
One week at serving pressure is the better way IMO.

You get the correct carbonation and gives the beer time to settle and condition.
I go for 30 psi. Check after 24 hours, 36, 48. Somewhere along that timescale it will be suitable for whatever style the Beer is. Your choice on the fizziness of course, but I like just enough to lend support to the head. The gentle approach also gives you a chance to get a clear Beer and one properly conditioned before serving. A pint in a hurry that isn't right is just plain disappointing. After all the effort to get it that far patience really is a virtue. Just make sure you brew enough Beer to always be in a position to drink the current one at the optimum moment, the rewards are many.
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by f00b4r » Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:59 pm

If you use high pressure for a number of hours to speed things up the temperature will make a big difference to how fast it gets to the volumes of CO2 that you require, I don't think those advocating this method have mentioned what temperature they use, although Ashley has said to check it through the carbing period.

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by orlando » Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:57 pm

f00b4r wrote:
Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:59 pm
If you use high pressure for a number of hours to speed things up the temperature will make a big difference to how fast it gets to the volumes of CO2 that you require, I don't think those advocating this method have mentioned what temperature they use, although Ashley has said to check it through the carbing period.
Good point. Mine is always at cellar temps (10-12c), colder would be quicker and vice versa.
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Re: Force Carbination

Post by james1988 » Thu Nov 08, 2018 7:29 pm

Ive managed to get a wheatbeer to acceptable levels of carbonation in 24 hours using a similar method. I blasted mine with 30psi and rolled and shook the keg for the best part of an hour. After that the keg went in the fridge with the reg set at 30PSI and was left until serving the next day.

When I wanted to serve the beer I vented the keg and set the gas back to 10PSI. I found the beer was adequately carbonated for something done in a hurry but as suggested above temperature plays a crucial roll in all of this.

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Re: Force Carbination

Post by Suffolkbrewer » Thu Nov 08, 2018 8:50 pm

An update.......

got in tonight and tested the beer, it is more carbonated than before, though not as i would like. I'm trying to carbonate a lager with a similar fizz to that you get in a pub.

Interestingly, i had it sitting in the fridge at 10 degrees and around 28psi with a corny keg connected. I think i may have gone wrong as the keg was connected to the tap on the out post. I assume this may have caused some of the CO2 to escape down the line?

I should know better, but after all the hard work, I'm keen to get going drinking it and only remember the drinking phase from brewing a couple of years ago.

So, to get that fizz you get from the pub, whats best here to do. Leave it at 30 psi for a little longer and disconnect the outpost for another 24 hours, then a quick pull of the PRV and set the pressure to around 10 psi? Whats the correct serving pressure for lager? It will go colder as i haven't turned the chiller on yet.

Thanks
SB

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Force Carbination

Post by LeeH » Fri Nov 09, 2018 1:01 am

10 degrees is a little warm for lager isn’t it?

5 decC at 12-15PSI will give you the level you want for a typical lager style. Just set it AND LEAVE IT ALONE FOR A WEEK or more.

Do not turn the gas off
Do not disconnect anything.

It’s not complicated, people make it complicated by dicking around.

Set and forget. Make your beer line length longer if you get a fast pour with too much foam. Shorter if it’s too slow.




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Re: Force Carbination

Post by LeeH » Fri Nov 09, 2018 1:11 am

http://jollygoodbeer.co.uk/2015/08/23/u ... in-the-uk/


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