Carbonation musings

[hoppyscotty]

Since moving to kegging and forced carbonating from bottle conditioning I have noticed that the quality of carbonation is not quite as nice as bottle conditioned beer. Somehow the mouthfeel is different, force carbed beer being a bit harsher, and the carbonation doesn't seem to last as long in the glass. Not unpleasant in any way but just not as nice or smooth.

I'm sure there is a whole science behind this, but is this a common observation from people and what can I do to counter it...apart from going back to bottle conditioning which is not going to happen - I like my kegs and keggarator!

I guess I could condition in the keg, or would carbonation from pressure fermentation provide the same results? I have only pressure fermented a couple of times and have pressure fermented my last batch to see if it makes a difference and was kind of considering pressure fermenting everything going forward to save a bit of CO2.

My carbonation technique is to pressurise to 20psi, agitate the keg for 2 minutes, top up pressure and repeat then leave at carb pressure of 12 - 14psi in a fridge at around 5 degrees C for a week or so. I've recently tried a carb stone (one of those keg lids with the additional gas post connected to a carb stone) and that seems to be better.

It's not a recipe thing...I've noticed the difference with all my regular recipes.

Thanks.

 

[Bolsover Brewer]

Since moving to kegging and forced carbonating from bottle conditioning I have noticed that the quality of carbonation is not quite as nice as bottle conditioned beer. Somehow the mouthfeel is different, force carbed beer being a bit harsher, and the carbonation doesn't seem to last as long in the glass. Not unpleasant in any way but just not as nice or smooth.

I'm sure there is a whole science behind this, but is this a common observation from people and what can I do to counter it...apart from going back to bottle conditioning which is not going to happen - I like my kegs and keggarator!

I guess I could condition in the keg, or would carbonation from pressure fermentation provide the same results? I have only pressure fermented a couple of times and have pressure fermented my last batch to see if it makes a difference and was kind of considering pressure fermenting everything going forward to save a bit of CO2.

My carbonation technique is to pressurise to 20psi, agitate the keg for 2 minutes, top up pressure and repeat then leave at carb pressure of 12 - 14psi in a fridge at around 5 degrees C for a week or so. I've recently tried a carb stone (one of those keg lids with the additional gas post connected to a carb stone) and that seems to be better.

It's not a recipe thing...I've noticed the difference with all my regular recipes.

Thanks.

You aren't alone, it is mentioned a lot on forums, I will only force carbonate if I am in a hurry. Otherwise I prime with dissolved sugar, problem is CO2 will have to be introduced for the pour. That is one of the advantages of the bladder inside the keg. The beer conditions in the bladder and air is the source of pressure for the pour, pressuring the bladder enabling the beer to pour.
I think for an answer as to why, it would have to come from someone who has studied the reasons for the difference. Could be something to do with purity?

 

[hoppyscotty]

Thanks. At least I'm not missing an obvious trick then. Will be interesting to see if my current batch that is just finishing and was fermented and carbonated under pressure will be any different or better. Looking at the YouTube video before seems to suggest that pressure fermentation might deliver a better quality carbonation but we'll see.



I haven't watched the full video but there seems to be hints of a deeper science behind it.

No bother to batch prime a keg and condition in a keg and can always bottle from the keg with my cheap Ali Express counterflow bottle filler.

 

[Bolsover Brewer]

What Charlie Bamforth says I have read before volatile's are driven off in two ways the boil and the ferment, I haven't got a pressure vessel yet. When I do that is what my aim is, to carbonate the beer towards the very the end of fermentation by the application of some pressure.

 

[Dutto]

I always part carbonate (1g - 1.5g per litre) in the keg before cold crashing.

My theory is that the part carbonation keeps the brew under pressure during the cold crash and when sat in storage.

It takes a few seconds to depressure the air space to fit the tap, but the system prevents the harshness of forced carbonation.