Cheaply force-carbing 1-2 pints for sampling.

[richaworth]

What's the cheapest way to force carb a couple of pints so I can take a proper sample of a beer I'm otherwise bottle conditioning.

 

[SteveH]

Carbonation cap and an old soft-drinks bottle?

I've got a couple of the stainless ones and they work well for taking a couple of litres from a keg away from the house, I've not tried force-carbing in the bottle but don't see why it wouldn't work?

You can also get a T piece if you want to connect gas and a tap at the same time (or use gas to force cleaning fluid through lines etc)

 

[Thatscold]

Yes I've done it a few times, especially when I have filled a corny and have only a couple of pints left in the fermenter.

Use a Carbonation cap. Beer in a 1 1/2 litre coke bottle. 40 psi and a good shake. Works best if the beer is cold crashed to 0C. Leave it in the fridge to settle and drink happily a couple of hours later.

 

[richaworth]

Use a Carbonation cap. Beer in a 1 1/2 litre coke bottle. 40 psi and a good shake. Works best if the beer is cold crashed to 0C. Leave it in the fridge to settle and drink happily a couple of hours later.

Forgive the noob question, but what do I need to supply the 40psi? I have literally no experience with force carbing or CO2 systems, so detailed info is appreciated.

 

[chopps]

I expect responses to say ‘nooo, terrible idea’ but a Sodastream works if you really want a sneak preview of your finished masterpiece.

Don’t over fill the bottles, make sure the beer is cold and give it a burst for a second. It will foam up instantly. If beer squirts out of the gasket, you did it too long. Let it settle, still in the machine and under pressure for 5 mins. Then another second long burst. Usually 3 rounds is enough.

Then clean up the sticky machine so the kids don’t complain their fizzy vimto smells like dad’s shed.

 

[SteveH]

Forgive the noob question, but what do I need to supply the 40psi? I have literally no experience with force carbing or CO2 systems, so detailed info is appreciated.

The cheapest way to do it is with some sort of mini regulator and some Co2 bulbs - you'll also need a grey gas disconnect to fit onto the carbonation cap.

If you're force-carbing larger quantities this works out expensive though as you'll need multiple bulbs per batch - for that reason it's common to move to a large Co2 bottle and regulator if you end up force-carbing corny kegs etc.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

To be honest, if you don't already have the equipment to force carb, I'm not sure it is worth it for the sake of sampling a couple of pints. I'm not sure what would be gained as you can't really make any adjustments to the beer by the time you're ready to sample it.

 

[stubrewworx]

The cheapest way to do it is with some sort of mini regulator and some Co2 bulbs - you'll also need a grey gas disconnect to fit onto the carbonation cap.

I'm thinking of going down this route but with a sodastream co2. Just for 1 or 2 of the 6x 1.5l bottles I make, the rest will be primed with sugar.

This is just for turnover purposes, get a few faster in the glass so to speak.

Are the carbination caps one-way flow? I.e. after carbing can I leave the cap on or should I replace with original cap?

I'm thinking one bottle quick carbed, 40psi and shake. The 2nd set and rest @ ?

My alternative solution is a 9l corny, but I cannot carb/store in the fridge.

 

[richaworth]

To be honest, if you don't already have the equipment to force carb, I'm not sure it is worth it for the sake of sampling a couple of pints. I'm not sure what would be gained as you can't really make any adjustments to the beer by the time you're ready to sample it.

Impatience is the main driving factor, to be honest.

I'm currently shopping for a soda stream on gumtree, as that seems to be cheap enough (and my other half likes fizzy pop, so it's not like it won't get used).

 

[obscure]

I'm thinking of going down this route but with a sodastream co2. Just for 1 or 2 of the 6x 1.5l bottles I make, the rest will be primed with sugar.

This is just for turnover purposes, get a few faster in the glass so to speak.

Are the carbination caps one-way flow? I.e. after carbing can I leave the cap on or should I replace with original cap?

I'm thinking one bottle quick carbed, 40psi and shake. The 2nd set and rest @ ?

My alternative solution is a 9l corny, but I cannot carb/store in the fridge.

The problem here is that even carbonated very few beers taste decent fresh out the fermenter (Wheat beers tend to be good) but on the whole most beers I find benefit from a few weeks to condition.

 

[chopps]

£39 at Currys by the way
@obscure is right. Don‘t expect miracles, it’s a prototyping tool !