Kegs ARE the way forward

[Tim1975]

So after having bottled 3 lots of brew so far and it becoming tedious I invested in 2 Corny's and last night (after a duff regulator was replaced) I got to Keg up 2 batches, one Lager and one heavily hopped IPA. It is soooooo much easier, the only thing I am struggling with it PSI so some help would be great.

I saw a couple of Youtube vids that suggested cranking it up to 35 psi and rocking the kegs for 10 minutes which I have done, I have disconnected the gas and thrown them in the fridge. When I come to serve tonight should I crank back up to 30 psi and rock again and then let some pressure out to say 10psi for serving? What would you suggest?

 

[Dads_Ale]

Good news on the regulator front :)

I don't use the rolling technique as I don't need to carb it up that quickly and don't really want beer going into the gas in tube.

What I do is gas it up to about 30psi (in fridge at 6c) then disconnect the gas. As the gas absorbs the pressure will drop (quite quickly at first as the head space is small). I check the pressure an re-gas a couple of times a day until the pressure reaches equilibrium with the required carbing level. I like my beers fizzy so that is about 20 psi. Usually takes 2-3 days depending how often I re-gas.

For serving the pressure required will depend on your system and length of beer line and amount of carb. With a full keg the pressure will drop quickly. I find I can use between 10 ad 20 psi without too much frothing, but tend to keep it at about 15psi.

I like to disconnect the gas when not in use to prevent losing a bottle due to a small leak.

 

[strange-steve]

Another method, the simplest but slowest method, is to use a calculator (like this) to determine the required pressure for your desired carbonation level then just set the reg and wait. This'll take about a week to reach proper carbonation but it means no messing about with shaking, purging or changing the reg setting.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've seen the rocking technique on YouTube (30 psi for 2 minutes, making sure the gas in post is at the bottom i.e. below the level of the beer in the keg). I am considering it for my next brew.
I tried putting a black disconnect onto the gas line and connecting to the beer out post so that the gas bubbles through the beer from the bottom. It does work, but I got beer in the gas line - no problem, just needs disconnecting for a flush through to clean it.
I'm serving at 12 psi - I used a beer line length calculator to work it out.
I like the look of Dads_Ale's technique.

 

[Bigcol49]

I like to disconnect the gas when not in use to prevent losing a bottle due to a small leak.

Hi!
If you didn't have the worry over the leak, would you leave the keg under pressure to carbonate the beer, or would you still recommend disconnecting and reconnecting it regularly?

 

[dweb]

My technique-maybe not correct but I`m happy with the results so far(apart from a bit frothy)
Once it`s been racked,I purge the O2 with a few blast of gas,then stick it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Then I crank up the pressure to around 30psi and rock it on the floor with the gas in post nearest the ground for around 10 minutes,then back in the fridge for 24 hours.
I usually start drinking it then,so 48 hours after racking.
I knock the gas off completely between sessions to prevent loss from gas line leaks.

 

[Tim1975]

Ok, so they have been in the fridge under 30 psi for 2 days and I thought I would stick a tap on the Corny, all I'm getting is a large head and the beer underneath is flat. Reduced PSI to almost nothing to serve and it is still flat, what the hell am I doing wrong? All I do know is that:

a) it has only been 2 days, am I being impatient
b) they are both the same and are different beers so I have cocked something up

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi Tim,
If you don't use the rocking technique, I think a couple of days is not enough. I leave mine for a week, more or less.
Have you read about balancing your beer line length to avoid excessive foaming?
Colin

 

[Dads_Ale]

What type of tap are you using?
Sounds like the pressure at the tap is too high causing the CO2 to come out of solution. Probably needs some 3/16 beer line to drop the pressure at the tap.

 

[Tim1975]

Ah, I did just stick the below on the keg an pour, thinking about it I have seen quite a few people talking about beer line length and mine is zero:



How do I convert that into something with beerline and what equipment do I need to do it?

 

[zippy40]

Either you have not left it long enough or you have too quick a pressure drop leading to 'fobbing' or foaming out.
1. leave it to slowly carb over several days
2. Either get an flow control tap, inline flow restrictor or a good length of micro line from keg to tap to slowly reduce the pressure and so prevent your foam out.

 

[zippy40]

Ah, I did just stick the below on the keg an pour, thinking about it I have seen quite a few people talking about beer line length and mine is zero:



How do I convert that into something with beerline and what equipment do I need to do it?

If you are happy that its carbed up alright in the keg then I would suggest reducing the pressure to near nothing and then it might be enough to stop fobbing

 

[Dads_Ale]

I have one of those taps and it still froths up at very low pressure. They are handy when cleaning though
I find the party tap with a few feet of 3/16 beer line work well. Some suppliers sell the with the 3/16 line fitted already

 

[Steved53]

I've also got one of those taps, which I didn't really use for a long time, as I had foaming problems and so bought a flow control tap.

Recently I had two kegs on the go, and changing the tap from one to the other was becoming a chore, so I set up the spare. I probably gassed the beer up to a couple of bar initially, for maybe a week. Afterwards, I was setting it at just under a bar, and only gassing it up when the flow started reducing. It has been pouring beautifully - much faster than the flow control - with no frothing up.

So, at a guess, I would suggest you are not raising the pressure sufficiently at the outset, and you are not leaving it long enough, in order to stabilise. Once it is stable (and that includes the temperature) the beer will stay well carbonated even when the pour slows down to almost nothing - due to lack of co2 pressure above the beer. You obviously cannot leave it in that condition, as the co2 will start to come out of solution and it will start to go flat.

If you bring it into a warmer environment after it has stabilised at a lower temperature, then all bets are off!

 

[Tim1975]

I've also got one of those taps, which I didn't really use for a long time, as I had foaming problems and so bought a flow control tap.

Recently I had two kegs on the go, and changing the tap from one to the other was becoming a chore, so I set up the spare. I probably gassed the beer up to a couple of bar initially, for maybe a week. Afterwards, I was setting it at just under a bar, and only gassing it up when the flow started reducing. It has been pouring beautifully - much faster than the flow control - with no frothing up.

So, at a guess, I would suggest you are not raising the pressure sufficiently at the outset, and you are not leaving it long enough, in order to stabilise. Once it is stable (and that includes the temperature) the beer will stay well carbonated even when the pour slows down to almost nothing - due to lack of co2 pressure above the beer. You obviously cannot leave it in that condition, as the co2 will start to come out of solution and it will start to go flat.

If you bring it into a warmer environment after it has stabilised at a lower temperature, then all bets are off!

Thanks for this, I have just placed an order for a flow control tap and now have some beer line and will work out placement of the new tap when it arrives. I have left it longer and it is starting to carb up but it is still very frothy.....