Just bought a kegerator, hooked it up, and got a keg of Goose Island Honkers Ale to test it out. I'm having temperature issues, but I am adjusting the screw on the thermostat which is adjusting the temperature, but its just a matter of finding the right balance. I want the keg to be around 38 degrees. I have a cheap Danby kegerator so it may fluctuate a bit. Either way when I finally get this figured out, I want to be able to get my PSI right. Ive heard the standard is 12 PSI but it depends on style. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html I tried this calculator but it claims I need <.1 PSI which can't be right. Anyone know a ballpark PSI for an English Bitter?
Ignoring some temperature factors for simplicity, once you get down in the region of One Volume of CO2, you're at equilibrium with the atmosphere, so you don't need any additional pressure to keep the (net) CO2 in solution. But you do need to keep your keg sealed, so from a practical standpoint, I personally wouldn't use less than 2 psi, even though that will result in a slightly higher CO2 level than is indicated for the style. Remember...english bitters traditionally have/had such low CO2 levels because they are/were stored/served in casks, without any force carbonation and without CO2 pressure to serve.
