force carb help

From your description, it is difficult to say where it will end up. If given the amount of headspace and time and temperature the gas was applied, a skilled fluid dynamicist could probably give an answer, but unlikely someone like that is lurking here.

If you have a spare pressure gauge you can attach to your gas post and measure your pressure. If not, a taste/eyeball test is about all you have left. The good news is that given time, it will equalize to your final desired carb level.

 

I have a major concern about hooking up the gas with the keg upside down. You likely got beer in the gas line, which is definitely not a good thing unless you routinely clean and sanitize your gas lines (not generally done). And, FWIW, it probably didn't buy you anything. That said, Sunday evening is not out of the question.

 

The "shake carb" method as I understand it is more along the lines of:

Hook chilled beer up to the gas and crank it to 30 psi (40 psi if the beer is room temp)
lay the keg on its side on the ground or on a counter top
roll it back and forth vigorously for 2 - 4 minutes while feeding gas into it (depending on desired carb level)
stand the keg up and disconnect the gas
let it settle for 15+ minutes (so it doesn't shoot foam when you pull the release valve next)
purge the gas until the keg is down to roughly the psi you want it at (8-14psi usually, depending on the beer)
keep it in the refrigerator and start serving when you want it (usually waiting 24 hours or so)

NOTE: I use the method above sometimes and still feel that, after following that procedure, the beer still benefits from hooking it back up to the gas and leaving it on the gas at your desired psi for 7 days.

 

Depending on how high you filled your keg, you could get beer in your gas line because the pressure in the keg is higher than the pressure in the line after you turned your pressure down.

 

That's quite the elaborate force carb procedure. I thought kegging was supposed to be easy!!

I used to set my keg up at 20-25 psi in a 36f fridge for 2 days and then back my psi down to the appropriate level. It got the beer a good amount of carbonation fast but I never could quite tell if I was over or under. Anymore I just set it to the proper psi given temp and volume and let it sit in my 36f fridge. The beer is usually 90% carbed in 4 days, 100% carbed in 7 days, and in 14 days its rounded out and drinking the best.

I should also note the main reason I stopped the fast carb method was I noticed a harsh carbonic bite to my beers when done that way and it took them a long time to round out that carbonic taste/feel.

 

you should purge before you shake the keg. otherwise you are shaking the oxygen and CO2 into liquid. it is better to apply some gas and burp the keg a few times. then you blast the keg with high pressure and shake.

otherwise, the force carb method is not at all perfect. it will get you within a range fairly quick, but unless you have messed around with your system for a long time it is unlikely you will hit your target. too many variables.

you'll be fine if not perfect for Sunday. check it out in the morning sat and sunday. bump the pressure a bit if needed or relieve pressure. keep it cold. personally, I am more concerned that your brew is still green. a week or weeks of cold conditioning works wonders for most all beers.

Cheers.

 

Agreed. I left that step out assuming it was a given, but probably shouldn't have. Also important to do those initial burps at a low psi (I use 2-3psi myself) so that you aren't forcing any air in that head space straight into the beer.