Force carbonating a porter. HELP!

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by CaptainQuint, Apr 2, 2015.

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  1. CaptainQuint

    CaptainQuint Initiate (0) Apr 23, 2014 Massachusetts

    So I have my temp at about 37 degrees F, and I connected my CO2 and pressurized it at 30psi for 24 hours and then realized that that may have been too much, so I shut off the gas, bled the head space, set the pressure to 2psi and turned the gas back on. I have NOT poured any yet but want to know if what I've done is okay or not.

    Should I bump the pressure up or what?
     
    #1 CaptainQuint, Apr 2, 2015
  2. CaptainQuint

    CaptainQuint Initiate (0) Apr 23, 2014 Massachusetts

    p.s- I should also mention again that this is a porter
     
    #2 CaptainQuint, Apr 2, 2015
  3. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    I typically boost carb for 36 hrs @ 40psi. Then take it off gas, purge, reinstall gas @ 11-12psi serving pressure (for my porters).
     
    #3 JohnSnowNW, Apr 2, 2015
  4. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,915) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    When I force carb Ill set it at 30ish PSI for 1.5 to 2 days, then set it to my serving pressure which is around 11-12 psi for the remainder of the time. I think you should be okay. Worst case scenario you can just keep bleeding off the headspace for a few days until some carbonation is lost and you are in a good place. Based on my experience though, you wont have an issue.
     
    #4 OddNotion, Apr 2, 2015
  5. epic1856

    epic1856 Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2006 California

    It's not too much, you're fine. Set it at your serving psi and start drinking it.
     
    #5 epic1856, Apr 2, 2015
  6. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    who can tell? high pressure force carbing is a crap shoot.
    i (and most others around here) generally advise against high pressure force carbing until you have figured out how to do it the slow and traditional method. nobody is going to know the carbonation levels of this beer without pouring it.

    for now you will need to pour a beer and see if you got it right. anyones guess. if the beer is undrcarbed, set your regulator to 10 or 12 psi and wait a few more days. if it is over carbed, disconnect the gas. shake the keg. release gas. do this a few times every hour for a day. then connect at 10 or 12 psi for a few days.
    Cheers.
     
    #6 billandsuz, Apr 2, 2015
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  7. bathtubbrewer

    bathtubbrewer Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2015 New Hampshire

    Force carb= patience... 24 hours is not enough even at 30 psi. Drop it to 10 and buy a case of stone to help you wait another few days. :wink:
     
    #7 bathtubbrewer, Apr 2, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2015
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  8. CaptainQuint

    CaptainQuint Initiate (0) Apr 23, 2014 Massachusetts

    Thanks everyone! I just wanted to make sure the 30psi for 24 hours wasn't going to result in over carbonation. I have turned the CO2 up to 30psi (up from 2psi when I panicked haha). I'm going to keep it at the 30psi for another 24 hours and pour and see what I get.

    Hopefully it'll be good, it's a peanut butter porter with some coca nibs thrown in secondary for about 4-5 days :slight_smile:
     
    #8 CaptainQuint, Apr 2, 2015
  9. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    You may have set a record (statisticians are checking). Your carb level is currently at a level that TLOK. My guess is your porter is what, 2 - 3 weeks old . . . and you want to start drinking it tomorrow? Your safest course of action is to buy a six-pack of Hill Farmstead Porter, or Founders, or Funky Budda and drink one a day while your precious beer is carbing at a constant pressure. Your porter is almost guaranteed to get better with time, and time is the solution for hitting the proper carb level . . . you see the easy connection here? If you don't know the proper temp/press/carb-level settings there are multiple threads in the Home Bar Forum that address this (search "HELP").
     
    #9 PortLargo, Apr 2, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2015
  10. CaptainQuint

    CaptainQuint Initiate (0) Apr 23, 2014 Massachusetts


    Thanks, I'll check that out! And my porter is pushing 4 weeks old, no rush to drink really. I've just always force carbonated at 30psi, but never done a porter before (my previous porter was bottled and suffered a tremendous over carbonation issue that resulted in the beer being undrinkable - hence my concern here). Mostly I've just force carbonated a bunch of IPA's...all of which came out very nice.
     
    #10 CaptainQuint, Apr 3, 2015
  11. bathtubbrewer

    bathtubbrewer Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2015 New Hampshire

    Once you get the carbonation right, if you can be patient and not pound it down... in another month+ it will be perfect.
    A porter is like a fine wine...
     
    #11 bathtubbrewer, Apr 3, 2015
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