I did the "set and forget" method, now what?

Discussion in 'Home Bar' started by blacklabelbrewer, May 5, 2012.

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  1. blacklabelbrewer

    blacklabelbrewer Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2011 California

    I put a west coast red ale in my keg about 10+ days a go and let it sit at 20psi. I still haven't had funds to fix my kegerator build issues, so I threw in on ice to get it to serving temp. My question is was it a bad idea to disconnect the gas-in tube while chilling to serving temps? I'm going to put the gas line back on and put at 12 to 14psi while serving. I just threw it on ice so I can run up and throw the line back on (grilling dinner at the moment). Thank you all for your time, happy friday. Cheers!
     
    #1 blacklabelbrewer, May 5, 2012
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    That's not set and forget, unless you are planning to dispense at 20 PSI. Set and forget means you put the keg at serving temperature, set the PSI to carb to the desired volume of CO2 (at that temp), and use a beer line with a length and diameter that will balance against that serving pressure to result in a good pour.

    With set and forget, you carbonate while the beer is at serving temps. By disconnecting the gas line, you stopped the progress of the carbonation (if it wasn't done yet). Was the 10 days at 20 PSI at room temp? If so, you may have gotten in the ballpark of 2 volumes of CO2, but probably less after only 10 days.

    Sounds like you're talking about serving this today. If so, I'd set it at whatever pressure results in a good pour, given your line length, not knowing how much carbonation has actually happened.
     
    #2 VikeMan, May 5, 2012
  3. blacklabelbrewer

    blacklabelbrewer Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2011 California

    I got all of my "set and forget" instructions from my LHBS, so I'm not surprised to hear I was told something wrong. Thank you for clarifying everything for me I really appreciate the detailed explanations, they helped a lot.
     
    #3 blacklabelbrewer, May 7, 2012
  4. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I cringe every time I go into the closest LHBS. Regardless of the questions being asked by the customers, they invariably find a way to spew misinformation.

    There are good LHBSs out there. Unfortunately most of us don't have many to pick from.
     
    #4 VikeMan, May 7, 2012
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