New to forced carbonation

Depends on your budget, really. What are you looking to spend, including the freezer/fridge?

 

I personally do not like to force carbonate as the beer isn't matured in 1 or 2 days after kegging. It is still easy enought to set your psi at serving pressure, (10-12) and leave it for a week. That seems to be the set and forget method.

You can read into this thread http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/trouble-force-carbonating.322562/#post-3957734 since there was a recent post about this.

 

All force carbonating means is you're adding CO2 directly from a tank. Force carbonating doesn't have anything to do with time. That being said, you can force carb fast or slow. The slow method is also referred to as the "set it and forget it" method. You'll set your regulator to serving PSI, 10-12 usually, and do nothing else. I prefer this method. Within 1.5-2 wks, the beer is ready to go. It doesn't save a lot of time (short of the act of bottling) from brew day to drinking compared to bottling. Fast force carb'ing is probably the method you're alluding to. There are various strategies, but basically you'll set your regular to a higher PSI, like 25-30, and shake/roll the keg around to increase surface area to the exposed CO2. You'll get the beer carb'ed quickly, but then you'll have to set to serving pressure and usually vent the keg for awhile too. Plus, IMO the beer benefits from some additional time in the keg before serving.

 

I'd recommend a dual regulator to anyone who can afford the extra $40. The second regulator can be used as a work line to pressurize kegs or purge air out of fermenters. Otherwise, the second regulator can help you serve a different carbonation level of beer.

 

Force carb for IPAs only. Set at 30 psi let sit for 3 days, release the pressure to 10 psi and test.

If you're in a major hurry and do the rock and shake method watch out for the beer blowing back into the gas line. I believe there is back up or check valve to prevent that. First and only time I tried to carb my beer overnight undid the rock and shake method and beer got blown back into the gas line, it's a pain to clean.

 

I set my psi at 30 when I first add CO2 to a cold keg but no shaking as it's already in my keezer. First thing it does is sets the seal & leaks around the top are easily detected. I let it sit a day & then dial the regulator back to @ 10psi. Usually drinking beer a few days after that.

 

Here's an additional question. My understanding is that a greater surface area of beer being exposed to CO2 leads to faster changes in carbonation level, right? But if you overfill your keg, to the point where the dip-tube on the gas side is submerged, then you'll end up with a super tiny surface area and (presumably) a really long time for proper carbonation to occur. Is this true? And in that case, should you always keep the beer level in the keg below the height of the gas tube?

 

From my understanding is if the beer level is too high and the gas line is submerged the beer blows into the gas line. If the beer gets into the regulator that's bad news.

 

All true.

 

No. The gas will bubble through the beer at the dip tube and rise to fill and pressurize the head space. You'll have exactly the same surface area as if the keg was nearly empty.

 

But the gas pressure is now fighting the liquid column pressure of the beer in order to bubble into it. I haven't investigated the math involved, but I can say that I have had a couple of overfilled kegs that took a long time to carbonate.

ETA: Another thought...if the beer is high enough to cover the dip tube, is it also in the area above where the keg narrows, thus reducing the surface area?

 

1. Cool the keg in the fridge overnight. Cold beer gets saturated better/easier.
2. Pick you method.
A) *Low and slow= set at desired serving pressure (usually 6-12psi if tank is stored cold) for 2 weeks, then serve.
B) Quick carb the Lingenbrau way!= If you have quick connects, Hook up to the BEER OUT and set the pressure to 30psi. Keep the keg upright and rock for about 5 minutes, then put it in the fridge and let it sit there for about 6-8 hours. Remove the quick connect. 24 hours later, relieve pressure (shouldn't be much. mostly absorbed). Connect GAS IN connect, and set to serving pressure and enjoy.

(* recommended)
I know some of you will be cringing at this, but I've always been successful this way. Good luck! Cheers!

 

Low and slow is the way to go, especially ipa, I avoid purging as much as possible

 

It's a fraction of an inch. Inconsequential in this context. Virtually all of the pressurized gas is in the headspace.

I should, likewise, qualify my comments by saying that I don't have a background in fluid dynamics, or whatever field this is.

That's something to consider.

 

You want your beer to pour 40 degrees F. To accurately check the temperature of it, pour some into a glass and then transfer it to another glass and check the temperature with an accurate thermometer.

 

All interesting points. Anecdotally, the last time I filled my keg, I filled it to overflowing and it took a long time for the carbonation to reach proper levels (using set-and-forget). I think the bit about the keg narrowing at the top is important, even if the gas can bubble up through the dip tube. Next time I fill, I'll try to leave a bit more room at the top and see if it carbonates faster.