Hi. I know the carbonation aspect of this issue should go into the kegging section, but I’m wondering if my two issues are related. I had a good boil for my IPA, hit my OG, equipment was cleaned and sanitized. Everything looked good going into primary and even secondary fermentation. Tasted good too. Used my own homegrown hops. Transferred to secondary and all was clear. Sometime while it secondary, it seemed to get cloudy. I didn’t worry about it, as I usually cold crash before transferring to keg. Did that for 3 days, and it made no difference. The beer was still cloudy. It tasted ok, not great, but ok, and obviously still flat. Transferred it into the keg, and it’s been setting on 11lbs for 10days or more, and there is still very little carbonation. I know CO2 is going in the keg, because when I turned it up to 15, I can hear the gas going into the keg, and I’m getting good pressure when pouring a glass. I’m guessing I got some sort of contamination in secondary, but I don’t know how, and I don’t understand how that would inhibit carbonation. Does it sound like I’m right about the secondary? And what would cause the beer to not carbonate? Thanks.
Strange. Is your beer still cold? If so after almost two weeks at 11psi it should be somewhat carbonated. I can’t see how it not being clear would make much difference. Possibly a slow leak in the keg?
I’m not highly experienced in this area… but beer that goes cloudy like that, at least for me would point to yeast in suspension. Was there any noticeable fermentation as the cloudiness appeared? Could be some foreign yeast snuck into the secondary. Were there any temperature swings?
Regardless of what happened to the beer it should be carbonating. Sometimes a good shake helps with that. You should hear the CO2 going into solution as you shake the keg. Be sure you are carbonating from the OUT port and not the IN port.
Hopefully someone else has other inputs as to the cloudy beer.
What size co2 tank? How big of a keg? 11psi for a 1/6 keg at ten days is more than enough for carbonation. Does depend on beer type and beer temp too tho. An IPA should be ready in 10 days.
I second shaking the keg a bit and seeing if that helps.
Definitely interested in knowing what temp your beer is at. 11 psi fits in to the 2.5 volume section at about 38 degrees. 10 days it should be ready…
How much hops, especially dry hops was used? The oils in hops can raise to the surface of the keg, prohibiting the CO2 to be absorbed. Swirl the keg a little break that surface tension.
I did mean the out port. You should carbonate from the dip tube that’s going to the bottom of the keg. This way it will be absorbed by the beer. Pressurizing the top of the beer isn’t as effective.
I don’t think that’s standerd procedure you would have to change your fittings back and forth. I’ve never had a problem carbonating from the top. If you want your gas to flow through the gas just lay the keg on its side and do the shake thing. The gas will end up on the top. I don’t bother I set it and forget I don’t like rolling because I would rather let the beer settle out I imagine pushing the gas from the bottom would keep things stirred up also. What I have done is turn up the gas to 15 psi for a day or two to move it along.
I have never had a problem carbonating from the CO2 line. The out line is the line that goes to the bottom. I use sanke kegs but I dont think that part is really different from corny kegs. I think you should stick to carbing from the in port and hook your beer line to the out port.
Im only like 8 months in to this though so maybe there is something that I am understanding incorrectly?
Hi All, thank you for all the replies. I’ll reply and answer all questions here. I’ve got my keg in a kegerator that’s at 40 degrees (plus/minus 1 degree). I use pin lock kegs, so no mistaking which port to which to apply the CO2. I doubt there’s a leak, because my 10lb CO2 tank hasn’t dropped any at all. I cranked it up to 15 and am getting the slightest bit of carbonation now. I didn’t notice any fermentation as the cloudiness formed, and there weren’t any temperature variations - I had the carboy always wrapped in a thermal wrap connected to a temp controller, set for 68-72 degrees. The cloudiness definitely happened during secondary. I’ll try to shake the keg to see if that gets me better carbonation. I’ll post back. Thanks!
Shaking the keg won’t help the cloudiness. Set it at 15 and leave it alone. No testing for a week. Then turn it down a bit and sample.11 psi at 40 sounds low to me. I keep my krgs at 41 and catb at 15. Serve around 12
I have read that before as well. That isnt the standard procedure… that is a way of doing it at a quicker rate albeit with more work. After 10 days at 10 psi and 40 degrees he should have a solid amount of carbonation. While it is acceptable to do it the way you mentioned it isnt ‘needed’… just another option. He should be able to hook the CO2 up normally and carbonate his beer.
Thats all Im trying to say. Im not saying your way is wrong and wouldnt work or something like that. I very much appreciate your input
I hope that help uncdeo… Sneezles61