I’ve just transfered two lagers to corny for lagering in the mid 30s. If I connect them to my CO2 which is set at approx 10psi for dispensing, will they be fully carb’d in 4-6 weeks WITHOUT raising the pressure to the 25-30psi I see that folks use for a 1-2 week force carbing.
:cheers:
Yes. I lager & carbonate @ ~10PSI all the time. Cheers!!!
what’s the typical time for carbing using this method? as early as 2 weeks? or more likely 3-4 weeks?
edit: I’m wanting 2.0-2.5 vols.
:cheers:
It seems like the average is about 10 days for me.
wow, that’s quicker than I’d expected.
:cheers:
I just started kegging as well. I set mine to 10psi and I’ve noticed my kegs are carbed in about 7-8days.
For the set and wait method I’ve found carbed and drinkable at 7-10 days, closer to 10. Developing the mouthfeel, and a nice looking, retainable head, that you want at 2 weeks or so.
Either way, kegging is awesome.
I should add that more often than not I shake for a couple days (at serving pressure), then let the keg settle for a couple days and am drinking it after less than a week.
Wow, you must be strong!
Seriously though, how long do you shake? I usually get bored after the first 2 minutes.
LOL…
You can pressurize the keg at 25psi(or whatever is suggested) and let it sit, just check the pressure and repressurize every now and then. 25PSI I find will carb in a couple days at most.
Quote; 25-30psi I see that folks use for a 1-2 week force carbing.
nope, nobody with any success would connect at that high of a pressure for weeks and get any good result unless you are making a highly carbonated beverage.
Unless you have some way to measure the pressure of dissolved C02, leaving the pressure connected at a higher pressure than serving pressure is a formula for problems.
Set-and-forget is 10-14 days at your serving pressure and serving temp (36-38f).
Force carbonation can be done in a few minutes at a higher pressure with chilled beer if you know what you are doing. Do some searching and there is information on how to start at a higher pressure and work your way down while shaking and getting a keg carbonated within a few PSI of perfect serving pressure within about 10 minutes. A bit more complicated, but accurate.
The worst way is leaving your keg connected for days at some higher pressure that will result in unknown results. Although people eventually get an idea how to get results with this unpredictable method, it involves way to much trial and failure to suggest to other brewers who are trying to learn.
If you guys wouldn’t mind a couple questions. I’m moving to kegs and will have adequate freezer space for 3 corny’s plus CO2 tank. I have a double regulator with a splitter. So question one scenario is this. Say I made a batch and it’s at 2.5psi, it’s carbed and drinkable. I then make a second batch. I’m pretty sure I can only carb this beer at the 2.5psi, thus increasing the waiting period?
Question two. Can I secondary ferment a lager in this chest with my two kegs assuming I have room for a carboy? Would the drinking temp be acceptable? Say 40deg?
Thanks, Mike
[quote=“Steppedonapoptop”]If you guys wouldn’t mind a couple questions. I’m moving to kegs and will have adequate freezer space for 3 corny’s plus CO2 tank. I have a double regulator with a splitter. So question one scenario is this. Say I made a batch and it’s at 2.5psi, it’s carbed and drinkable. I then make a second batch. I’m pretty sure I can only carb this beer at the 2.5psi, thus increasing the waiting period?
Question two. Can I secondary ferment a lager in this chest with my two kegs assuming I have room for a carboy? Would the drinking temp be acceptable? Say 40deg?
Thanks, Mike[/quote]
So you want to lager a beer in a carboy in your chest freezer at 40F while you have other kegs in there for serving? Yup! That’s exactly what I do. The downside for me is that a full 5 or 6 gallon carboy wont fit in my kegerator, so I have to use a 3 gallon carboy, which limits my batch size.
Also, to clarify for others reading this, he meant 2.5 “volumes” of C02, not PSI.
Thanks Dean, that helps me too. I’ve yet to receive my reg and associated equipment. With that, will the gauge read in vol’s or psi?
The gauge on the reg only reads pressure. Volumes are a result of pressure and temperature combined, so you’ll need to use one of the carbonation tables to be exact when applying pressure to reach a certain level of carbonation in the beer.
Here are some links…
http://www.homebrew.com/pdfs/CO2chart.pdf http://www.thebeerjournals.com/carbonation.htmlIt must be the diver in me. Thanks for the charts. Big help!
Mike
[quote=“Dean Palmer”]Here are some links…
http://www.homebrew.com/pdfs/CO2chart.pdf http://www.thebeerjournals.com/carbonation.html[/quote]Awesome chart! Thanks for the link. :cheers:
Probably 30 seconds or so, half a dozen times a day. I don’t have a formula or anything; I just do it every time I walk by the kegerator and have my hands free.
