Serving Pressure

Kegging
1

I’m carbonating my beer at 11 PSI, what would be my serving pressure? Is it lower than carbonating PSI? If the PSI does change for serving, I would be interested to know the reasons why and the recommended serving pressure. After serving, would I turn it back up to 11 PSI? Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

2

You should figure out the serving temperature and line length and resistance to balance your system. Search balancing keg system to find a calculator.

11 psi sounds about right for low 40’s serving temp and a standard line of about 5 feet of 3/16 beer line.

3

My serving pressure is always just the lowest pressure I can get away with (as opposed to my carbonation pressure which is 30psi during the day or three it takes). I dislike heavily carbonated beer and don’t care if a head forms or not from the pour, so a low pressure pour fits the bill for me. I will do a higher pressure turbulent pour for my stout, and usually my porter, but those are the only ones.
I think you just need to experiment with different pressures until you find one that matches your carbonation tastes and your line length

4

Thanks for the answers. I did use a calculator and 11 PSI was what was recommended . So if I’m understanding your answer whatever your recommended PSI level (11 for instance) would then be your serving pressure.

5

Here is a nice writeup on balancing your system.

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=33447

You really can not serve at a lower pressure than you are carbonated at. Because the CO2 in the keg/beer will be what is pushing the beer out. Not the CO2 coming from the tank. Eventually the beer will loose enough carbonation to equal the pressure coming from the tank.

So you have 3 things to “balance”. Desired carbonation level (volumes of CO2), fridge temp, and serving line length.

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

The colder you keep the beer, the slower it will age and slower ‘bugs’ can take over (IE spoil). So if you have your CO2 @ 11psi, fridge at 36*, you will have 2.6 vol of CO2 in solution. Figuring 2psi drop per ft of line, you need ~6ft of serving line.

That should get you real close. You could start with 7 feet and cut .5ft off if the pour is to slow.

edit: add link

6

That’s correct. You can force carbonate for two or three days at a higher pressure setting if you would like to carbonate your beer more quickly. After the initial carb period, you need to vent the keg and turn the pressure down to your serving pressure of choice.

Alternatively, you can carbonate the entire time at the lower serving pressure. It will take at least week at the lower pressure.

Enjoy.

7

Thanks to everyone for the help, thanks Nighthawk for the link to the article, I’ve saved it for future reference