How long does it take to carbonate beer. plus how do you go about doing this process. the directions I have don't seem to make much sence, can someone inlight me on this process. any advice would help thank you Jim
force carbonation
May 28, 2004
6 Replies
Go to
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Go to the "advanced" section there, and you'll find some of the best kegginf info I've run across!
--------->Denny
It's a personal thing but this is how I do it-
Fill the keg and seal it Pressurize to max PSI that the regulator will go (70-80 psi) turn the bottle off but leave the gas line connected and the regulator on Shake the keg till the pressure drops to around 20psi Depending on the beer style I do this 4-6 times Lastly I pressurize to the max again and disconnect the gas line. I leave the keg sit in the fridge for a day or two and check the carbonation.
Hope this helps.
I use a similar procedure. I chill the uncarbonated beer overnight (CO2 absorbs much better at lower temps). The next day, I pressure up the keg to
30 psi and keep the bottle and regulator open and hooked up. I rock the keg back and forth for 5 minutes to agitate the beer. You will hear gas flowing into the keg and will hear bubbling inside of the keg as you do this. After about 5 minutes, I disconnect the gas hose and let the keg sit in the fridge overnight. Bleed off any excess pressure in the morning, reconnect the gas line at normal pressure (~5 psi .... but depends on beer style a bit). You're ready to go!One more thing: I reverse the fittings while doing the force carbonation so that the CO2 is hooked up to the keg outlet (beer tap). This forces the CO2 to bubble up through more liquid and absorb faster vs. just using the gas tap.
You can also find this procedure at
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Hope this helps!
I don't know how smart an idea this is, you really don't want beer getting in to your regulator.
It happened to me when I was carbonating and my CO2 tank ran low. The pressure in the keg was therefore greater than that of the tank and beer backed up. Don't Do It! I learned my lesson the hard way. Besides, I have noticed little difference in carbonating through the 'in' post /vs/ the 'out'.
Save you regulator..get some check valves.
-------->Denny
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