Force Carbonation

My friend is asking how to carbonate his recently kegged Czech Pils.

It sat at 32 degrees, with 30 psi on the keg, for 56 hours.

Would this give the proper carbonation level?

30 PSI at 32F degrees will, at some point, result in a very over carbonated beer. I don’t know if 56 hours is that point. Google “carbonation chart” for more detailed info. My MO is to set it and forget it. For example, pick whatever volume of CO2 you want, get the beer to serving temp, set the PSI based on temp and volume of CO2 desired.

Set n forget is definitely the easiest and safest, just takes longer. I’ve had good luck with burst carbonating and I get to drink it faster. Get it to serving temp, crank the CO2 up to 30 or 40 psi for about 24 hours, reduce the psi to serving pressure (and leave it there), and enjoy! It won’t be perfectly carbonated for a few days but it will be drinkable if you’re in a hurry. Leaving it too long at higher than serving pressure will definitely result in an overcarbonated beer and that’s a lot harder to deal with than the impatience of an undercarbed beer!

Yes…he called me up saying the beer was all foam! Told him I thought 3 full days at 30 psi (@ 32 degrees) was a bit much.

Lengthening the serving line will help. Gotta burp that keg! Or get a spunding valve

I have used 35° beer at 25-30psi for 48 hours.  Feel free to add or subtract from the time based on your desired carb level.  It always works.

[emoji1598]

^^^^This

I am definitely a set n forget guy.  If I am in a hurry to get it on tap 30 PSI for 24 hours at 32-33 degrees is enough for me.  If I am not, I chill the beer to around 32-33 degrees put 10 PSI on ales that don’t need a lot of carbonation (like 2.5 volumes) and 15 PSI on beers like saisons and tripels that need a bit higher carbonation (like 3 volumes) and let them sit for a week.  The carbonation will be good and uniform after that.  I usually have enough beer on tap to allow me to wait that long.
With the stay-at-home sequestering, I will now have a lot of beer on tap here for a while.  :smiley:

I have had good results putting a keg under 40-50 PSI overnight and then bringing it down to 20 for the day while at work.  It isn’t perfect but it will be drinkable at that point and after another day or two at serving pressure you are set.  It is much faster than the set it and forget it method which can take weeks.

Strange.

My “set it and forget it method” takes about 5-6 days.  Usually about 12psi at around 38-40°

^^^Exactly. My set-and-forget method has never taken weeks. I also firmly believe that beer benefits from the extra time spent conditioning.

Using a carbonation stone can greatly reduce carbonation time. When using that I use the step up method of starting at 5 psi and cranking it up a few psi every hour until you get to about twenty to thirty. It works well and you have carbonated beer in 24 hours time. Also used 30 psi for a while and then set it down to serving pressure. But the stone creates a lot of tiny bubbles which makes carbonation happen faster. I would probably not even go 24 hours at 30 psi when using a stone. But now I prime my kegs so I no longer deal with any of this.