Beer Forum

Hey guys,

I am trying to force carbonate a Chocolate Stout but I am having some issues.

Here is some info that might help with getting a resolution:

OG - 1.080
FG - 1.020 (It's pretty thick)
Temp - 42 F
PSI - 11

It tastes like there is a little bit of CO2 in solution but no other real signs. It's pitch black, so I can't see any bubbles. I am unable to generate a head on the beer, no matter how vigerously I pour it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Prost!

Dave

How long has it been on gas?

about 24 hours. I vented 3 times to get samples. Should I just jack it up to 20 psi and leave it for another day? Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Dave

Rock and roll your corny to get CO2 into solution quickly. You will hear the gas bubbling into the beer as you rock and roll. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing now except your about a week or more away from having carbonated beer. I rock and roll for 10 minutes @ 20 psi. Why wait! Enjoy your beer fresh and notice how it changes as it ages.

gwk453 wrote:Rock and roll your corny to get CO2 into solution quickly. You will hear the gas bubbling into the beer as you rock and roll. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing now except your about a week or more away from having carbonated beer. I rock and roll for 10 minutes @ 20 psi. Why wait! Enjoy your beer fresh and notice how it changes as it ages.

+1

Force carbonating at or near serving pressure can take 10+ days. I drew lines on some masking tape attached to my regulator. I haven't pulled it out of the kegerator for a while since I don't have anything fermenting at the moment, but IIRC the fast carb mark is in the neighborhood of 27-30 PSI. Crank up the pressure and hook it up to your keg. When you hear the gas stop flowing in, this is very important, detach the gas before touching the keg. You can damage your regulator. Once you're clear, shake the hell out of it for up to 90 seconds or so if your arms can take it. Hook your gas back up & it'll start flowing again. Wait til it stops flowing and repeat. I do it a few times. It'll take a little practice, but you can hit target CO2 levels in a pretty short time. If you overshoot it, just burp the pressure relief valve every time you walk past it & you'll be back towards target fairly quickly (unless you completely overshoot or forget to turn down the PSI after you're done - been there).

Cheers

Edit: Also don't be afraid to chill it a little below (a degree or 3, too low & it'll want to come out of solution when it warms) serving temp - it'll take in the gas a little more readily.

Good follow up Oz ! I do have a check valve on my regulator and would recommend it to anyone force carbonating.

gwk453 wrote:Good follow up Oz ! I do have a check valve on my regulator and would recommend it to anyone force carbonating.

The check valve is nice for that & a few other possible mishaps, but also I literally shake the hell out of my kegs when force carbing... Donkey Kong style. I grab it horizontally about thigh-high and shake it back and forth while moving the ends up & down, and then flip it up like a weight lifter and do the same thing up high - I found by switching it up my arms last a bit longer. Unless you've got dozens of feet of tubing and/or a huge CO2 tank, you're bound to knock the tank over at some point. And I've found regulators are like butter on toast. If they go over, it's always reg-side down. That Murphy guy was really on to something.

Ozwald wrote:I found by switching it up my arms last a bit longer.

Is that like alternating between missionary and doggy?