Beer Forum

Having trouble force carbing a milk stout. Brewed 3 weeks ago and transfered to keg, attached gas line with liquid quick disconnect to the side with dip tube to let gas bubble up through beer and hit with 30 psi and used the shaking method for a few minutes and now it has been under 11 psi for 1.5 days and seems like it isnt carbonated, has alot of head but that dies down and tastes flat still.

I've never had any luck with the shaking method. I only get carbonation if I let it sit on CO2 for a week or two.

so you would just let it sit at like 11-12 psi for a week or so? and how would you know its completed? just by tasting?

hummpledinger wrote:so you would just let it sit at like 11-12 psi for a week or so? and how would you know its completed? just by tasting?

Yes. I usually pull off a few pints testing it. When the keg is half empty, it's perfectly carbonated.

Seriously, the longer I can keep my grubby little hands off it, the better it works.

Dirk McLargeHuge wrote:Seriously, the longer I can keep my grubby little hands off it, the better it works.

+1. I hook it up at dispensing pressure and just let that exponential equation do its thing. I don't touch it for a week, and then start drinking. It's usually not quite carbonated until day 10, or day 14, but at day 7 it's fine enough to drink.

I'm not sure if this is the problem but the solubility of co2 is directly related to the temperature of the liquid. Leaving the beer on 11psi will carbonate the beer but only if it is cold (approximately 38 degrees). There is a chart that breaks down the various pressures against temperature to give volumes of co2. Same thing goes with putting 30 psi on it. If it is not cold it will absorb that much. I personally have tried a bunch of different methods and have settled on 30psi for 2 days at 38 degrees. No shaking.....just bleed pressure after the two days and put on your serving pressure of around 12psi and enjoy. It may not be perfect right off but within a day or two you will have equalized all your pressures and be good to go.

i was patient and cooled my kegs to 36ish and left the co2 on around 11psi and left them in the fridge and much better results this time around thanks for the help

You owe us a beer.

hummpledinger wrote:i was patient and cooled my kegs to 36ish and left the co2 on around 11psi and left them in the fridge and much better results this time around thanks for the help