Beer Forum

I have just kegged my beer for the first time and have reached a carbonation level that I like. Should I turn my regulator down to serving pressure and keep it there or turn it down when serving and then back up when not serving? Will keeping it at the lower serving pressure cause a decrease in the beer carbonation over time?
Thanks in advance for your help!

TKE wrote:I have just kegged my beer for the first time and have reached a carbonation level that I like. Should I turn my regulator down to serving pressure and keep it there or turn it down when serving and then back up when not serving? Will keeping it at the lower serving pressure cause a decrease in the beer carbonation over time?
Thanks in advance for your help!

I never reduce the pressure. I put the keg on at 8-10 PSI for two weeks and start serving.

I tried reading the BA Draft Quality Manual but kept falling asleep.

+1

I mess with the pressure on my kegerator about once a year. That is about how long my 20# tank lasts. I turn the pressure to zero before taking the regulator off the empty tank and turn it back up to the original pressure when I put the new tank on. If you have your lines the right length and your pressure vs temperature figured right you should never have to mess with it.

TKE wrote:Should I turn my regulator down to serving pressure and keep it there or turn it down when serving and then back up when not serving?

No, you should set it to the equillibrium pressure.

Will keeping it at the lower serving pressure cause a decrease in the beer carbonation over time?

If your beer has equillibrated at 15 psi, and you decrease the pressure to 10 psi, the carbonation in the beer will decrease to this new equillibrium. You need to set the regulator at the pressure that puts the proper amount of carbonation in your beer (once equilibrated) for the temperature your kegerator is set at. Then, don't touch your regulator. If your beer is having foam issues, then your problem is the length of the beer line.

I'm of the school of thought that if you can't just wait an extra week for your carbonation to equillibrate, then you just need to brew more often.

siwelwerd wrote:I'm of the school of thought that if you can't just wait an extra week for your carbonation to equillibrate, then you just need to brew more often.

+1

adamK wrote:

siwelwerd wrote:I'm of the school of thought that if you can't just wait an extra week for your carbonation to equillibrate, then you just need to brew more often.

+1

+2

What would you all consider a proper length of tubing? I assume you all use 3/16" ID tubing, correct?