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New to kegging, carbonation question

Started by Davycakes, February 09, 2022, 12:49:12 PM

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Davycakes

Hi all,

I've kegged 2 brews since I got my draught set up going, previously bottled everything.

First one a larger left it at 12psi for a week at 4° and served at same was happy with it.
Second was an ale carbed at8/9 psi for week at 4°- without thinking I turned up the psi to 12 to serve it and after a day or 2 it was way too carbed...

Question is this, should you always be serving at same psi as what you carbed it at? Or turn off the reg when not being used and set to a diff psi?
Also am going to try a nitro stout next week(child permitting 🥵🙄)is there anything I should be wary of that is different from using regular co2?

Thanks
Dave

phildo79

Quote from: Davycakes on February 09, 2022, 12:49:12 PMHi all,

I've kegged 2 brews since I got my draught set up going, previously bottled everything.

First one a larger left it at 12psi for a week at 4° and served at same was happy with it.
Second was an ale carbed at8/9 psi for week at 4°- without thinking I turned up the psi to 12 to serve it and after a day or 2 it was way too carbed...

Question is this, should you always be serving at same psi as what you carbed it at? Or turn off the reg when not being used and set to a diff psi?
Also am going to try a nitro stout next week(child permitting 🥵🙄)is there anything I should be wary of that is different from using regular co2?

Thanks
Dave
I wouldn't have thought an extra few psi would have made such a difference, but there you go. You can carb your beer at what ever psi you like and then change the serving psi. But your reg will react to whatever the psi is inside the keg. So if you carb at 20 psi, take the disconnect off, lower the reg psi and reattach, the psi will shoot back up to 20. You will need to vent the keg to prevent this.

As for the nitro, you will need a different reg and tap, as well as the mixed gas.

Davycakes

Thanks for reply,

I've been looking around internet for info, (confusing myself with different info). I only came across this site by fluke. Learned at lot more from reading the threads than watching countless YouTube vids.

Would you serve the ale/larger/whatever style at the psi that you aim to carbonate it at? Was I only creating problems for myself changing the serving psi?

I have a regulator for nitrogen and the beer gas 75/25... I'm presuming that I carb and serve with the mixed gas?

Being honest I was working off a sodastream canister and alternating between the ale and larger as I couldn't get co2 before Christmas so I probably messed it up myself.. dont worry I vented the ale and it seemed to sort it,,, it didn't go to waste anyway 😂😂

DEMPSEY

You can carbonate using the mixed gas 75/25 but only 25 is the co2 so it will take a while. It will allow you to serve using a stout tap a nice creamy headed beer.
Dei miscendarum discipulus
Forgive us our Hangovers as we forgive those who hangover against us

Tom

As Dempsey said, you CAN carb with your mixed gas, but it's expensive. Carb at low levels on CO2, and serve with mixed. If your mixed gas is 75:25, and you carb up to 8psi (serving at however low degrees C that is) then you need to set your mixed gas reg to 8psi + (3x8psi) = 32psi, and balance your lines to that, bearing in mind that the restrictor plate is part of that balance. Adjust those calculations as you see fit.

A good nitro stout (like any beer) is clean & balanced lines, and amongst good company.

crimbo

Hi

Maybe you can help. I have carbonated my stout for a few days.
Then when dispensing using my Nitro mix, I get a massive creamy head that takes an age to settle.
Over carbonation maybe?

DEMPSEY

Beer Line balancing is probably your issue. What size is your beer line and how long is it.
 
Dei miscendarum discipulus
Forgive us our Hangovers as we forgive those who hangover against us

biertourist

I start to feel like a paid sponsor for them very quickly but the 4mm inside diameter EvaBarrier tubing and DuoTight connections really make line balancing less and less of an issue as the small ID allows for a pretty short beer line length to balance beers of even high carbonation levels.

Kegland Australlia has got all the EvaBarrier and DuoTight stuff including a newish corney keg liquid ball lock that's got built-in flow control itself.  It works WAY better than the flow control taps as it's directly on the keg and is kept at the same temp as the keg / beer. 

I "went nuclear" on foaming at home this spring / summer and replaced my taps with Nuka taps, all lines with 4mm ID EvaBarrier and DuoTight fittings and I even added an Alexa-enabled beer tower chiller fan and I almost can't make a beer foam anymore (Except when filling a growler... that's an issue).

The EvaBarrier lines are antibiotic and block oxygen ingress and CO2 passage, too so you don't get that first bit of flat beer at the beginning of the first pint of the night either.

I can't say enough good things about this setup. The only downside is that the EvaBarrier lines aren't super flexible.


Adam