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Carbonation question
I have just taken the plunge into kegging (basic pony tap style) and got my first batch kegged. I force carbed about a week and a half ago by filling the keg (liquid out post) with 30+ psi until I stopped hearing any gurgling and rocked it back and forth. I did this 3 times. I went to try it out last night and poured a couple of pints that produced a nice head with awesome retention (real tight bubbles - almost creamy), but the beer tasted somewhat flat. I went ahead and left everything hooked up at about 12 psi, which is a little high for serving on my setup. Will my beer continue to carb up more over time or do I need to try to force carb again?
"Tastes sort of flat" is a confusing phrase to me in this context. Do you mean the flavor is flat or that there is little to no carbonation?
If you are getting a good head I suspect that you may be just pouring to hard, knocking most of the CO2 out of solution as it pours. You glassware needs to be impecibly clean too BTW.
What temp is the beer as this is relationally important with regardes to the PSI being used?
Are there bubbles in the dispensing line after the beer has sat for a while? That indicated inadequate pressure being applied to the beer from the regulator.
I would dial down the regulator to like 6PSI, then serve one really slow. If its still flat that means it needs more time under higher pressure to carb. If its carbed up nicely served slow it means you were knocking the beer around too much with a hard pour (at like 30PSI).
By "flat" I meant carbonation not flavor.
I think I am dealing with both a too hard of a pour and undercarbed beer. I tried pouring a beer at a lower psi and the beer was more carbed, but not where I would want it to be.
The keg is at around 38-40 degrees and there are no bubbles in the dispensing line. My serving pressure is probably around 8 psi. Do you recommend I leave it set at a higher psi for a certain amount of time to allow for more carbonation?
You may want to leave it at that 8 for a couple days, and let it absorb and equalize. Bringing it up and down is not letting it absorb and pour at the same pressure. I would also disconnect the gas for a second, then blow the pressure release valve to let out excess if there is any, then pop the gas back on at 8 and let sit a couplr days.
I suspect right now you have a slightly undercarbed keg, but your tap line is short (if using a standdard pony/cobra/picnic tap). That is where your foam and head are coming from, not your beer. I would get 4 feet of 3/16" bevline from your LHBS or online, and put your tap and disconnect on that. The restriction will allow the co2 to stay in solution all the way to your glass, then release once poured.
I suspect right now you have a slightly undercarbed keg, but your tap line is short (if using a standdard pony/cobra/picnic tap). That is where your foam and head are coming from, not your beer. I would get 4 feet of 3/16" bevline from your LHBS or online, and put your tap and disconnect on that. The restriction will allow the co2 to stay in solution all the way to your glass, then release once poured.
I have roughly 3 1/2 ft of 3/16" bevline on my pony tap, so I think I'm good there. I have the keg hooked up to about 10psi. Like you suggested, I may try to disconnect and release the excess gas, then hook it back up to serving pressure (6-8psi) for the rest of the week. Hopefully, it will be fully carbed by the weekend.
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