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Author Topic: Another force carb question  (Read 3611 times)

Offline greatplainsbrewer

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Another force carb question
« on: February 24, 2012, 03:46:37 pm »
Normally I am a "set it and forget it" guy when force carbing but I'm kind of in a hurry to get a beer carbed.  I just kegged an IPA that I would like carbed and ready to bottle by next Thurs.  I don't like the idea of turning the gas way up to speed up the process.  Could I set the gas correctly (11.5 psi @ 43F) and shake it a few times a day to speed up the process?  Does shaking the keg force CO2 into solution faster?  Are there downsides to this method?

Thanks in advance.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2012, 03:54:27 pm »
Yes you can do that.  Yes shaking gets the CO2 into solution faster.  You don't really need to shake a few times a day, just do it vigorously for a few minutes right when you hook it up and you should be good.  Maybe do that twice if you like and then check the carb level.  You've got plenty of time between now and Thursday.

There are no downsides I am aware of, unless you believe you will "bruise" your beer.

I've heard people hypothesize that it can impact head retention as the proteins only want to foam once (or something along those lines) but I carb all my beers by shaking and have no issues with head retention.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2012, 04:05:59 pm »
Like Joe said, it definitely works.  It is my preferred method when I'm in a hurry, as long as the beer is cold you can have it carbed and ready to serve in less than 30 minutes.  A week is plenty of time.  I would get it to serving temp with the pressure on it, then shake it as much as you can.  When the gas stops flowing, it's done.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline greatplainsbrewer

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Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2012, 04:12:48 pm »
Thanks guys.  No danger of overcarbing it if I don't exceed 11.5 PSI @ 43F (what I think will put it at about 2.3 vols) right?  No matter how much it is shaken it won't absorb too much CO2 if I understand the process.

Thanks

Offline Mark G

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Re: Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2012, 04:21:57 pm »
Thanks guys.  No danger of overcarbing it if I don't exceed 11.5 PSI @ 43F (what I think will put it at about 2.3 vols) right?  No matter how much it is shaken it won't absorb too much CO2 if I understand the process.

Thanks
Yes, that is correct.
Mark Gres

Offline bluesman

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Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2012, 08:57:53 pm »
The other option is to turn it up to 25 psi for 48 hrs then back it down to 11.5psi for the duration and the beer will be ready by next Thur.
Ron Price

Offline euge

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Re: Another force carb question
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2012, 10:43:45 pm »
A reason why I like to brew up to 7 gallons is owning several of these:



Fill the keg and then carb up and drink the rest as "quality control". Nice way to see what good fresh beer tastes like. Shake and serve. ;)
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