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Seeking clarity on forced carbonation

Szig69

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Hi All,

I am a new brewer and this is my first post. I have to admit that I am somewhat confused on how to approach forced carbonation as I have read very different ideas on how to do this. Many of the recipes I have read suggest kegging at 60F and storing at 52F for a Wit, but I have also seen other suggestions such as setting the PSI based upon vol of CO2 desired and the refrigerated temp. This seems to be the common recommendation in this forum, but I would like to get an understanding on what others think and if it makes much of a difference. I am using a corney keg with 24oz paintball CO2 bottle and regulator, and I am currently storing the keg in the fridge at 40F with PSI around 11.25.

I appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.

Szig69
 
Szig69,
        The levels your set at seem OK to me! Each beer type is Suppose to be at a certain level of pressure. I just leave mine at 12lbs. and the heck with the "proper" levels!

British-style ales            1.5 - 2.0                        Porter, stout                  1.7 - 2.3

Belgian ales                  1.9 - 2.4                        European lagers              2.2 - 2.7

American ales & lagers    2.2 - 2.7                        Lambic                          2.4 - 2.8

Fruit lambic                  3.0 - 4.5                        German wheat beer          3.3 - 4.5


Here are some links to check out:  I hope this helps! Good Luck!

http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article12018101.shtml

http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/ForceCarbonation.html

http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php

http://www.kegworks.com/faqs/Draft-Beer-Quality-Manual.pdf
 
You should also remember that the higher the temperature the more CO2 pressure you'll need to achieve the same volumes of carbonation.
If you store your brew at 52*F under 20 PSI of CO2 it would equate to 2.4 volumes (about).
If you store your brew at 40*F under 11 PSI of CO2 it would equate to 2.4 volumes (about).
We store our beer at about 52*F or higher under a predetermined pressure to achieve the volumes we want, before we tap the keg, we let it rest in the kegerator to equalize (pressure will drop with temperature) to the new environment. The keg pressure is always less than the storeage pressure unless those temperatures are the same.
 
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