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Kegging Cider

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Dan Logcher

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Mar 10, 2010, 6:52:29 PM3/10/10
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Whats the typical time to carbonate a 5 gallon keg of cider?
I have it at basement temp (roughly 63F) at 20PSI. I serve
at 10PSI for 45F.

--
Dan

Tom Biasi

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Mar 11, 2010, 6:38:28 AM3/11/10
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"Dan Logcher" <dlogcher*xspam*@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:4b9830bc$0$514$b45e...@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...
Check out this chart.
http://www.ebrew.com/primarynews/ct_carbonation_chart.htm

For 20 PSI you are too warm.


Scott

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Mar 11, 2010, 7:27:42 AM3/11/10
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How many volumes is typical for cider? The "calculator" I use at
http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/forcecarb.shtml says 63 degrees
and 20 psi will yield 2.18 volumes, which wouldn't seem unbelieveable to
me, but I don't do cider :)

Scott

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Mar 11, 2010, 7:40:47 AM3/11/10
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Scott wrote:

>>
>
> How many volumes is typical for cider? The "calculator" I use at
> http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/forcecarb.shtml says 63 degrees
> and 20 psi will yield 2.18 volumes, which wouldn't seem unbelieveable to
> me, but I don't do cider :)
>

Oops, I see on that page that ciders typically have 1-4 volumes, so his
20 psi at 63 should be fine....

Scott

Dan Logcher

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Mar 11, 2010, 10:02:08 AM3/11/10
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The range for cider is pretty wide, and since I serve two kegs off the same
regulator at 11 PSI and 45F, I carbonate on my 20lb tank at 20 PSI. My real
question is how long does it take? Is it the same time as beer? I've had
this cider in secondary for 4 months, so its well conditioned at this point.
Just wasn't sure how quickly cider carbonates vs beer.

--
Dan

Bob F

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Mar 12, 2010, 1:09:40 AM3/12/10
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It should be identical to the equivalent carbonation in beer.


Scott

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Mar 12, 2010, 7:07:32 AM3/12/10
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Bob F wrote:
> Dan Logcher wrote:

>> The range for cider is pretty wide, and since I serve two kegs off
>> the same regulator at 11 PSI and 45F, I carbonate on my 20lb tank at
>> 20 PSI. My real question is how long does it take? Is it the same
>> time as beer? I've had this cider in secondary for 4 months, so its
>> well conditioned at this point. Just wasn't sure how quickly cider
>> carbonates vs beer.
>
> It should be identical to the equivalent carbonation in beer.
>
>

Here's a general question about carbonation (beer or whatever)...
I've read that one way to force carbonate beer is to set the regulator
at 20 to 30 psi and then shake or roll the keg around for 20-30 minutes
and then back off the pressure to serving pressure, say 10 psi. My
question is, will the beer lose carbonation over time since the
headspace pressure is now 10 psi, perhaps allowing the gas to leave the
beer for the headspace (assuming that the original "volumes of CO2" was
higher than the chart says it will be at serving temperature and pressure)?

Dan Logcher

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Mar 12, 2010, 9:17:40 AM3/12/10
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No, since over time the beer will reach equillibrium at the serving pressure.
Rolling and shaking at 20-30 PSI doesn't actually make the cabonation 20-30
PSI. It helps get some carbonation in there fast, but will only even out over
time.

--
Dan

Joel

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Mar 12, 2010, 10:39:59 AM3/12/10
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Scott <acepilo...@bloomer.net> wrote:
>I've read that one way to force carbonate beer is to set the regulator
>at 20 to 30 psi and then shake or roll the keg around for 20-30 minutes
>and then back off the pressure to serving pressure, say 10 psi.

20-30 minutes is excessive. I do it for 1-2 minutes, let it sit
a day, then assess. I usually end up doing it again for another
minute or two.
--
Joel Plutchak

"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any
other reason but because they are not already common." - John Locke

John Bleichert

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Mar 12, 2010, 10:52:44 AM3/12/10
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On 2010-03-12, Joel <plut...@see.headers> wrote:
> Scott <acepilo...@bloomer.net> wrote:
>>I've read that one way to force carbonate beer is to set the regulator
>>at 20 to 30 psi and then shake or roll the keg around for 20-30 minutes
>>and then back off the pressure to serving pressure, say 10 psi.
>
> 20-30 minutes is excessive. I do it for 1-2 minutes, let it sit
> a day, then assess. I usually end up doing it again for another
> minute or two.

Carbonation is all about equilibration over time. I don't shake 'em at
all (got bored with it) but I do overpressure for 2-3 days. That plus
1-2 days to overcome "keg shock" and they're good to go. Also, beer
abuse due to excessive shaking or stirring is not definitely a "good
thing" or a "bad thing". Depends on your analysis.

JB


--
-----------------------------------------------
The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!

Bob F

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Mar 14, 2010, 2:50:32 PM3/14/10
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I shake the top of the keg back and forth. From the sound of the CO2 going in,
this seems to do the job way faster than rolling it. It is the turbulence that
gets the CO2 into solution, just like shaking a bottle gets it out fast.

High pressure - shake a while. Turn off the gas, and continue shaking until the
pressure stabilizes. If the pressure is too low, turn the gas back on and shake
some more. Repeat until the pressure is where you want it. Then either turn off
the gas or set it where you want it. This is not an exact process, but it will
get you close fast. Try to avoid setting the pressure lower than the keg
pressure unless you are really sure your anti-backflow valves work well and the
liquid in the keg is well below the inlet tube.


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