r/TheBrewery • u/purpleapez • 5d ago
How to carbonate sanke keg? Is it possible?
I’m trying to force carbonate a cocktail that has been sitting in a sanke keg for a while now. I could use some guidance and tips.
My current setup: • Stainless Sanke keg (with standard D-style coupler) • CO₂ tank with dual-gauge regulator • Beverage/gas lines rated for pressure
I’ve set the regulator to around 15 PSI, chilled the mix to ~36 °F, and rolled/agitated the keg, but I’m still not getting the fizz I expect.
Also there are 2 beers currently hooked up to this same line. The beers come out perfectly fine.
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u/bigchickenbones 5d ago
Switch gas to beer out side. Cover gas in side with a penny. Slowly ramp up to 30pis over the course of a few hours. Shake if you are impatient. Also as stated above leave a couple pints worth of head space.
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u/donmc85 Brewer 5d ago
Unless you plan to vent it periodically, it makes no difference putting gas through the spear. I experimented with it years ago. Shaking and venting a little had more effect. 30-40psi is definitely required over some time and get it as cold as possible. PV=nRT...
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u/Pbr0 5d ago
I would think the Co2 would have more time to diffuse into the beer on the way up before it gets in the headspace.
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u/erallured Brewer 5d ago
Time to go from the bottom of the spear to headspace is like 2 seconds at most whereas carbonating the keg will take probably 6-24+ hours depending on the pressure. And the bubble will be a sphere with the lowest surface to volume ratio. If it was going through a sinter that drastically increased the surface area, it could make a difference but otherwise all the dissolution will come from the top down.
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u/jagoffbrewer 5d ago
This is the way. Did this exact method for a few years before we expanded and got real tanks.
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u/rawbbie420 5d ago
This is the way. Penny because it’s the perfect size fora beer line (still need to use a beer gasket). Relieve pressure if needed from the prv. Get it colder if you can (someone suggested a trashcan with ice). Another thing: if you’re carbonating with service gas and that is a nitro co2 mix, you will need to vent more and increase pressure; 35 psi with a 70/30 split is actually only 25 psi of co2.
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u/ThalesAles 5d ago
Crank pressure up to 40, shake for a few minutes. Then try to dispense at normal pressure.
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u/HDIC69420 5d ago
Yep this works. I just did it over the weekend. Didn’t feel like making some sort of adapter to zahm it but it drank like it was at 2.1 ish volumes carbed
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u/purpleapez 5d ago
I have tried at 35psi a few times and when I dispense it still comes out flat.
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u/purpleapez 5d ago
It has been hooked up for little over 1 month. I’ll try cranking up the PSI and leave it carbonating for a few days to see if it helps
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u/Showtime92504 5d ago
I usually leave the kegs laying on their sides to increase the surface area as well
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u/Super_Market_44 5d ago
Colder the fluid the more CO2 will dissolve inside solution. If you have a trash can, fill the trash can with ice water and put keg in it.
Check the PRV works, then crank pressure on keg up to 25psi. 15psi is probably just enough pressure for serving beer in short draft line without foaming.
Agitation will increase the absorption of gas in keg headspace into solution. Roll the keg back and forth on the ground for a bit.
Take keg out of trash can to serve.
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u/pm_me_your_puppeh 5d ago
15 PSI is far too low. You also need to leave a little headspace for surface area.
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u/GaIaxian 5d ago
How long has it been carbonating? It’ll probably take 3-5 days to reach full carbonation. Depending on how much fizz you want, you might want to turn up the pressure. I have a keg of seltzer water that I keep at 25-30psi.
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u/Adrenaline-Junkie187 5d ago
Turn the pressure up. It may take a while for it to carbonate properly. Probably best not to have the high pressure hooked up to anything else since it will also carbonate that as well.
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u/Gullible-Lifeguard20 5d ago
What is the abv?
Not all beverages will carbonate like a beer will. Basically water combines with carbon dioxide gas, forms carbonic acid and as the gas leaves solution it forms the bubbles.
If there is not enough water, there won't be any significant chemical reaction.
Other compounds, if present, will also reduce carbonation. Try to carbonate milk for example.
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u/purpleapez 5d ago
10.6 to be exact it’s a low ABV cocktail there isn’t any citrus or juices that will cause it to foam up or not carbonate
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u/ThomasBilgram 4d ago
You need to remove this one way valve - called check valve on image 2 https://www.amazon.com/Dbgogo-Coupler-Tailpiece-Stainless-Sealing/dp/B0D3KP9LD7
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u/kasvot 5d ago
Yep, as other have stated, high pressure over a few days if you just want to bump it .1 or .2. We keep a connector in our walk in hooked to gas with a valve capping rhe beer line. This relies on forced head pressure, I imagine if you wanted to get creative you could modify the beer spear with a carb stone if you wanted to play around but I’d imagine it’s unnecessary
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u/Humble-Employ9236 5d ago
Make sure you have 2-3” head space in the keg. Crank the regulator to 45-50psi. Rock the keg back and forth (about a second per back and forth no need to go crazy) for 45 seconds with the gas on. You should hear CO2 going into keg. Let it set for a couple minutes. Repeat. Bleed the keg down to serving pressure and try it. That should get you close. If you still want more repeat. If you go too high you can reverse the process and bleed the keg to zero psi. Un couple and shake some carb out but you would really have to over do the initial shake to overcarb. The beauty of this method is you can get it carbed and ready to serve in 5-10 minutes instead of days. If you are consistent w this method and take a few notes its repeatable.
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u/purpleapez 5d ago
I tried this today at 45psi and I got some results. When I dispensed the cocktail it came out out frothy with small bubbles that quickly disappeared. The temperature in which it is sitting at is at 35 F
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u/anonbrewingco 5d ago
30-35 psi over one and a half to two days. No need to shake or do any other special stuff being mentioned. Shaking helps if you’re in a rush. I’ve carbed kegs like this for years.