Carbonation Conundrum

Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:53 pm

I have an interesting problem with my latest batch of beer. I have 2 kegs in my fridge, which is set at 40 degrees. I have my regulator set at 12 psi. One keg contains a bavarian hefeweizen, and the other contains a belgian blonde ale. Both kegs are on the same regulator and the CO2 is split with a "T"

My problem is this: Both kegs have been on CO2 for 2 weeks. The hefeweizen is perfectly carbed and the belgian blonde is flat.

The keg can't be leaking because if it was, all my CO2 would be gone and the hefeweizen would also be flat since they share the same pressure head. If I vent the keg with the blonde, and then reconnect the ball lock, I can hear the gas going in. What could be the problem? The blonde ale is still fairly cloudy with yeast since I used WLP500 and it is slow to flocculate.
bk2ftr812
 
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Re: Carbonation Conundrum

Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:02 pm

when your testing the beer, how much are you taking?
I have the same setup and had a dfh midas touch clone and an amber ale on one setup up and i was told the amber was flat when someone tried it when i wasnt home. When i got home i went to see what the issue was, found out there was none. What ended up happening is they only poured a taste and most of the beer was the beer in the line that was flat and not from the carbonated keg.
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PSUHomebrewer
 
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Re: Carbonation Conundrum

Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:39 pm

I thought that might be the issue also, so I poured a couple of pints worth with the same problem.
bk2ftr812
 
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Re: Carbonation Conundrum

Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:50 pm

I'm relatively new to kegging, so I'm probably not the best to answer, but does your T have valves for the outlets? If your hefe is carbonated well you could close that side and ensure that the blonde sees the correct pressure (or I guess just disconnect your line to the hefe). After a couple of days you could see if this makes a difference, and rule out a pressure differential problem between your kegs. Probably a stretch but an interesting problem and this may rule out one variable.

Is the volume of beer in both kegs approximately the same?
andygravity
 
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Re: Carbonation Conundrum

Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:26 pm

Shit man ... what good is a blond it she is flat! Drink a few more of the hefe's and see if it improves.
Eagle Dude

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