Carbonation

[BrianMac]

I am making a Dortmunder. I racked from the primary directly into my kegs after the protein rest. I syphoned so as to not get much sediment from the primary.
I usually carbonate by gently rocking the kegs for three minutes at 30psi. (Always works well!)
My temperature is nearing 40F.
When and how do I carbonate without stirring up the contents?


Brian

[MarkPower]

There's no need to rock the keg, it will still carbonate the same, it just will take a bit longer to get to the desired co2 volume. check out http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbon ... alculator/ to see what pressure you should set for the volume of co2 you are looking for.

I always just connect my kegs at the pressure needed and let it carbonate slowly over the course of a week.

[BrianMac]

Thanks Mark!

[jason.loxton]

I am confused about a few aspects of your question. First, what do you mean by "after the protein rest"? A protein rest is done during the mash. Do you mean a diacetyl rest? Second, why are you changing your process this time around? Do you have more sediment (I, and I think most people here, don't use a secondary and have no problem with sediment transfer from the primary). If you're bringing over considerable sediment then either you should wait longer post fermentation for the beer to clear or you should be more generous in what you leave behind (scrounging to get the last litre of beer is not really worth it).

[BrianMac]

Sorry Jason, I did mean diacetyl rest. The beer was very clear when I transferred. I purposely lowered the syphon very carefully during transfer.

[jason.loxton]

You should have no problem either way then, shaking or slow. Over time, some more material will fall out, and your beer will become more clear, and you can rouse that precipitated material and yeast if you move your keg, but that is the case whether you shake or it or carb slowly. Same deal. Ultimately, one is just faster, and one is more precise (and can be done at ambient temps). Your call. Both work fine.