How to Carbonate Beer

In the brewing of beer the very last refinement is carbonation. It may seem that accomplishing such a task would be rather complicated. This, however, is not entirely the case. Carbonating beer is quite simply a matter of adding carbon dioxide to the beer and holding it under pressure. Keeping the beer under pressure causes the gas to dissolve into solution and infuse the beer. Releasing that pressure brings the gas out of solution, providing that effervescence we all know. The primary methods of carbonating beer are bottle conditioning and forced carbonation.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring cup
• 5 oz priming sugar
• Bottling bucket
• Bottles
• Bottle caps
• Bottle capper
• 3- or 5-gallon cornelius keg
• Carbon dioxide tank with regulator
• Gas hose

Instructions

Bottle Conditioning

1. Dissolve 5 oz. priming sugar completely into 2 cups of hot water and pour into a sanitized bottling bucket.

2. Siphon readily fermented beer into the bottling bucket. The beer will mix with the sugar solution. The sugar will provide the base for further fermentation.

3. Fill sanitized bottles with beer, leaving no less than 1 inch of head space; apply the cap.

4. Store the beer in a cool, shaded area for at least one week. Active yeast still in suspension will begin a smaller scale fermentation inside the bottle. The production of carbon dioxide will increase the pressure inside the bottle. This will result in excess gas being absorbed into the beer providing its final carbonation.

Forced Carbonation

1. Siphon newly fermented beer into a clean sanitized keg and tightly fasten the lid.

2. Attach the keg to the CO2 tank.

3. Open the valve on the tank and adjust the regulator to 30 pounds per square inch (PSI).

4. Shake the keg for one to two minutes. This will help to force carbon dioxide into the beer.

5. Shut off the CO2 tank and refrigerate the keg. A low temperature will help the gas to dissolve.

6. Repeat this process twice a day for two to three days.

7. Attach a tap hose to the second valve on the keg and set the C02 pressure to 8 to 10 PSI for serving.

Tips & Warnings

• Due to the cost of kegging equipment, and additional set up, it is best for new or frugal brewers to begin with bottle conditioning.

• When bottle conditioning beer, 1 inch of head space is needed at the very least. Too little space can result in the carbon dioxide produced to over-pressurize the bottle -- which can cause the cap to fail and the beer to forcefully erupt. In rare cases, bottles can shatter.

References

• "How to Brew"; John Palmer; 1999
• "Basic Homebrewing"; Stacy Tibbets; 2006