(Last Updated On: October 25, 2018)

This article came about based on a question I received on my facebook page.

The reader was having some trouble and wondered if I had some advice about how to properly force carbonate kombucha in the keg, and serve it without getting foamy, flat kombucha in the glass.

I’m not a kombucha expert, but based on my research, I discovered that there are enough similarities and some critical differences when it comes to carbonation of kombucha to warrant an article. I hope this helps anyone looking for more information about kegging and force carbonating kombucha!

Getting Started With Kegging Kombucha

I wanted to include this section as a primer for folks who are brand new to kegging and serving carbonated beverages at home.

I’ve got a full article on setting up a kegging system at home in the works, so make sure to subscribe to my blog so you get notified when that article is published!

For now though, I’m just going to cover a few basics. Even if you are already familiar with kegging equipment and methods, there may be some useful info in here so don’t skip over it!

Kegging Equipment

Kegging and serving kombucha requires pretty much the same equipment as serving homebrewed beer (something I have a lot of experience with).

The basic kegging equipment you will need is as follows:

A Kegerator or Keezer

Pretty much everyone knows what a kegerator is, but what’s a keezer? Well, it’s basically the same thing, only built out of an upright or chest freezer instead of a refrigerator.

You have the option to buy a prebuilt kegerator, or build your own.

If you decide to build your own, you’ll need to source some equipment.

Temperature Control

Temperature control is critically important to maintaining proper draft system balance (more on that later) so I recommend a good quality temperature controller even with a pre-built kegerator.

My personal favorite kegerator temperature controller is super affordable and easy to use, feel free to check out the full review of my ITC-308 temp controller.

Cornelius Kegs

“Corny” kegs have long been a favorite of homebrewers. The name is derived from the Cornelius company which for many years provided both ball-lock and pin-lock connector style 5 gallon kegs for Pepsi and Coke.

Due to the sheer numbers of these kegs that were in circulation, and the handy 5-gallon size (which is a typical beer batch size), Corny kegs quickly became the go-to choice for homebrewers.

Deciding which connector style to use has a couple of considerations. Ball-lock kegs are a little bit shorter and wider than pin-lock, so you may need to take that into account depending on the inner dimensions of your kegerator or keezer.

For example, my personal keezer’s internal geometry is such that while I can fit 4 pin-lock Corny kegs inside, I can’t quite get 4 ball-lock Corny kegs in there.

Both styles are still pretty widely available used, and sometimes one of my favorite online homebrew shops has good deals on new and used kegs.

That said, since this style of keg has become so popular with homebrewers, a number of manufacturers are now producing brand-new Corny-style kegs as well.

CO2 Distribution

Whether you are kegging kombucha or homebrewed beer, the CO2 system serves the same purpose.

The basic components of a CO2 distribution system are:

A CO2 Tank CO2 is stored in a tank (many homebrew shops carry 5-10 pound tanks available for swap-out or re-fill, or you can purchase online) and connected to a regulator. Wherever you purchase a CO2 tank, you’ll need a local source of CO2 for refills.

A Regulator The regulator’s job is to control the amount of pressure going into the keg(s). As you’ll see later on, proper pressure setting is crucial to maintaining a properly balanced keg system. If you plan to server more than one beverage at different carbonation levels, or serve one keg while carbonating another, you might consider a dual-regulator. Here’s a link to the regulator I’ve personally been using for the last couple of years with zero issues.

A Manifold, Gas Lines, and Connectors If you are only using one keg, you can probably skip the distribution manifold. But either way, you will need gas lines and a gas post connector for each keg. Keep in mind that the type of keg you purchased will dictate whether you need pin-lock or ball-lock connectors.



Dispensing

Again, the equipment used here is the same with kombucha as it is with beer. The basics are:

Draft Lines and Connectors Using the proper length and inner diameter of beverage line is another crucial aspect of putting together a well-balanced kegging system. As with your gas lines, the type of keg you purchased will dictate whether you need pin-lock or ball-lock connectors for dispensing your beverages.

Quality Draft Faucets The fit and finish of your dispensing faucets can make a big difference in the quality of your draft pours. High quality draft faucets will have smoother interior surfaces. This leads to less turbulence, and fewer points of nucleation. End result: less carbonation tries to escape the beverage as it passes through the faucet. I happen to have a full review of my favorite faucet, or you can check out pricing and reviews on amazon.



Pre-Built Kegerators and Kegging kits

Of course, this all may sound kind of complicated and confusing, so you may be tempted to remove some of the guesswork.

There are a number of pre-built kegerators on the market that you can use for dispensing homebrewed beverages. Be careful though, many pre-built kegerators are designed to work with commercial kegs, not cornelius kegs. In this case you would need a conversion kit in order to work with your pin-lock or ball-lock cornelius kegs.

Alternatively, you can usually find a used fridge or freezer than can be turned into a kegerator or keezer with a kegerator kit , which will include all the parts you need.

Whichever route you choose, remember that balancing the system through temperature, pressure, and proper draft line length will be critical.

Force Carbonating Kombucha

At first glance, kegging and carbonating kombucha is almost exactly the same process homebrewers use.

But there are two potential differences that can make a major difference. Serving Temperature and Carbonation Level.

Kombucha Serving Temperature

It seems like most folks are accustomed to drinking kombucha at normal refrigerator temperatures, while homebrewers of beer may prefer to keep their kegerators a bit warmer or cooler (depending on style) than a normal fridge.

Temperature plays a big part in keeping your kegerator or keezer balanced (more on that below) so a lot of the online reading you may have done might lead you a bit astray when it comes to serving well-carbonated kombucha.

Kombucha Carbonation Level

Kombucha is usually carbonated to a slightly higher level than most beer styles. More on this below, but maintaining the proper carbonation level and serving pressure for kombucha will require some tweaks compared to a typical beer dispensing setup.

So what’s the problem?

The problem that was presented to me was that the reader’s kombucha was being dispensed from the tap with plenty of fizz and foam at the pour, but the beverage didn’t seem as well carbonated as they would like.

This is actually a fairly common problem with beer dispensing as well, and I know how to deal with it.

Foamy AND Flat?

It seems counterintuitive. But an unbalanced dispensing system will produce pours that are both overly foamy, with a virtually flat beverage.

You might think that having excess foam would indicate over carbonation (and it can) but not always. In fact, if your dispensing system is unbalanced you’ll NEVER get a quality, well carbonated pour.

I cover a lot of this information in my articles about fixing foamy pours, and kegerator line balancing.

The Kombucha Kegging Solution

As I mentioned before, the main differences I see between serving kegged homebrew and kegged kombucha are temperature and carbonation level.

As it just so happens, these are also the two most crucial variables when it comes to properly balancing your kegerator or keezer.

And having a properly balanced kegerator or keezer is the absolute key to dispensing a beverage without excess foam, and which doesn’t come out flat.

In my own experience and in talking with other homebrewers, most keg dispensing issues come down to keg balancing. If you missed it, here’s another link to that article.

Kegerator/Keezer Balance

Since I already covered these topics in depth in the articles mention above, I’ll try to keep this brief.

Basically, a draft system is dependent on a few factors to keep things flowing smoothly.

Beverage Temperature The temperature of beer, cider, soda, or kombucha being served from the kegerator

Beverage Carbonation Level How much Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is dissolved in the beverage (measured in Volumes)

Serving Pressure The amount of CO2 pressure applied to a fully carbonated keg actually serves TWO purposes. It provides the force necessary to dispense the liquid, but it is also critical in KEEPING the keg at the desired carbonation level.

Draft Lines The length and inner diameter of the lines between the serving keg and faucet play a huge role in controlling carbonation



There are more factors, such as the vertical distance between the keg and the faucet, the style and quality of the faucet, and more.

But if your temperature, carbonation, serving pressure, and draft lines are out of balance, you will never get best results.

Temperature

Temperature comes into play all throughout the carbonating and serving process.

The lower the temperature of the beer or kombucha, the more easily it will absorb CO2 into solution.

As the liquid warms up, the dissolved CO2 will want to come OUT of solution.

So colder kombucha will carbonate more quickly. If you really want to speed things up, check out my article on burst carbonation.

Carbonation Level

Many popular beer styles are typically carbonated in the 2.0-2.5 volume range. For those who desire a spritzy, carbonated kombucha, a carbonation level of 3.0 or even higher seems more typical.

This is a pretty big difference. To maintain this level of carbonation, you will have to apply more pressure from your CO2 regulator than you otherwise would.

In order to control this higher pressure and carbonation level, your draft lines and faucet come into play.

Draft Lines

The purpose of your draft lines seems pretty simple. They provide a path from the keg to the faucet so that you can dispense a glass of kombucha.

But they also play a critical role in the quality of the pour, and making sure your nicely carbonated kombucha doesn’t come out a foamy, flat mess.

You see, draft lines provide restriction to the flow of your beverage. The amount of restriction is dictated by the length and inner diameter of the line.

The longer the line, the more restriction you will have. But the higher the inner diameter, the LESS restriction you will have.

The key is to have just the right amount of restriction to offset the high pressure required to keep that kombucha at the ideal carbonation level while it is being dispensed.

If you don’t have enough restriction, the liquid will be dispensed much too fast. This creates turbulence, which will release a lot of carbonation while you pour.

If your restriction is just right, the liquid will flow smoothly, and the carbonation will be much more likely to stay intact while you pour.

It is better to have a bit too much restriction than to have a bit too little. The only downside to additional restriction is a slower pour. But with highly carbonated and pressurized beverages, you need to reign things in a bit to maintain control of the foamy beast lurking within!

Calculating and Balancing Your Kombucha Draft System.

Hopefully by now you can see how important it is to understand how carbonation level, temperature, and serving restriction all affect the quality of your pour.

Let’s run through a quick example to illustrate:

Step one

Assuming you have already carbonated your keg, let’s see how much pressure it will take to maintain a desired 3.0 volumes of carbonation at a serving temperature of 40 degrees F.

According to my carbonation calculator, this would require your regulator to be set to just under 18PSI!

Step Two

Next, let’s see how much 1/4 inch inner diameter draft line you would need for a good pour, using my beer line calculator. 15.21 feet!

That seems like a lot right? Well, you can reduce the length by switching to a smaller ID line, like 3/16 inch.

Using 3/16 ID line, you only need a little under 5 feet.

NOTE: I always add a little extra line to the calculated value when I hook things up for the first time. Like I said, better to have a little additional restriction, and you can always cut off a few inches to fine tune.

Step Three

This is more of a recommendation than a step in the process, but it’s important. Remember how earlier I mentioned the importance of using good quality faucets?

Well, I want to reiterate that, especially when we’re talking about a highly carbonated drink. Good craftsmanship really does make a difference when it comes to controlling foam at the faucet.

One of the best features of my personal favorite draft faucet (mentioned above) is the flow control mechanism. It’s a little lever you can turn that provides an extra level of control over how much liquid is passing through the faucet. That’s a nice little insurance policy in case something else is a little out of whack.

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful for you! There are a lot of variables and tricky things when it comes to kegging and dispensing home-brewed beverages.

Most of the information online is geared towards beer brewers, so when I got asked about kegging kombucha, I thought it would be a good idea to create an article that will (hopefully) be more useful to kombucha lovers.

Please feel free to share this article using the buttons below! And once again, don’t forget to check out my facebook page. That’s how this article came to be, after all!

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