Foamy beer after 2 days on 12 psi

Hi everyone,

A new kegging issue:

On Sunday, I kegged an amber ale. I cleaned the tap lines, cleaned and sanitized the keg, transferred the brew, attached the lid, sealed with Co2 and kept it on as I had just kicked the other keg. I am using the "set it and forget it" method and set the regulator at approximately 12 psi.

Today I checked the regulator and noticed that the other gauge (the one reporting the amount of Co2 left before I need to swap out tanks) had dropped dramatically. So that is one issue: I likely have a small leak.

I used soapy water to help identify possible leaks. I checked the lid, ball valves, all connections, including tank and regulator connections. I did not notice anything suspicious (e.g., no bubbling or small hiss). So if there is indeed a leak, it is very small and likely going to be tricky to find.

The bigger issue is that I was brave and decided to just check on the beer to see that everything was ok. I was not expecting anything but relatively flat beer. Quite the opposite: the glass was all foam! How is this possible with only 2 days on Co2 set at 12 psi?

My first instinct is a problem with the regulator. However, this is a brand new regulator and I had no problems with the other keg I just kicked and took off.

The other possibility I've considered is temperature. However, again, I have not altered the temperature at all from the last keg, which I had just taken off that same day. This leads me to have some confidence that there isn't a huge discrepancy in temperature.

As an aside, the last keg was pouring beautifully. Perfect head and perfect carbonation. I was very pleased and actually proud of myself after the debacle I had with the hefeweizen gone awry (i.e., possible over carbonation).

Which leads me to the keg itself. Is it possible that there is something wrong with the poppets or other components of the in and out connections? The last time I had problems with kegging was with this SAME KEG; my hefeweizen ended up being a mess (although I am partially guilty in that case of possibly over carbonating). When I connect the other keg I have, I do not have any kegging issues. (I own two kegs; both have been used twice. I bought them brand new from The Beverage Factory.)



Could poppet, valve, etc. issues lead to foamy pours? Is this problem possibly also linked to the rapid loss of Co2? Should I take it off the Co2, bleed the keg, and transfer to the other keg that seems to not have this issues? Is this reasonable to do or do folks not suggest this? Or am I missing something more fundamental? Any insights or suggestions are appreciated.

How long are your lines and what size? There is a resistance in the beer lines. 12 PSI might be pushing the beer out too quickly and be causing to to foam up. As for your regulator guage reading low is your tank in the kegerator too? This will cause the guage to read artifically low. Only way to know if you are actually low is to figure out the empty weight of the tank (usually written on it somewhere) and then weigh it and see how many pounds of C02 you have left. FYI, for the future you can also just get a spray bottle of starsan and use that to find leaks.

I'm not sure of line length and size; I purchased a Kegco set from The Beverage Factory. The last beer I had tapped I set at 14 psi for serving (saison) and didn't have this issue. So I'm not sure about the line length, but it remains a possibility.

My tank is not in the kegerator. But I think your suggestion of weighing the tank is a good one. I'll double-check (once I am home) and will see if the weight is on the tank.

And I totally could have used starsan and probably should in the future. One less step for me.

Ya I just figured that the soapy water might have been a bit difficult to clean up and starsan you generally dont have to worry about.

As for the serving pressure that is interesting. I guess it is possible that there is something wrong with the poppets.

It's also possible that since you are setting and forgetting that the C02 didn't fuse into the beer enough yet. It is surprisiong that it is carbonated after only 2 days. Was there a lot of headspace in the keg? That can sometimes cause this to happen.

If your tank is empty after 2 brews it really is likely that there is a leak in the line somewhere.

It is a 5 gal tank right? Its possible there is something wrong with the regulator even if it is new...

What temp is your beer at? It may not be a temp issue if you are okay with one keg and not with the other (assuming you keep your kegs at the same temp), but it may be something to look into.

Are you using a picnic/cobra tap, or a faucet? I had a problem with a picnic tap that sprayed beer into a foam. Easy to fix/replace if that's the issue. If you're using a faucet, check to make sure your faucet connections fit. There have been some posts here about people who got faucet equipment that didn't fit flush and created issues.

I'm guessing your beer lines are the standard 5 ft. There's a lot of discussion on this board as to how long is appropriate. Through trial and error, I found that 7' lines work best for me (with my beer at 40-50 F). You could try extending the lines if you're using a faucet. If you're using a picnic tap, you can correct for shorter length by holding the tap up above the level of the beer out post (the higher you go, the more you make up for short length of line).

Ahh. Headspace.

I kegged about 4.25 gallons in a 5 gallon keg. Thus there was a bit of head space.

Also, when I put the keg in the kegerator itself, it was at 68 degrees. Usually I cool the keg down first and then put it on the Co2. However, the other keg was kicked, so I thought I would just get it started.

Could the initial warm temperature and headspace be the culprits? If so, I am imagining the solution to this is likely patience/time.

There is a small O-ring under the Out dip tube flange that if compromised will allow CO2 under pressure in the keg head space to be injected into the beer flow at the Out post. I would check that O-ring and be prepared to replace same...

Cheers!

[I should have that text bound to a key... ]

I was only mentioned headspace because I have found that my beers carb up a lot faster when there is a more headspace in the keg. As far as it being a reason for being foamy I am not sure. The keg should cool down within a few hours in the fridge so temp probably wasn't an issue. I would do some trial and error with what others suggested.

Another way to find out is to transfer the beer from your current keg into your other one that you know worked. If there isn't a foaming problem then something is wrong with the keg.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

I think I might transfer to the "safe" keg for insurance. This will also give me a better opportunity to take a look at the out components for possible issues a suggested. I will report back if I figure this out for certain.

Just as a quick update...

Good lord, I'm an idiot at times. It looks like the out connector was a bit loose. I'm not sure why I didn't get any bubbling when I applied soapy water. Nevertheless, I've tightened everything down and lo and behold, the beer is no longer obnoxiously foaming. Extra bonus is the beer seems relatively unaffected and managed to hold carbonation.

Clearly I still have my kegging training wheels on -- I'll get this down one day. For now, though, cheers!