Too MUCH HEAD!!!(foam...whatever)help

UGH! Sigh.......curse words......So i kegged my homebrew for the first time. I read about being able to force carbonate. SO i decided to try it. FRom what i saw in the NEWBTUBE video..... i mean youtube video, it is pretty easy. i pump the psi up to 30 and rolled it back and forth for 10 minutes. it started with swooshing and then i heard nothing. After the first force carb rolling session i let the gas out of the homebrew keg. Foam started coming out of the corny keg air valve. I hooked the gas back up to 10psi and poured. I got about half beer and half head. After i did taste some beer it did not taste carbonated.

Also i wanted to bottle some so the keg was only about 3/4's full. UGH... i was not aware this was a bad idea. was it?

So i read a little....asked a few questions.....and came up with the conclusion to let it sit a couple days with the psi pumped up to 3o. (This would let the beer carbonate, right?) It is sitting in the refrigerator at about 35 degrees. too cold?

After 3 days, still not much carbonation. (im know im probably rushing it) but people told me it would work. Also i am still getting a lot of foam/head.

I can see air bubbles or some sort of bubbles in the line out line. How do i get rid of the bubbles? what should i do?

Should i turn down the psi and let it sit for 2 weeks? should i leave the psi at 30 and let it sit? Seriously why isnt it carbonated any though? I mean a see bubbles but very few. I have been pouring it in the sam adams glasses so i know my usual beers show more bubbles.

Any HELP would be awesome and i would be very grateful. Stepp by step what should i do? I feel like i am wasting a lot of beer. Its like having tickets to the superbowl but stuck outside!

Sincerely,
UGH

How long are your beer lines and what size?

Ugh 5ft. I don't know how thick. About 3/8 I guess. Lemme check. I got them from keg connection.com

Sounds like you've got some over-carbed beer. What temp are you holding the keg at?

5/16 co2 hose and 3/16 beer line. 5 feet long

3/16 is the right size, 5' is a bit short typically. What temp are you keeping it at?

Kegs at 35 degrees

Sorry, just saw the temp in the first post. It's definitely over carbed. You can see from this carbonation chart, 35 degrees at 30psi gives an co2 volume of 4.5. You should have the psi around 8-10 for the desired carb level at 35 degrees. You should leave the keg unhooked from the gas, purge all the co2 out, let sit for a day, purge it out, rinse and repeat until the beer hits the carb level that you want. From there, hook the gas back up at around 8-10psi to serve. If it still foams at that psi, you should lengthen your beer lines to 8-10 feet of 3/16. Those 2 things should help you pour perfect pints every time.

EDIT: Here's the carbonation chart: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

It doesn't taste carbonated!

Think about when you shake up a pepsi before opening the can. It gushes out with all foam, and when you taste the pepsi, it's flat. It's the same thing in beer. The carbonation is being forced out of solution which causes the foam and leaves your beer flat. It's counter intuitive to think that your beer tastes flat while being overcarbed, but that's the issue...I'm pretty sure.

Kmcogar said:

It doesn't taste carbonated!

Click to expand...

It's so overcarbonated that it's degassing as it comes out, and therefore it tastes flat.

Kmcogar said:

UGH! Sigh.......curse words......So i kegged my homebrew for the first time. I read about being able to force carbonate. SO i decided to try it. FRom what i saw in the NEWBTUBE video..... i mean youtube video, it is pretty easy. i pump the psi up to 30 and rolled it back and forth for 10 minutes. it started with swooshing and then i heard nothing. After the first force carb rolling session i let the gas out of the homebrew keg. Foam started coming out of the corny keg air valve. I hooked the gas back up to 10psi and poured. I got about half beer and half head. After i did taste some beer it did not taste carbonated.

Click to expand...

Sounds like your youtube instructions sucked.

Turn down the psi to 12 psi, and get longer lines. Mine are 10 feet, but you might get by with shorter lines. You can probably live with 5 feet for a while.

Set it in the kegerator at one pressure, and leave it alone for a week. The short lines might mean some foaming, but it might be managable. If it's overcarbed, you might have to depressurize first, but once you do that, and leave it alone, it should settle down.

Thanks for the help. I will definitely do that. My bottled beer should be done in a few days to ride me over. Again...thanks

Just purge it whenever you think about it and leave it off the gas. It should come down quickly and then re hook up at the lower psi and go from there. You should be able to fix it in a few days.

FYI guys. Purge it. Let it sit. Pretty much did what everyone said. (started over) turned out fine! Thanks!!!!