Too much foam?

My buddy brewed a boston ale and I think he may have put 30lbs on a 3 gal corni that had been sitting for a while like 2 or 3 years. Well we tapped it tonight and I bleed off some of the co2 and rigged up, put 3lbs on the regs with a picnic tap and 3' of hose and got nothing but foam. After struggling for the beer I took the lid off and poure the beer into the mugs but to my suprise when the liquid hit the glass it too turned to foam. Could this be over carbonated?

Mainebrew said:

My buddy brewed a boston ale and I think he may have put 30lbs on a 3 gal corni that had been sitting for a while like 2 or 3 years. Well we tapped it tonight and I bleed off some of the co2 and rigged up, put 3lbs on the regs with a picnic tap and 3' of hose and got nothing but foam. After struggling for the beer I took the lid off and poure the beer into the mugs but to my suprise when the liquid hit the glass it too turned to foam. Could this be over carbonated?

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It definitely sounds overcarbonated. I also think 3 feet of hose is about half of what you need to get a decent pour. I have my kegs (5 gallon) at 12 psi with 8-10 feet of beerline. That gives me a perfect pour. How long has it been at 30 psi? You can try pulling the pressure relief valve every few hours until it's better.

Your beer hose size makes a huge difference too. I use 6 feet of 3/16th tubing at 12psi. The larger the ID of the hose, the longer you'll need.

30psi will overcarb fast.
6 feet of beer line is a good place to start. I run 10feet to balance my system.

Mainebrew said:

My buddy brewed a boston ale and I think he may have put 30lbs on a 3 gal corni that had been sitting for a while like 2 or 3 years. Well we tapped it tonight and I bleed off some of the co2 and rigged up, put 3lbs on the regs with a picnic tap and 3' of hose and got nothing but foam. After struggling for the beer I took the lid off and poure the beer into the mugs but to my suprise when the liquid hit the glass it too turned to foam. Could this be over carbonated?

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the beer has been sitting in the cornie for 2 or 3 years?

keep purging the keg sounds like it's way over carb'ed don't hook the keg back up between purges either. I would let it settle until just a small amount of CO2 comes out after a day or two then hook up to CO2 and slowly increase to get the proper level of CO2

If that beer was sitting in a keg for 2-3 years, residual fermentation is most likely your culprit...not 30# of pressure. Thought the 30# didn't help

How long was the beer under the gas and at what temps?

BierMuncher said:

If that beer was sitting in a keg for 2-3 years, residual fermentation is most likely your culprit...not 30# of pressure. Thought the 30# didn't help

How long was the beer under the gas and at what temps?

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If they were sitting that long without pressure they may also be infected . Just thinking out loud again

Let us know if its still drinkable after 2-3 yr. in keg.

Well I drank the 2 3 gal cornis I had and had no problem, Like you guys said a little over-carbing but I bled some off and after a couple of days I had good pulls. No contamination that I know of tasted excellent and very delcious, YUM! But If I were to store them myself I would maybe put 15-18 psi on them and put them away because I think they will become more carbonated over time. But it is good to know that your beer under the right conditions can stay good over that span of time.

I would not carb, just let it sit and age until you're ready (purge head space as usual when kegging). Save on gas and same result. 2-3 years though? Wow, that should be some tasty beer; good to know!

If you were priming with sugar I would set it and forget it, but force carbing till you hit your level them keep it there as long as your seals are good.