Counterpressure bottling foaming issues

I am planning on taking some homebrew back home for Thanksgiving and tried to fill them, following the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/ instructions.

However, when i filled the bottles, I got a ton of foam and had a hard time even getting the beer to fill into the neck.

I chilled the bottles and lines down in the freezer to get them nice and cold, turned the regulator to 5 PSI, and vented the keg. However, still lots and lots of foam. I can only think of a few things it may be:

A. Do i need to turn the regulator down to 2 or 3 PSI to reduce the flow even more?
B. I dont think I completely vented the keg. I pulled the pressure release valve for a few seconds and got most, but not all, of the co2 out.
C. There was some starsan foam in the bottles from when I sanitized them. Could the beer have reacted with the foam and caused the co2 to come out of solution?


I am going to try again tonight and see if I have better luck, but any input/advice would be appreciated!

Vent the co2 and reset to 2 psi, or just enough to push the beer. That should solve the problem.

I've noticed that it helps to run a little bit through the racking cane into a mug.
Just until it runs clear.
If it doesn't run clear the pressure may be too low.
I have 10 ft of 3/16 vinyl icemaker tubing and use 6 to 8 psi.

Also, sometimes the first bottle or two will foam alot, but then it will settle down.

How long is your line? You may need to use a loner one. I push with 3 psi, so try turning your pressure down as well. Also, fill slowly. The first time I did it, I was getting tons of foam. I learned that you really need to fill slowly so there is always some counter-pressure within the bottle.

I vent mine and then turn the pressure up until it just starts filling.

Also, in case you didn't realize it, the point is to seal the bottle with the stopper. The beer might foam a bit until the pressure in the bottle equalizes with the co2 saturation point. usually in about .5 inches or so. I generally don't get much foaming, even with highly carbed beers. Sometimes I get practically ZERO foam.

Keep the stopper sealed until the beer stops flowing, then crack it open with your finger. You can adjust the flow rate by how much you crack open the seal.

I've filled bottles without having to even create a seal sometimes. You just never know.

I'll second Homercidal and guess that you probably not aren't making a good seal with your stopper. If you can't completely stop the flow of beer something is wrong. I don't do any of the silly extras (cold bottles, cold lines, turning down the pressure) and have no problem as long as I have a good seal.

Last time I made the mistake of storing the solid plastic tube in my stopper, and it stretched the stopper ever so slightly. I couldn't make a good seal, and had foam everywhere.

I agree with the bit about purging the air out of the tubing and racking cane into a glass... drink this later.

If you start the fill with a layer of foam, it only gets worse. Leave the stopper firmly seated until the flow stops, then pinch the edge with your fingernail to vent slowly. One other tip I have is to reduce the temp on your fridge controller to 33F the night before you plan on filling. Cold cold beer likes to hold CO2.

I tried this again last night and it worked much better! I turned the PSI down to about 2 and vented teh keg completely first. I previously did have a very good seal with the stopper, but i think my issues there was that i was venting the gas too fast once the flow stopped. It was causing big bursts of beer, not just a slow flow.

I had about a half inch of foam on top as I was filling it, but it didnt cause any issues with filling the bottle all the way. I'll crack one tonight to see if the carbonation is okay and if so, start filling a ton for Thanksgiving!