Beer is flat

I Have had my beer kegged for a week thr first day CO2 was at 30 psi, day 2 turned down to 20 psi, day 3 down to 10. Tasted it to and it's flat beer has a nice head but taste is flat. Can I chalk this up to a bad batch?

No.

You can chalk it up to impatience.

Well I'm a newbie, so please school be O great one. I posted the thread for advice and help not sarcasm. I'm not impatient just wanting to learn. How long should the CO2 stay cranked up, what should I turn it down to and after how many days, etc?

Wait another week at 10 psi.

Thanks

this is new for you so it takes some time to get stability so' have some patience it will definitely work ...and wait for another 10 psi or 20 psi.

are you storing it cold or at room temp? makes a difference.
I start @ 35-40 first day, and shake at least 3 times, and re-pressurize.
keep it cold, and slap the gas on it once in a while (at 18).

i unhook gas to shake it, don't want no backtracking.

It's being stored in my kegerator which is at 41 as per the digital thermometer reads. The first couple days I was shaking it a couple times a day.

First time kegging? It's a bit more complex than we'd like to admit. However, I think your beer is definitely carbonated. Rather, the CO2 is coming out of solution as the beer transits through the lines as you pour your glass. So you get a nice big head on the beer, but none of the CO2 that's supposed to stay inside the liquid is still there.

It sounds like a few potential options.

1) Your beer is overcarbonated (for your serving pressure).
2) Your beer lines are too short.
3) Your beer line / shank / faucet / drinking glass are warmer than the rest of your kegerator.

I've [unfortunately] had to study this quite a bit to figure out foaming issues in my new keezer build. But I think I've learned a lot there, and recommend you move this inquiry over to the Bottling/Kegging forum for expert advice.

In your kegerator, can you see all of your beer line? Do you see bubbles forming in the line?

isnt the PSI pressure related to the temp?

bgs8884 said:

isnt the PSI pressure related to the temp?

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Yes. My beer is nicely carbed at 12 psi at 40 degrees. But if it was at room temperature, I'd need like 30 psi to get the same carb level.

There are a couple of things to do in this case. First, leave it for another 4/5 days at 12 psi. Then draw a glass. If it's foamy but seemingly flat, that means the lines are too short. I'd recommend changing out any lines that are less than 8' long, and preferably just go with 10' serving lines.

The lines are clear line and I haven't seen any bubbles in them.

Yooper,
First off the batch of mead I made turned out good been bottled for about three months now so I'm sure more aging will make it much better as well as the blueberry pomegranate (should have back sweetened though it's a little dry buy drinkable) as for the lines in the kegerator they are about 5 to 6 feet long, the kegerator is in my garage but I live back down in the south now ( not sure if the southern heat has something to do with it or not) the beer is a stout and taste really good just flat. I have the CO2 regulator turned back up to 10 psi for a couple days now and when i first tasted it i poured it out the tap with the regulator set at about 3 PSI also the CO2 bottle is inside the kegerator with the kegs. Do you think the lines are to short?

TreyNewton said:

The lines are clear line and I haven't seen any bubbles in them.

Yooper,
First off the batch of mead I made turned out good been bottled for about three months now so I'm sure more aging will make it much better as well as the blueberry pomegranate (should have back sweetened though it's a little dry buy drinkable) as for the lines in the kegerator they are about 5 to 6 feet long, the kegerator is in my garage but I live back down in the south now ( not sure if the southern heat has something to do with it or not) the beer is a stout and taste really good just flat. I have the CO2 regulator turned back up to 10 psi for a couple days now and when i first tasted it i poured it out the tap with the regulator set at about 3 PSI also the CO2 bottle is inside the kegerator with the kegs. Do you think the lines are to short?

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Yes- I think longer lines (10' at least) would help. I'd keep the regulator at no lower than 10 psi, preferably 12 psi for 41 degrees.

Do you have faucets through the door? If so, I wonder if the faucets are warm due to the heat. That would cause a little foaming on the first pour, as the cold beer hits the warmer faucets. That would not cause the beer to be flat but would compound the problem with a foamy pour.

The blueberry mead will sweeten up a little as it ages. Well, it won't actually get sweeter, but the perception of sweetness seems to increase with a little aging so I bet it'll be awesome in a few months.

So your saying pour the beer at 10PSI? And yea the faucets are through the door. I'll change out the length of the hoses In a couple days and see what happens.

TreyNewton said:

So your saying pour the beer at 10PSI? And yea the faucets are through the door. I'll change out the length of the hoses In a couple days and see what happens.

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I would keep the beer at at least 10 psi- preferably 12 psi for 41 degrees. Always. No up/down stuff when pouring. Mine is set at 12 psi for 40 degrees, always.

Ok I'll change out the lines and do that. And thank you, you are always a big help

it can take a couple days for that volume of beer to cool as well so 1 day at 30psi may not have forced much co2 into solution

i generally put it at 30 psi for 36 hours or so then set it to my serving pressure (11psi) and leave it for another week before i try to sample it - i also cold crash before i keg so the beer is already at/below the serving temp when i rack to the keg

before you change any lines etc put the psi back at 12 and leave it for a few more days.

also, if it's a new setup, dep where your temp probe is your beer may not even be getting down to 41°

I put mine on at 30 psi/42F for about 3 days then bleed pressure and reset to 12psi. No touchie for 7 days. Bleed pressure again and slowly pour the first pint at 5 psi then back up to 12 psi. This has worked for me. I have found that my regulator does creep up after a week, perhaps up to 14 psi, so keep an eye on that.

Yep beer is still flat as a dollar bill...guess there is no helping this batch. Thanks for the help guys I guess im on to another batch and hopefully it turns out good

Um.... there is zero chance of something about the beer preventing it from carbonating. You could put turpentine in there and with the right temperature and pressure it would carbonate. You do have something wrong, but it's not that this batch is "bad".

either your regulator is faulty and giving you an incorrect reading or you have a leak in either the keg seal or the poppits

did you pressure test the keg before you filled it?

If you do not have taps and are running a easy thumb tap 5ft of 3/16 line works great for 10-14 psi for dispensing. If you have room cold crash your brew this will help settle and extra yeast and get it cold. Cold brew will carb faster. Keep brewing in a year you will be sarcastic to. We mean no harm there is a search that you can use and find almost anything on old threads.
Keep brewing dont be a GV about all the hard times people give you.

Yes I pressure tested it, hooked lines up to up and put sanitizer around all the fittings and it was fine no leaks that I could tell. I'm not sure what is going on. Before I kegged I chilled the wort in an ice bath then kegged it and also let sit in the keg inside the kegerator for two days before hooking CO2 to it. I'm using normal stainless taps through the door with about 5-6 feet of hose. It still has a lot of head when I pour into the frosted mug but beer is still flat.

TreyNewton said:

Yes I pressure tested it, hooked lines up to up and put sanitizer around all the fittings and it was fine no leaks that I could tell. I'm not sure what is going on. Before I kegged I chilled the wort in an ice bath then kegged it and also let sit in the keg inside the kegerator for two days before hooking CO2 to it. I'm using normal stainless taps through the door with about 5-6 feet of hose. It still has a lot of head when I pour into the frosted mug but beer is still flat.

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Instead of pouring into a frosted mug, grab a clean glass (even a water glass is fine) and pour it again.

when you pour into a frosted mug (and uggggghhh, why would you do that to homebrew?!?!) the temperature differential causes foaming, and the carbonation will come out of suspension in the beer and foam up. So, you'll get a big head with seemingly flat beer.

Try it with a different glass, at room temperature, and see if it's better. If it's not, the gas needs to be turned up and the lines need to be longer.

Ok I'll try that Monday when I get home. The regulator is set at 10 psi now. What PSI should I pour at?

TreyNewton said:

Ok I'll try that Monday when I get home. The regulator is set at 10 psi now. What PSI should I pour at?

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Right where it is- you don't want to change it up and down. It really needs to be at a stable psi so that the carbonation is equal with the headspace.

Ok well I tried the room temp glass and beer is still flat, not as much head but still quit a bit

I think your lines are too short. Take Yooper's earlier advice and put in 10 feet of line, serve at 10-12 psi and report back.

Also, when you pour, are you opening up the tap all the way? Or just cracking it a little bit to try to pour slowly? The latter will actually cause lots of foaming and flat beer - you want to open the tap all the way.

The beer line is key,
Make it 10 feet and see.
As Yooper said 10-12 psi,
Is just what is needed for you an I.
And it will give plenty of head.
Maybe that's all that need said.
The carbonation will come,
It's true, true as the sun.
With the right pressure,
It's not a big stressor.
But remember one thing my friend,
Perfectly carbonated beer - to this there's no end!

Ok I'll give it a try thanks everyone and I'll keep ya posted

Beer is still flat

What size hose would be best for the discharge hose?

TreyNewton said:

What size hose would be best for the discharge hose?

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It's still at 40 degrees, at 10 psi, for a month, and the beer is flat? That's not possible- it defies the laws of physics.

Has the gas been on 100% of the time? Either you have a faulty regulator, a leak in the keg, or another problem.

In any case, dispensing like should be "beer line", size 3/16" in an 8-10 foot length.

Yooper,
I know it's sounds weird but yes the gas has been on full throttle open, set at 10 psi the whole time. As far as still flat I'm not sure I haven't tasted it in a couple weeks didn't wanna mess with it. As for the regulator as far as I know nothing is wrong with it, the keg seems to be holding gas fine. I am getting ready to get the 10 foot of hose and redo the lines and see how things work out. If its still flat I think I'll chalk it up to a bad batch and try again.

TreyNewton said:

If its still flat I think I'll chalk it up to a bad batch and try again.

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A "bad batch" won't not carbonate. You can carbonate water, soda, etc, with that system. It's simply not possible to set it at 10 psi for a month at 40 degrees and have it not be carbonated unless there is a leak or a problem with the regulator.

I will taste it Monday when I get home from
Work being I'm here all weekend. Like you said the length of line maybe playing into the taste of the beer. How would I know if the regulator is messed up other than taking it to someone to check it.

TreyNewton said:

How would I know if the regulator is messed up other than taking it to someone to check it.

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I use a ball lock gas fitting with a gauge to monitor pressure when I leak check a questionable keg. It is a male flare disconnect with an adapter to attach a low pressure gauge. You can build one of these for about $20. I pressurize the keg then put this on the gas in port, mark the gauge then check again in 24 hours. If your regulator ang gauges are good, the reading should be the same when you switch over. A leaky keg will be obvious the next day.

I also intend to use this when keg conditioning, being able to see pressure rise with carbonation.

I should point out that my method should be used with empty kegs. Doing this with full or partially full kegs would be inaccurate, as the liquid in the keg would absorb the co2 and would corrupt the experiment. However doing this with empty kegs would consume more co2.

A good compromise would be to fill the keg to the dome, pressurize to 30psi, remove the gas in fitting, dry off the keg top, then invert overnight. Check for puddles in the morning