Excessive foam

I've been kegging for about a year, but I just got a kegerator (from Beverage Factory) with a 3-tap tower. Over-all, it seems to be working great. I have a duel-control on my CO2 cylinder, with a splitter on one of the outlets, giving me two lines of one pressure, and a third line with a different pressure. I currently have an American Pale Ale and an American Classic Lager on the split lines. Beersmith recommends 18 PSI for these. I have a stout on the third line, which I have set at 10 PSI (also as per Beersmith's recommendations.) The stout is pouring great, but the two pales seem to be foaming excessively. Is 18 PSI too much pressure? If I turn it down, won't I get less than the desired carbonation? The pale ale and lager are both session beers, and I want plenty of carbonation.

Any thoughts?

How long are your lines? You've got the 2 beers at almost double the serving pressure of the stout so your lines should be almost twice as long.

G2Brew said:

Is 18 PSI too much pressure? If I turn it down, won't I get less than the desired carbonation? The pale ale and lager are both session beers, and I want plenty of carbonation.

Any thoughts?

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Yes, reducing the serving pressure will cause the carbonation level to drop. Whatever pressure and temperature you store the beer at, the carbonation level will eventually equalize with the corresponding value shown on this chart .

You need to provide enough resistance to slow the beer down so that the turbulent exit from the faucet doesn't create a bunch of foaming. With 18 psi that's going to require a lot of resistance. The two most common ways to increase line resistance are replacing the beer lines with longer ones, or putting a few epoxy mixer inserts into the beer out diptubes on the kegs.

From the sound of it, I just need longer lines and I'll be set. Is there any down side to using longer lines with a less pressurized beer, such as my stout? If not, I'll replace all three lines so that I'll be ready for whatever beer I want in the future from any of the taps. Otherwise, I'll keep the stout line as is, and always use that one for less carbonated beers.

G2Brew said:

Is there any down side to using longer lines with a less pressurized beer, such as my stout?

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Only downside is a slightly slower pour.

JuanMoore said:

Only downside is a slightly slower pour.

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I can live with that.

Thanks for the help.