Force Carbing issues...

So I got my first hefe in my first keg. I've had it at 30PSI for about 3 days at about 38F. I dropped it to 12PSI for dispensing and all I get is mugfuls of foam. When I wait several minutes for the foam to die off and the beer to appear, it still tastes flat. What am I doing wrong? It's like I got flat beer with a huge head!!

Did you shake the keg at all? If not you will probably need more than 3 days.

Did you depressurise the keg after you dropped it to 12lbs? (otherwise there may be 30psi in the keg)

Most likely:

Are you using beer line or just stuff from the hardware store? you need real beer no foam beer line.

How long is the beer line and what ID is it? You need about 6-8 feet of 3/16 beer line to serve at 12 psi. Otherwise you get foam.

Try temporarily dropping the pressure down to 5 PSI (after pulling the pressure release) then serve a beer. If the beer does not foam when you pour, does it taste carbed? If so it's your beer line as above.

If it doesn't foam at 5psi and it's still not carbed then you probably need both a longer/ smaller ID beer line AND need to leave it at 30 PSI for a few more days.

On the other hand, it may be over-carbonated already. 30 psi @ 38F is "off the chart" . 16 psi @ 38F gives you 3 volumes of CO2, so you are probably at 5-6. Beer carbonates much faster at lower temperatures. I run my soda water at 20 psi & 45F, which is about 3 volumes.

Hmm... well I am using good ol Hardware store 1/4" braided line, about 5 feet. I released the pressure and dropped to 5 psi, served a beer. It's foamed up a little bit, but not much. The beer was still a bit flat, but had some bubbles. I guess I'll pump it back up to 30 PSI and let it sit a bit while I get a longer serving line... Thanks for the help guys...

omniscientomar said:

Hmm... well I am using good ol Hardware store 1/4" braided line, about 5 feet. I released the pressure and dropped to 5 psi, served a beer. It's foamed up a little bit, but not much. The beer was still a bit flat, but had some bubbles. I guess I'll pump it back up to 30 PSI and let it sit a bit while I get a longer serving line... Thanks for the help guys...

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To me it seems you are writing a book on what NOT to do in carbing beer.

1. You really should be using beverage tubing. It is properly rated with a pressure drop per linear foot so you can balance the pressure in the keg with the drop in the line - so you don't get glasses of foam. The braided line you speak of isn't meant for the purpose you are putting it to.

2. You have WWAAAAYYYY overcarbonated your beer. The easiest way to do it is to set it at your serving pressure (consulting the charts so you know what pressure to set, at what temp, to get the correct volumes of CO2 you want) and let it sit for about a week. Yes, you have to wait a little longer, but you'll get the precise result you wanted. Besides, the beer will be better since it has a chance to age a little longer.

Yeah, but if he didn't shake the keg to carb the quick way, it can take longer.

I doubt 30psi for 3days without shaking the keg would over carb the beer.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

I doubt 30psi for 3days without shaking the keg would over carb the beer.

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30 psi for more than 24-48 hours or so will overcarb a beer, shaking will just make it happen even sooner.

My soda water carbonates completely at 45F and 20 psi in 36 hours without shaking. Shaking is only needed if you are trying to carbonate in a couple hours, not days.

Mikey said:

30 psi for more than 24-48 hours or so will overcarb a beer, shaking will just make it happen even sooner.

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So why does the beer tastes flat?! I dropped the pressure to 10 PSI since yesterday... I guess I'll just have to give it another try later on today... hope it gets better...

Has your beer delivery system been balanced?

Balanced? This is the first time I've ever kegged.

Ah--- this can also cause problems.

Here's one site that explains how it works: http://www.kegman.net/balance.html

so just like what others have said, you need to balance your kegging system if you don't want to be constantly hcanging the pressures. i believe 3/16'' ID beverage grade tubing has about a 2 psi drop per foot. just for reference, i have my system set at 10psi at 40 degrees with 5 feet of tubing, and my beers comes out as i would want, some beers are a bit more finicky than others.

with 1/4'' ID hose, you would need maybe 15 feet of line in order to have the proper drop in pressure?

what's happening is that there is too much pressure at your faucet, either picnic tap or a metal faucet, and this is causing the co2 to come out of solution violently, creating the big head and also making the beer flat in the process.

once you have your system balanced, you will get the 'right' amount of head (read: as much as you want) and still be carbonated.

be careful with the high psi to carbonate and then reduce to serve. it is very innacurate and will cause you problems, especially since this is your first time. i would say to follow what others have said, just set it at your serving pressure/temperature, and come back in a week or so and then draw your first 'real' pint.

now since you've already overcarbed most likely, this will be a bit difficult though. you need to bleed off the excess pressure repeatedly in order to keep the beer from continuing to be overcarbed. in the future you can invest in a bleeder valve with gauge to see the internal pressure in the keg.

once you have more experience with kegging, you can do the overpressure to carbonate if you know how long it will take at a certain temperature to get the right number of volumes of co2 in the beer.

hope this helps!

omniscientomar said:

So why does the beer tastes flat?! I dropped the pressure to 10 PSI since yesterday... I guess I'll just have to give it another try later on today... hope it gets better...

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All the CO2 is coming out of solution in your 1/4" ID hardware store tubing. If you really want to make this work, you need to be patient. You also need to get a 6-8' length of 3/16" ID smooth bore beverage tubing to properly balance your system. After you have the proper beverage line connected, set the CO2 pressure to your desired carbonation/serving pressure, and forget about it for a week or so (I know, that is the hard part). With it set up this way you will have the perfect carbonation level and a perfect pour.

John

Well, I have a beer that has been sitting for 48 hrs at 40 psi and 39F and it isn't fully carbed yet.