Does foam lead to more flat beer?

Ok very noob here so be patient. Good news is I have read lots (lots) of post. I have a chest freezer kegerator that i collared with a 2x8's. It's about a 13cubic foot. I currently have 2 filled cornies in there a B3 Stout extract and a AHS clone of a witbier. The beer came out great. One of the kegs was artificially carbed at 12 psi for 2 weeks. The Witbier was forced carbed a week ago, and both have been at 12 psi since then.

Here's my dilemna, for the most part during the week , it's just me drinking a few pints before dinner. Well the first pour is usually more than 1/3 foam, when it settles the beer seems a bit flat. If I empty the foam then pour a pint a get a good head and the beer seems quite nicely carbed. This happens to both kegs. My gut feeling tells me to just keep pouring a tall beer and deal with the bit of foam at the beginning, but somehow it just seems like the excessive foam at the beginning just causes more to fill the pint ... which lead to more flat beer. Is it possible that the little bit of foam promotes more foam and flat beer. I've read other post about lowering pressure, i've tried that .... the first pour is always the culprit, even at higher pressures, after the first pour I can get a good pour.

Some of my thoughts:
-Can the temperature stratification in the kegerator be causing the beer lines to warm. Will putting in a fan help?
-what about faucets, i have some cheap ones..will upgrading help. Any particuliar favorites?
-Is this normal , should I just put up with it. I mean come on, you can't tell me that everyone's first pour is the same as there second....???
-Is this all in my head...


Thanks everyone... I love this forum... especially the DIY section.

Jesse

How long are your lines? What's the temp of the keezer? Does this happen with both kegs and faucets?

I've got 5 foot lines and the bottom of the kegerator is about 35. Altought it seems to stratify up top where the collar and faucets are at to about 40. It happens to both kegs and faucets. Althought the stout foams settle rather quickly but still promotes flat beer.

I think tomorrow i'll wire a fan in there and see what happens. I hate to have to lower the PSI , I'd rather keep it at 10-12 psi than risk it getting flat on me. What's everyone's take on faucets helping my foam issue out?

To answer the basic question, any CO2 that goes to producing head/foam, means less in the beer itself.

You need longer lines. I use 10 feet of 3/16ths on all of my taps & faucets.

Thanks, that should be easy to try out. Do you think I should still go with the fan, I suspect if I go with 10 feet of line sitting on top of the keg, it might get warm as well.

I was running into the same problem, the beer would stratify in the lines at the height of the keezer collar because of temperature. I solved the problem by sleeving foam water pipe insulation around the lines, making sure to cover the liquid post on the keg as much as possible too. Extra line length will just mean you have *more* foam to get rid of before getting a good pour.

While it is true that CO2 comes out of solution in the serving lines, extending them to 10' each will solve the problem. Even though you'll get a bit of initial foam on the first pour of the day, the slowed pour will keep a lot more of the "new" beer's CO2 in solution.

How are your lines positioned? If any part of the lines are above the taps, CO2 could potentially be coming out of solution and gathering in your lines, causing foam.

How warm is your keezer? In order for temperature stratification to be an issue IMHO, it would need to be warmer than anything I have seen.

I keep it at about 35. But when i've placed a glass of water in the hanging basket (up top) the temp difference can be 5 to 8 deg diff.

I was looking to give someone kudos from another thread that I read because it made so much sense, but I can't find the thread... sorry who ever you are..

But for noobs like me it was like the light going off. Basically this person said that you shouldn't adjust the CO2 psi to get a good pour, adjusting PSI is for carbonation levels according to style. You should set you PSI to style. Then adjust beer line length to get a good poor....WOW now that makes sense. I've ordered 10 foot lines. I'm sure I will see a difference. Thanks folks.

Jesse

well i increased my line length to 10 ft at 12 psi. The pour is definately more controlled now. I might decrease to nine, but I think I'll leave it that way for now. I still noticed a bit of foam at the 1st pour but it was definately less. I installed 2 computer fans running on 12v. Came back a day later and my Faucets are now cold as H#ll, and no foam. Sweet... I definately think line length and putting the fans in helped ...