HELP! Getting my delicious IPA out of my keg

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agood1no

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I have been brewing for a few years, but am new to kegging beers. I bought and fixed up a kegerator and put the QD conversion kit on so it would fit a corny keg.

I have been carbonating my newly brewed IPA for about 4 days at 12 psi and 39 degrees F (according to what I read, saturation over time usually takes 7-9 days). I tried pouring some out to taste it, but after about a 1/4 cup of the beer came out, no more would. I tested the CO2 lines and it seems that there are no leaks. I thought maybe the beer line was clogged (there are some flakes floating around in the beer from the dry hopping) so I cleaned the line out. Still nothing. The QDs seem to be hooked up fine, but only a bit of beer is in the beerline, it's not coming out of the keg as it should.

Has this happened to anyone? Is it a problem with my QD? Or possibly the fittings on the keg? Could there be a leak and I'm just not realizing it?

Any help would be appreciated!!
 
The poppit valve on the liquid post is most likely what is clogged. You can try forcing it out by releasing the pressure off the keg and blowing co2 through the liquid post.

Sadly that will only fix it for a short time.

You really have to make sure that no hops get into the keg. The openings on the liquid post are tiny and will clog very easily.

I had this happen once and ended up siphoning to another keg.

In the future make a quart or two extra wort for beers you'll be dry hopping and cold crash them before kegging. It'll save a lot of headache.
 
I've had this happen. I just unscrewed the liquid poppit and pulled the dip tube out cleared the clog and reassembled. My clog was in the dip tube but if yours is in the poppit that comes apart and goes back together very quickly. Good luck.
 
Thank you both for your help - I think you're right that the poppet and dip tube got clogged with the hops. I transferred between bottling buck, back to keg being more careful about filtering. I also tried cleaning out the poppet and dip tube with bleach water, though I wasn't able to dissasemble the liquid poppet (I tried using a wrench on it, but the thing is really stuck, it won't come loose)
 
Thank you both for your help - I think you're right that the poppet and dip tube got clogged with the hops. I transferred between bottling buck, back to keg being more careful about filtering. I also tried cleaning out the poppet and dip tube with bleach water, though I wasn't able to dissasemble the liquid poppet (I tried using a wrench on it, but the thing is really stuck, it won't come loose)

You can't get the post off of the keg? Try some "liquid wrench" on it or WD-40 around the bottom. The post needs to come off. If you mean the poppit inside, try pushing down on it with a nail set, or if the "feet" are stuck, to dislodge the feet and pull it out.

(no bleach, ever, on kegs! They are stainless).
 
**** you're right, Frau, I meant the post not the poppet. The post is really screwed on tight, I can't get it off. I know I'll need to, to properly clean everything out. So I will try liquid wrench or wd40 and see if that works.

And yea, I know about the bleach thing, but I was desperate and panicked and figured one small bleaching couldnt hurt...but in hindsight it probably was a pretty dumb move. I am honestly thinking about going back to bottling, kegging has been a huge pain in the ass for me so far.
 
Don't get discouraged, once you get past this issue you'll be more mindful of getting a clean transfer into the keg and you'll be golden. After my first couple keg'd batches I fell in love with it. I now only bottle for competitions or to give to friends.
 
This may sound like a stupid question, but are you sure the keg was getting gas? i.e. when you hook the gas line up to the keg did the keg receive gas pressure? You would know that the gas is flowing into the keg by pulling the pressure relief valve when hooked up to the gas and seeing if gas comes out. One time I kegged a beer and cleared the headspace with CO2. Then I unhooked that gas line and moved it into my kegerator and hooked up another gas line to it. I went to pour a beer about a week later and nothing came out. I realized that I had not opened the valve on the CO2 manifold, so it hadn't been getting any gas.
 
Thanks everyone for the help and words of encouragement! Yes, I do believe I am getting gas in the keg. There is no pressure relief valve on my corny, but when I disconnect the gas line and use a small screwdriver to push down on the poppet, gas comes out. Also the gauge is reading that there is constant pressure, and I closed the gasket after letting the CO2 in for a day, and so far no leaks. I think it was just a matter of the clog, and so far it seems my second transfer was enough to prevent future clogs. But I guess I'll have to wait and see.

And Roadking, yes I think I just need a bigger wrench to get more torque.
 
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