Explosive pours

OK, I have a chest freezer and I keep it at 40 to 42 and 11-13 psi. I had 6' lines and I thought that was the problem. I got some new 12' lines, no good. The problem is that when I don't have a beer for a while (1-2 days) I get a explosive pour (95% head). I'm not the noob that has not read the board. Could it be a bad CO2 regulator that is giving me more psi than I think? I don't think that is it because the beer is carbonated about where I would expect. I just don't get it. Seriously help me.

The regulator could be "creeping" that is; if left, the pressure builds. Check the regulator. If this is the case, I would suspect some lines would be blowing off too if you don't have them hose clamped.

IMO and best guess is that the lines and taps are not as cool as you may think. The upper part of the freezer can be considerably warmer than the lower portion and the problem can be exaggerated depending on the location of the temperature controller probe. You can mitigate the problem by installing a fan to circulate the air in the freezer which will keep everything at a uniform temperature. I would suggest that you take a temperature reading of a freshly poured beer and see if it is close to your target of 40-42 F. You can then try repositioning the temp probe which may or may not solve the problem. The fan installation fixed it for me. I seriously doubt that the regulator is the problem, but it is something to check. There is the possibility that the beer was overcarbed inititially and remains so even when you have the regulator set to the right serving pressure. Do you have a collar and taps or are you using picnic taps?

+1 to what Catt22 said!

That was my problem, the top of my keezer is like 10 degree different than the bottom of the keezer. I would definatley suggest the fan. EVen then, I still pour out 2 ounces of the first pour, if you leave the foam in the glass , it will just create all foam, I dont know why this is. I guess it could be cuz you are pouring on foam. I pour out the first 2 ounces , then start the pour again and all is fine. Pouring out the 1st couple of ounces cools the tap and lines.

You might also want to start with a cold glass , not frozen. I rinse mine in water prior to the pour and that helps a lot. Use a new glass when you another beer. My keezer sits outside in Texas weather, so my recommendations are probably extreme, but should help. Good luck.

+1 on fan.

definitely helps

OK, all great suggestions, but I do have a computer fan in the keg fridge hooked to an old cell phone DC adapter that runs all the time. The reason I put it in is because I was freezing kegs that only had a bit left in them. The fan seem to fix that issue. The temp prob is very close to the top of the fridge so if anything I would think everything was colder than advertised by my thermometer, but I am going to take a temp reading of the beer when I get home and report back. Any other ideas based on my new info I left out?

PS I have been her a while, but it never ceases to amaze me how wonderful all the folks on this board are. Hence why I pay my 20 bucks a year for a premium membership. If you haven't you should. Disclaimer: No affiliation with HBT at all!!!

Well, I dont understand how your were freezing them at 42. Recently I did partially freeze a couple of my kegs (because I left the probe out). If this recently happened to you with these kegs, I would suggest you actually pull the kegs out of the keezer and let them defrost entirely. At first I just upped the temp for a few days and assumed they defrosted, they didnt, and ice was floating. Another thing that could have happened when you froze them, is they would get over carbed at those lower temps. That happened to me as well.

^^^ what he said is probably what happened. take the co2 off the kegs and release pressure daily until it's really undercarbed
then set and forget

Ok sorry, the keg freezing incident was months ago, the fan fixed that. The frozen kegs are long since drank. :cross: I'm going to take a temp reading of the beer itself when I get home. I'm thinking maybe it is WAY colder than the 42 to 44 that my thermometer is reading in the fridge and they are just overcarbing at the 12PSI I have it set at. I will post an update later.

Before you pour, look at the lines. If they are empty, then you definitely have a temperature problem. The lines are warming up, the beer out-gasses and the CO2 forces the beer back into the keg.

Try drawing about 1/4 pint, then wait 2-3 minutes for the line to cool and pour the rest.

OK, Keg air temp sensor is at 46, the poured beer is at 50, I do have a few air bubbles in the lines, maybe 10% of the line. I'm at a loss.

evandam said:

OK, Keg air temp sensor is at 46, the poured beer is at 50, I do have a few air bubbles in the lines, maybe 10% of the line. I'm at a loss.

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The evidence seems to suggest the beer is over-carbed and the somewhat warmer lines and taps are not helping at all. I would let the beer warm up some and bleed off some pressure until you get no foam and little carbonation, then re-chill at 12-14 psi for a few days and sample it. Ridding the beer of excess carbonation takes longer than you may think, especially if the beer is kept cold.

Catt22 said:

The evidence seems to suggest the beer is over-carbed and the somewhat warmer lines and taps are not helping at all. I would let the beer warm up some and bleed off some pressure until you get no foam and little carbonation, then re-chill at 12-14 psi for a few days and sample it. Ridding the beer of excess carbonation takes longer than you may think, especially if the beer is kept cold.

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OK, I took the beer off the gas and will vent the kegs for the next few days and report back.

Don't you love it when trouble shooting a problem involves drinking beer?