Foaming Issues

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DanBirdman

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hi,
I've made about 4 batches of root beer using Sprecher's extract, force carbing at 25psi 38 degrees (I don't like quite so much fizz) for a couple of weeks, and then bottling using 30 feet of 1/4'' tubing and a beer gun.

My first couple of batches were successful, I bottled them with just a little bit of foam and I was happy with the level of carbonation. However, my last two batches have been a totally different story. I've used the same method listed above, but when it's time to bottle from the keg, I'm getting way too much foam. I've tried reducing the psi, purging regularly, and letting the root beer sit for a week, but it was the same story when I went to bottle a second time.

I'm not sure what could have caused this, I can't think of any variables in the method I used, except that my CO2 tank is slowly dwindling down. I'm considering abandoning the hobby at this point, because I've thown away about 15 gallons of root beer in the last few months.

Thanks in advance for any insight that you can provide.
 
What pressure are you using to fill and are the bottles ICE COLD? should be just enough to move the liquid out like 2-3 psi. Is foam coming out of the beer filler or just starts foaming in the bottles? are you sure the bottles are squeaky clean?
 
1/4" line has ~0.7 lbs of resistance/foot so you are a bit over carbed, try force carbing a bit lower or if possible try 3/16" line.
 
What pressure are you using to fill and are the bottles ICE COLD? should be just enough to move the liquid out like 2-3 psi. Is foam coming out of the beer filler or just starts foaming in the bottles? are you sure the bottles are squeaky clean?

Well, I've tried about any dispensing pressure trying to get a foam-free bottle, from 2-30psi. I've never chilled the bottles, actually. So that's something I'll probably try next time. As far as cleaning them, I've been soaking them in PBW and then in StarSan. But as far as I can tell, the foam starts in the filler, not in the bottles. One thing that I noticed that I forgot to mention was an accumulation of air bubbles at the point where I connected the root beer line to the beer gun. I've never noticed this in the past, and I'm not sure what would cause it or if it would have an effect on the foam.
 
I've never bottled soda, but when I keg it I like it at 30 psi. Because of the high pressure, I need to use 30 feet of line to get a foam free pour. (I use 3/16") How long is your tubing?
 
another thing to try is to put 1/4 od hose in your dip tube. its the same line used in waterlines for fridges/freezers. it helps with the foam
 
Putting a tube inside the dip tube sounds like an interesting idea. I haven't heard of that.

In reply to YooperBrew, one thing that has changed is my cleaning method. For my first couple of batches, I would just rinse out my equipment and then sanitize. Then, I starting soaking my stuff in PBW. If the PBW didn't completely rinse out, could the soap present in the keg / beer gun cause an unusually high amount of foaming?
 
Back
Top