first kegging observations...

Alright, so I just kegged my first brew (an American IPA) and I have a couple questions/observations:

- Wow, lots of foam!!! How do I mellow that out?

- Wow, lots of hops and crud still in suspension that made it into the first pour. Any way to avoid that? Should I shorten up the dip tube? If so, do I have to worry about rusting? Also, is there some sort of filter that I could put over the bottom of the dip tube to prevent any crud from getting into the pour?


Other than that, I'm so psyched about my set up...I can't believe how convenient and fun this will be

Lots of foam. Back off the CO2 pressure a bit. I use 5 PSI, but you would probably consider that flat.
You can also google Keg balancing which should give lots of useful information.

Hops and crud in the glass. Careful racking into the keg gets rid of most of this, but it is not uncommon to get the first pint or two a bit cloudy. I shorten my tubes by about 1/2 inch which sacrifices about 1 cup beer per keg, but results in clearer beer for the first pint. I used a hacksaw to shorten the tube, and emery paper and elbow grease to remove the burrs.
Rust is not a problem.

-a.

Reasons for to much foam

- Warm beer
- Unbalanced system (pressure, line length, line diameter and temperature)
- Over carbonated beer
- Old beer lines
- Failure to open and close faucet quickly and completely
- Obstruction or kink in line/faucet
- Warm line/faucet


Common values for keg balance; 40f temp, 6 feet 3/16" line, 12psi.

The crud should clear out after the first couple glasses.

We need more information on your set up and pressures you are using. I've got my system balanced at about 12 PSI and I have 7' beer lines. I get no foaming with this set up. How long are your beer lines and what pressure are you set at?