Can near empty keg cause overcarbed beer?

So I have a question I'm hoping you guys can answer.

I currently have a corny of Altbier that is almost empty that the last few beers I've poured from seem to be overcarbed. For the majority of the keg the pour has been great until just recently which prompted me to check the keg which is almost empty as well as my beer lines which are now showing signs of CO2 breakout.

My question is has anyone else experienced this with a keg that is almost empty or can this be attributed to something else. As far as I know my system is pretty balanced and my tank hasn't creeped or anything since it's been reading the same pressure the whole time. Just FYI my system is set at 10 psi at 38 degrees with 10 foot of beer line on a flow control faucet.

Anyway the pour isn't horrible or anything thanks to the flow control but I just wanted to see what you guys think.

Thanks for any and all responses!

I also noticed my beer generally gets a little more carbonated towards the end oF the keg. Thought it was just my perception but maybe not.

How long has it been carbonated? How did you carbonate it? If you did the shake method, the keg might be just be beginning to be fully carbonated.... OR, if your keg gets colder and the pressure stays the same it will make the beer more carbonated.
Other than that, I can't think of a reason why... weird.

It's been kegged since Thanksgiving using the set and forget method.

I thought it was weird too although I've actually experienced the same thing with my other beers but they were force carbed in like 2-3 days at high pressure and drank fast so I attributed it to that.

This one I felt like I did the most fool proof way and the pour was great for the majority of the keg until the last 3 or so beers with probably a couple to go before it's floated.

I do however keep it hooked up 24/7 so maybe more CO2 is getting forced in due to less beer? I dunno I'll try unhooking it on my next keg when I'm not using it and see if that alleviates it.

Ok so been doing some reading and some brainstorming and I could be grasping at straws here but I wonder if it could be a temperature issue.

From what I understand cold air sinks so most refrigerators are colder at the bottom than the top but to what degree I'm not sure. That said what if now that there is only the somewhat colder beer at the bottom without the somewhat warmer beer at the top the overall temp of the keg/remaining beer has dropped slightly but enough to allow more CO2 to absorb and thus overcarbing the beer. Also the overall amount of beer has dropped which might possibly make it easier to drop the temp as opposed to a full keg.

I dunno was just throwing that out there even though it could be way off.

Ding ding ding. Correct answer.

Bobby_M said:

Ding ding ding. Correct answer.

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Sweet I'm learning!!!!! Look mom no hands!:rockin:

So is there anything to be done like a fan or something to circulate the air or is it just kinda par for the course?

I haven't noticed. I just notice if I pour 2 beers, the first generally has more head.

Hoppinghog said:

Sweet I'm learning!!!!! Look mom no hands!:rockin:

So is there anything to be done like a fan or something to circulate the air or is it just kinda par for the course?

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A circulating fan should keep the temp stratification to a minimum.

JMass said:

I haven't noticed. I just notice if I pour 2 beers, the first generally has more head.

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This is a sign that the lines/shanks/faucets warm up a bit between pours. The first pour, the CO2 gets knocked out due to temp rise. By the second pour, it's cooled down due to the first pour so more CO2 stays in solution. This is why I pour 2oz, knock it back, then pour a full pint.