over carbed?? or something else??

does length of hose from corny keg to picnic tap matter?? I am using a picnic tap with 5ft of 1/4" I.D. hose from the "out" post to the picnic faucet. And a 3ft 1/4" I.D. hose from the co2 to the "in" post all hoses and co2 tank placed inside kegerator. I force carbonated the beer earlier today at 30 psi for 15 minutes while rocking the keg back and forth. The kegerator is sitting at about 42F degrees. I attempted a pour about 4 hours later but seems over carbed tons of foam (am I just being impatient???)....I attempted to de-carb using the method in the couple of posts below in the video post by connecting the gas side to the down tube, and releasing pressure from the relief valve after bubbles stop... on the third time I release the valve I was wearing my beer I Reconnected my lines but still pouring tons of foam I figured the first one may pour foam due to a difference in temp (even tho the line and picnic tap are sitting inside the kegerator so they are not room temp). I have my serving psi set to 2-3psi is this too low of psi?? could too low of psi also cause foaming?? need some help. this is my first time kegging.

it sure is a pain having to drink all this over carbbed beer lol I plan on having a get together in 2 weeks (if I don't finish the beer by testing it and testing it lol) any help would be appreciated thanks - Shawn

Waiting only hours is definately being impatient, but we've all been there. Here is a great thread to help you...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

I saw this post and read through a few pages but 51 pages is quite long and I was looking for a faster response.

I guess I am impatient.

I made an imperial pale ale og = 1.085 let it sit in primary for 3 weeks and 3 days, then transfered to secondary (and dry hopped with citra hops) for additional 2 weeks fg = 1.021 coming in at 8.4% abv.

does this mean it should still sit in keg for additional (2-3 weeks to improve flavor???) this is my first high gravity/keg'd beer excuse my newbie introduction to both high gravity and kegging.

I have people coming over the 14th (1 week 3 days from now) to try it. what should I do at this point?? bleed the pressure off every so often until then (how often??) with no gas on it at all??? I don't want to drink half of it trying to get it to pour right ha ha I currently have the co2 in the off position.

My pale that I kegged on friday I had at about 12-13 psi. I pulled a glass or two, ok it could have been three, off today and its still a bit under carb'd. I did the set it and forget it method, and usually do.

Your beer is not over carb'd at this point. Most of the CO2 is in the headspace of your keg. Bleed it off so theres no pressure on it. Then, set it up with about 15lbs or so and let it sit. After it's carb'd you'll want to lower it to serve. You can always sample along the way

what should serving pressure be?? just released all the pressure and set it to 13 psi.

Your serving pressure should be dictated by your desired carbonation level and the beer temperature. Use a chart like this one to figure out where it should be for your beer/system-

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Once you know your serving pressure, you can then start balancing the system so that it pours properly. To get a good pour, you need the beer line to have enough resistance to counter most of the serving pressure. 5' of 1/4" line isn't going to provide near enough resistance even for a very lightly carbonated beer. A good general starting point would be 1/2 - 1 foot of 3/16" ID line per PSI of serving pressure. To stay with your 1/4" ID line, you'll need 3-4 times that length since it has much less resistance than 3/16" line. Once the system is balanced, you can then figure out if your beer is still over carbed or not, and further degas it if so. FWIW when people "burst carb" instead of use the set and forget method, they usually either shake/rock the keg at serving pressure, or crank the pressure up to 30 psi for a day or two, but not both. Shaking a cold keg with 30 psi on it is an almost guaranteed way to instantly overcarb your beer.

deepcdan99 said:

Your beer is not over carb'd at this point. Most of the CO2 is in the headspace of your keg.

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He shook the keg for 15 min at 30 psi. The only way that wouldn't result in serious overcarbing is if the beer was at room temp or higher. Even after following the directions for fast degassing of a keg, my guess is that it's still overcarbed.

I'm leaning towards somewhat overcarbed, but the real issue is serving line more than anything else. 8-10 feet of 3/16" ID is what you need, then see if it's still pouring violently which would indicate overcarbing.

thank you for the responses I will look into picking up the longer line today and see where I am at.

the other issue is it is foaming like hell but beer doesn't come off as being carbonated so I am thinking it might just be the serving line....looks like I get to have another beer today lol

JuanMoore said:

Your serving pressure should be dictated by your desired carbonation level and the beer temperature. Use a chart like this one to figure out where it should be for your beer/system-

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Click to expand...

I believe this chart is used for carbonation but not serving pressure.

FreeLordBrewing said:

thank you for the responses I will look into picking up the longer line today and see where I am at.

the other issue is it is foaming like hell but beer doesn't come off as being carbonated so I am thinking it might just be the serving line....looks like I get to have another beer today lol

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It doesn't taste carbonated because all the foam indicates you've lost carbonation in the pour. Listen to Bobby M, make your you get 3/16" line not 1/4" line.

FreeLordBrewing said:

thank you for the responses I will look into picking up the longer line today and see where I am at.

the other issue is it is foaming like hell but beer doesn't come off as being carbonated so I am thinking it might just be the serving line....looks like I get to have another beer today lol

Click to expand...

The violent pour is causing the CO2 to escape the beer in the form of foam, which is the reason it tastes flat. It may seem counter-intuitive, but severely overcarbed beer will usually taste flat even when poured on a balanced system. The reason is that the excess CO2 wants to come out of solution, and escapes violently as it's being poured, taking a lot of the other CO2 with it. This often results in a lot of foam and a little flat beer after the foam settles.

FreeLordBrewing said:

I believe this chart is used for carbonation but not serving pressure.

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They are one and the same. If you carbonated a beer to 3.0 vol, but then set it at a serving pressure that corresponds to only 2.0 vol on that chart, every beer you pour will cause the carbonation level will drop until it reaches 2.0 vol. The gas in solution and the pressure being applied to the keg always want to reach equilibrium, so the carbonation level will always eventually end up corresponding with the numbers on that chart. This is how you're able to calculate what your serving pressure should be based on your desired carbonation level and beer temperature.

the 3/16" line helped the pour!!! The first pour came out foamy (temp difference in line I am assuming). I set the glass aside and poured another way less foam good head, but beer still seems a little flat. I set the psi to 15 and I am not gonna touch it for the next week or so and wait a day prior to my friends coming over before doing any more testing thanks so much for all the help and replies very much appreciated thank you this site rocks :rockin: - Shawn

pulled 3/4 of a pint off the keg today no more foam!!! woo whooo!!! small head and still requires a bit more carbonation, set regulator up to 18 psi from 15. And will re-check in another 3 days!!

Sorry, but you're gonna be at same dilemna if you keep upping psi every time. Just leave it be at 10-14psi and wait a few weeks for it to stabilize, maybe even a month.

FreeLordBrewing said:

pulled 3/4 of a pint off the keg today no more foam!!! woo whooo!!! small head and still requires a bit more carbonation, set regulator up to 18 psi from 15. And will re-check in another 3 days!!

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Sounds good, should be fine when you have your little shin dig with your friends. Now, the trick is...not running out of beer

too true!! ha ha all these samples and taste testings to get it to pour right I am prob down to 3-3.5 gallons ha ha

everyone knows to bring something else as I warned them ahead of time that there might not be enough to last through out the night.

It was a learning curve, I have the right line on it now, and now know the "quick" force carb method is not as good as the set and forget. next keg will be even better!!

K-asche Mash-een was a hit!! every one loved it and some how stretched the keg through out the night, had enough to enjoy another couple of rounds the following morning!! Why didn't I ever keg sooner??