Beer gun working well - but too much foam?

[jat147]

Howdy,
Well, it's not a Blichman - it's one I made to copy the beer gun, but is a decent replica that I made in order to bottle a few lagers from a keg.

It does work pretty well, and the bottles are well carbed - but it creates too much waste in doing so because of the initial foam the wand sends out before any beer comes through. I've played around with the pressure, the flow rate, and the temperature but I can't escape the foam. Even with a long line between keg and wand.

I saw a Blichman being used in a video and the user also had a little too much foam - is this just a fact of life? Or are there beer gun users that have found a decent solution to this?

 

[chickypad]

I don't get foam with the Blichmann gun. You are probably already doing these things but here are my main tips: cold bottles, beer line to the gun at least 10 Ft of 3/16", purge the keg just before starting and set pressure to keg and gun around 4 psi. I may get a touch of foam in the first bottle but zero after that. I don't do this but maybe try pre-chilling the gun and lines too?

 

[Rivenin]

the only time i get foam for the most part is the starsan coming out of the top, beer doesn't really foam much

 

[jat147]

Thanks very much.
It sounds like I'm doing everything right - that's the confusing thing?

I suspect the flow rate, how long does it take to fill a small bottle?

 

[Rivenin]

a 12oz bottle? maybe 20ish seconds? When i'm bottling, i run maybe 3 PSI too.

 

[chickypad]

sounds about right, 15-20 sec maybe for a 12 ouncer. What exactly is the design of your gun?

 

[jat147]

It's tee shaped, with a copper rod that reaches the base of the bottle. With 2 valves at the top for allowing co2 or beer into the bottle. I ripped off the design from someone, somewhere? I forget now.

 

[SeeMont]

With my Beergun, I have noticed that the beer will bleed back so I will have an air space in my line. I will get rid of this before I start the fill. I also have wet bottles, wet with Star San. One other trick they show in the Beergun video, is to tilt the bottle, that seems to help. I get very little if no foam and what foam I have I just cap on.

 

[Roadie]

The only time I get a lot of foam is when I start bottling with maybe just a gallon or so left in the keg. Otherwise make sure everything is cold.


Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[jat147]

With my Beergun, I have noticed that the beer will bleed back so I will have an air space in my line. I will get rid of this before I start the fill. .

That's a good point, the beer will drain out if the wand back up to the valve. When the valve is opened, the beer falls the distance of a bottle and a half before hitting the base of the bottle - that is causing the initial foam. I have cut the end of the wand at 45 degrees - I might alter that a little, and tilt the bottle more to fill the first runnings more gently.