Coconut/Vanilla Milkshake IPA

[sbsmann]

I made a really nice tasting coconut milkshake IPA that I kegged a few weeks ago. The problem I am having with it relates to the dispensing of it and having a lot of foam. I get about 1-1.5" of beer which seems to equate to only what was settled and sitting in the beer line. Then when the tap actually starts drawing from the keg, all I seem too get is foam. If I let the beer sit for 5 minutes it does settle out and look pretty nice, but I don't know if this is typical for this style of beer or whether something is wrong. The beer is NOT over carbonated, and the recipe was 9.5 lbs Pilsen Malt, 1 lb flaked oats, 1 lb torrified wheat. Some late boil hops and 1lb of lactose with 10 minutes left in the boil. There were also hop stand additions and dry hopping along with 1 lb of shredded coconut and some vanilla beans in the fermenter. Being my first Milkshake IPA, I am wondering if this foaming issue is typical for this style and at all related to either the lactose or coconut additions? I just can't quite figure it out!

 

[kevink]

I don't think it's the beer. I have done a few milkshakes (although not with coconut) that poured just like all of my other beers. Are you sure there isn't something wrong with your kegging setup? Temps, pressures, line length, etc. Has anything changed lately? How do you know it's not overcarbed? Since a lot of carbonation is coming out during the pour, you technically have not tasted it with all of the carbonation in the beer, right? Your description sounds just like an overcarbed keg. I have done it...

 

[sbsmann]

So it was definitely not over carbonated. I was using a picnic tap temporarily because I had more kegs than I had tappers. My picnic tap is 5'10' of 3/16" tubing but for some reason as 12psi it was giving me a ton of foam. After hooking up to my standard tapper using a very similar length of 3/16" tubing, it poured perfectly. Not sure why the picnic taps always seem to do that but in general my success with them is low and I always seem to turn off the CO2 and bleed the keg a little for a good pour.

 

[RJL417]

I made a really nice tasting coconut milkshake IPA that I kegged a few weeks ago. The problem I am having with it relates to the dispensing of it and having a lot of foam. I get about 1-1.5" of beer which seems to equate to only what was settled and sitting in the beer line. Then when the tap actually starts drawing from the keg, all I seem too get is foam. If I let the beer sit for 5 minutes it does settle out and look pretty nice, but I don't know if this is typical for this style of beer or whether something is wrong. The beer is NOT over carbonated, and the recipe was 9.5 lbs Pilsen Malt, 1 lb flaked oats, 1 lb torrified wheat. Some late boil hops and 1lb of lactose with 10 minutes left in the boil. There were also hop stand additions and dry hopping along with 1 lb of shredded coconut and some vanilla beans in the fermenter. Being my first Milkshake IPA, I am wondering if this foaming issue is typical for this style and at all related to either the lactose or coconut additions? I just can't quite figure it out!

OP,

I recently brewed a Vanilla Coconut milkshake IPA extract recipe from NB. I followed the recipe but it didn’t come out as well as I had hoped. It’s not bad but it’s just off a little. First time using vanilla and coconut in beer, just curious what you may have done differently that lead to better results. Id like to try this recipe again and experiment with some variables.

Thanks for your input