Filling a growler from the tap; lower PSI?

[TAK]

I have one of those fittings that snugs up in the faucet to attach a piece of tube. I also got one of those vacuum SS thermos growlers from NB. I tried filling it up yesterday for the first time and got mostly, if not all (can't see in the SS growler) FOAM!

I thought maybe it was because I put the tube right at the bottom of the growler, rather than letting the beer slide down the side. I filled a pint glass today with the hose fitting to see the action, and still got 90% foam.

So, do you need to purge the pressure in the headspace, lower the PSI, and pour it more slowly?

Seems doable, but is a bit un-ideal to puge the headspace in a nice IPA and let out all that aroma.

 

[Early8]

I have the same setup. If the keg seems to pour a little fast and the beer is well carbed, I will dial it down and bleed the keg first. It also helps to chill the growler first. I fill from the bottom and find some fills are better than others. Just my thoughts....


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[Weezy]

Yeah, you need to dispense at minimum psi. Say 2-3.

Turn off the co2 to that keg,
Pull the pressure relief for 2 real quick blast to release most of the pressure,
Then pour. If it stops due to the loss pressure turn the co2 back in for a sec.

Also, rinsing the growler to wet it helps cut down in foam.

Don't worry about that aroma in headspace... that's never going to make it out the tap.

 

[Yesfan]

Here, check this out...





This is what I did with my setup. The only difference between mine and his, was my growler filler doesn't screw into the tap. Obviously with a growler, you'll need a bigger stopper but it's the same principle.

 

[TAK]

You probably have a good point about the aroma in the headspace.

And thanks for posting the video. The opening on the SS growlers from NB is about three inches though. That'd be a huge stopper.

 

[TAK]

Hmmm? I just tried pouring another pint wth the growler filler; I turned off the CO2, mostly purged the headspace, and let the residual pressure push it. I still got about 50% foam. The tube didn't even completely fill out, either. After the initial let down, it was a stream through the tube, turned into foam in the glass.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[stpug]

Here's how I do it:



With the stopper-on-tap method I don't vent the headspace of the keg or adjust the pressure; I just make sure to use a cold growler. The stopper basically creates a counter-pressure filler and you control the flow by allowing the built-up pressure to escape between the bottle and stopper. This works very well for most occasions. I can do growlers very well with this method and it does so-so for 1L fliptops as well.

I do better with the smaller 1L fliptop bottles using the vented headspace / low PSI method without a stopper. Just a cold bottle and slow dispensing.

 

[IL1kebeer]

3-5 psi and a chilled growler and I get very little foam.

 

[mrduna01]

Here's how I do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1db5LMT_D0Y

With the stopper-on-tap method I don't vent the headspace of the keg or adjust the pressure; I just make sure to use a cold growler. The stopper basically creates a counter-pressure filler and you control the flow by allowing the built-up pressure to escape between the bottle and stopper. This works very well for most occasions. I can do growlers very well with this method and it does so-so for 1L fliptops as well.

I do better with the smaller 1L fliptop bottles using the vented headspace / low PSI method without a stopper. Just a cold bottle and slow dispensing.

Interesting... I've not seen this method before but makes perfect sense. What size stopper for standard perlick
faucets?

 

[Yesfan]

You probably have a good point about the aroma in the headspace.

And thanks for posting the video. The opening on the SS growlers from NB is about three inches though. That'd be a huge stopper.

Which flask do you have? I looked on NB's sight and some of them look like they have a pop top on the main screw on lid. If that's the case, I'm sure you could still be able to use a stopper.

I think in the end, all you really need is something to hold the pressure back on the beer, and to be able to vent that pressure when needed so beer can flow in and fill the growler up. It shouldn't be too hard to rig something up.

 

[stpug]

Interesting... I've not seen this method before but makes perfect sense. What size stopper for standard perlick
faucets?

It's a #6 gum rubber stopper. The tough part is trying to get the hole big enough to fit the perlick 525 series faucet diameter. Nothing I used to open up the hole worked very well at all but a large diameter drill bit got it a little bigger with ragged edges. If I had to do again, I would probably try freezing the stopper as cold as possible using something like dry ice (or liquid nitrogen if you have it) and then QUICKLY drilling the hole bigger while it's more solid. Maybe a circular rasp or file could work. I really don't know what would work because everything I used didn't BUT, in the end, I can slip it onto a perlick with a little effort.

You might have better luck with a universal stopper (instead of gum rubber) but I'm not sure on the size. They should be easier to open up and after using this method a lot I don't see the need for the gum rubber. I might have to give this a try myself.

 

[Weezy]

Try wetting the tube and growler. That's a lot of nucleation points over all that area. And a fat fill tube really allows the beer to churn and release the pent up co2.

 

[dwDrummer]

After the initial let down, it was a stream through the tube, turned into foam in the glass.

Am I doing something wrong?

You may want to try a tube with a smaller internal diameter. I used to have the same problem when I would see only a stream through the tube I would end up with a lot of foam; when the tube was full with beer, no foam.

 

[Jordo_nb]

I can fill a growler off my perlick tap no problem... no adapter/stopper needed. My PSI is around 10 and 6 feet of line off each keg.

 

[TAK]

Which flask do you have? I looked on NB's sight and some of them look like they have a pop top on the main screw on lid. If that's the case, I'm sure you could still be able to use a stopper.

I think in the end, all you really need is something to hold the pressure back on the beer, and to be able to vent that pressure when needed so beer can flow in and fill the growler up. It shouldn't be too hard to rig something up.

I have one like the pic below. No pop top. I measured the opening and it's 2 3/16". Pretty big for a stopper, and even so, it'd be tough not seeing the fill.

 

[TAK]

3-5 psi and a chilled growler and I get very little foam.

I can fill a growler off my perlick tap no problem... no adapter/stopper needed. My PSI is around 10 and 6 feet of line off each keg.

Are you guys both filling into the growler directly from the tap, i.e. the exact same as you'd fill a pint glass?

 

[Yesfan]

I have one like the pic below. No pop top. I measured the opening and it's 2 3/16". Pretty big for a stopper, and even so, it'd be tough not seeing the fill.

Even though I can see in my bottles, I fill them until they start to fizz out the top and overflow a bit. That helps minimize the amount of O2 in the bottle. A stainless growler would be the same way.