thelastleroy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2015
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I've been reading up on methods of carbonation and "balancing" one's corny keg setup. The problem I'm having is that my beer line is constantly full of foam, on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and every pour.
My setup is this:
10lb CO2 cylinder, food grade CO2 from industrial gas supplier
Dual gauge Taprite regulator
Ubiquitous 5/16" red gas line
6 feet of 3/16" proper thick wall beverage tubing
Cobra picnic tap
My kegs are in the fridge at 34-37°f depending on the weather (garage fridge)
I have had my first keg on gas for 5 days at 9psi or better. Some days I have tried ramping up the pressure for a few hours, then bleeding down the head pressure to 9psi and adjusting the regulator to serve, but the same result always happens:
huge amount of foam/head on beer, an almost guiness-like cascade effect on the beer as the CO2 falls out of suspension in the glass, and a flat half-pint of quite flat beer left once the foam settles.
Something I noticed: there always seems to be gas in my beer line, not just beer. Is this normal? Does the CO2 come out of the beer while it's in the line and create these voids? Every pour has a big bubble of "air" space in it, which aggrivates an already foamy pour. When I open the tap, it pours slowly, then "POW" air bubble, then rocket-fast beer/foam combo until my glass is 3/4 full of foam.
I wonder if a perfect pour is desired it is necessary to use the "set and forget" method? It seems to me that I am opening up a volatile system that has not yet equalized in pressure, resulting in the foamy mess in my glass each afternoon.
My theory is this: A "Quick" carbed keg is not truly stable at serving pressure. The liquid is resistant to absorb gas, and simply requires time to do so completely. Once the beer has reached saturation at say 10psi, there should be no problem pouring it at 10psi. Any other mis-match in pressure (eg. beer carbonation level at 6psi, regulator/head pressure at 10psi) would cause too much instability between the head pressure and the actual carbonation pressure, which creates a turbulent pour, And lots of foam. Does this sound plausable?
I'm kind of bummed out because I spent a bunch on kegs to eliminate the hassle of bottling, but currently I can't pour one full pint. I'm actually drinking a bottle right now from an old batch and the carbonation is beautiful right to the last gulp......HELP!
My setup is this:
10lb CO2 cylinder, food grade CO2 from industrial gas supplier
Dual gauge Taprite regulator
Ubiquitous 5/16" red gas line
6 feet of 3/16" proper thick wall beverage tubing
Cobra picnic tap
My kegs are in the fridge at 34-37°f depending on the weather (garage fridge)
I have had my first keg on gas for 5 days at 9psi or better. Some days I have tried ramping up the pressure for a few hours, then bleeding down the head pressure to 9psi and adjusting the regulator to serve, but the same result always happens:
huge amount of foam/head on beer, an almost guiness-like cascade effect on the beer as the CO2 falls out of suspension in the glass, and a flat half-pint of quite flat beer left once the foam settles.
Something I noticed: there always seems to be gas in my beer line, not just beer. Is this normal? Does the CO2 come out of the beer while it's in the line and create these voids? Every pour has a big bubble of "air" space in it, which aggrivates an already foamy pour. When I open the tap, it pours slowly, then "POW" air bubble, then rocket-fast beer/foam combo until my glass is 3/4 full of foam.
I wonder if a perfect pour is desired it is necessary to use the "set and forget" method? It seems to me that I am opening up a volatile system that has not yet equalized in pressure, resulting in the foamy mess in my glass each afternoon.
My theory is this: A "Quick" carbed keg is not truly stable at serving pressure. The liquid is resistant to absorb gas, and simply requires time to do so completely. Once the beer has reached saturation at say 10psi, there should be no problem pouring it at 10psi. Any other mis-match in pressure (eg. beer carbonation level at 6psi, regulator/head pressure at 10psi) would cause too much instability between the head pressure and the actual carbonation pressure, which creates a turbulent pour, And lots of foam. Does this sound plausable?
I'm kind of bummed out because I spent a bunch on kegs to eliminate the hassle of bottling, but currently I can't pour one full pint. I'm actually drinking a bottle right now from an old batch and the carbonation is beautiful right to the last gulp......HELP!