Out of ideas - flat beer from keg

[brew_mama]

I have researched my issue to death and have tried most of the fixes to no avail. This is my first time to keg and I got a new 2.5g corny keg and new CO2 tank and regulator, all new disconnects and lines and here is my problem.

I brewed a vanilla cream ale and kegged it almost three weeks ago. I wanted to do the set and forget method so I set the pressure to 12 psi after sealing the lid. Mini fridge is set at 40 degrees. After a week I tried it and it was flat despite a head on the beer so I gave it another week. Tasted it and it was still flat. I was using 5' of 3/16 ID line with a picnic tap. I did the soapy water method to check for leaks and didn't find any. I fiddled with the pressure, turning it up to 20 for a couple of days and then turning it down to 8. I also got a 10' serving line and a few days ago, with the pressure set at 8 and the new 10' line on there, I poured a small glass and tasted it and thought it was well carbed and thought I had fixed things. Then later that night I poured a couple of pints and again it was flat tasting despite plenty of head.

Am I missing something or not doing something right? I'm super frustrated because this beer is good and I want to enjoy it and I want the kegging process to work since it is so much easier than bottling. I have watched countless YouTube videos and it seems so simple but what am I doing wrong?

 

[day_trippr]

Sorry to read of your travails, @brew_mama.

The general recommendation for cream ale carbonation is for 2.5 volumes of CO2 - pretty much the same as used for most generic ales. From our favorite carbonation table, scanning across the row for 40°F, we find the closest match to 2.5 volumes (2.47 in this case) in the column for 12 PSI. So that's the pressure you should be using for the life of your keg.

Left chilling with the gas turned on and with no leaks, your keg would likely take a bit over a week to reach equilibrium. Why it has taken so long - and still not be up to snuff - is a mystery. On the up side, you've improved your system by going to a proper beer line that will help keep the carbonation in the beer.

And that's a question: when you pour a beer now, what proportion is beer and what is foam? For say a 12 ounce pour in a conventional glass, you don't want much more than a finger or so of head, as the greater the volume of foam, the less CO2 is left in the beer, and in cases like 50/50 beer/foam or worse the beer can "taste" profoundly flat...

Cheers!

 

[brew_mama]

Sorry to read of your travails, @brew_mama.

The general recommendation for cream ale carbonation is for 2.5 volumes of CO2 - pretty much the same as used for most generic ales. From our favorite carbonation table, scanning across the row for 40°F, we find the closest match to 2.5 volumes (2.47 in this case) in the column for 12 PSI. So that's the pressure you should be using for the life of your keg.

Left chilling with the gas turned on and with no leaks, your keg would likely take a bit over a week to reach equilibrium. Why it has taken so long - and still not be up to snuff - is a mystery. On the up side, you've improved your system by going to a proper beer line that will help keep the carbonation in the beer.

And that's a question: when you pour a beer now, what proportion is beer and what is foam? For say a 12 ounce pour in a conventional glass, you don't want much more than a finger or so of head, as the greater the volume of foam, the less CO2 is left in the beer, and in cases like 50/50 beer/foam or worse the beer can "taste" profoundly flat...

Cheers!

Now when I pour and push all the way on the picnic tap I get very little foam. If I let off some I get some foam.

 

[day_trippr]

That's good: one should always fully open the faucet to the stop while pouring lest undesired foam be produced...

Cheers!