Overcarbed what can I do for today?

[Aleforge]

I have a keg I am assuming is overcarbed. I have done the calculations and with the 10' of line at 39'F at 17PSI should be ok. But its not, I get about 70% foam in the cup! Problem is I have company today and this lager is very good and I wanted to share! So I turned down the PSI to 10 and burped it and it still comes out foam. Is there anything I can do to try and get by with it today or am I screwed? Crappy thing is I have already burped it a few times over the past couple weeks, how long does it take to settle it down!?

Thanks guys!

 

[Sager Brewing Co.]

Try taking the PSI down to like 2. If that doesn't work, you can try disconnecting it completely and letting the pressure in the tank push it out. When it starts to slow down, then put the pressure line back on with very low PSI.


17 or even 10 just seems way too high.

 

[malkore]

That is a lot of pressure...like 3 volumes of CO2. that's great for hefewiezin...seems over carbed for a lager of any style.

for today, turn the psi down to like 5psi, and purge the excess pressure now, and maybe 2 more times before company arrives. 5psi should push it for a decent pour.

then reset it to like 13psi at most and purge the keg tomorrow a few times to back it off.

do you need 10 feet of serving line? or did you do the math and determine 17psi is what you needed to properly carb at 39F...and then calculated the beer line from that?

I think somewhere your calculations got off either way, just need to know your goals and needs.

 

[beerthirty]

Taipans, if you have recently carbonated, then the beer and head space have different levels and when pouring it will foam. If you have had it like this for a week or so then the levels should be equalized and you should be able to drop the serving pressure a little to make it work. If its recently carbonated you will have to drop pressure alot. Time my friend is what all stages of brewing need.
I use 10 feet of serving line per faucet also. It made a vast improvement in the pour. I switched to 10ft after dropping pressure low enough to serve without foam(4psi) with 5 ft but after the evening had to jack it back up to maintain carbonation. Now with 10 feet I can run it at 12psi all the time.

 

[Aleforge]

I got the 10 foot of line idea from Bobby! But I see others doing it also, and yes I used a calculator to get about 2.7 volumes of CO2.

I will run down and drop it and do as you guys instructed! Thank you very much for the help!

 

[Willsellout]

I recently overcarbed my beer when trying to force carb. I took it off gas for most of the day and purged I think 3 times. It's good now and I've been drinking it for the past couple days without much issue. I still need to update my beer lines to 10' as I just have 5' lines right now.


Dan

 

[Zack]

taipans:
I recently forced carb'd two different kegs with the same pressure applied. One came out perfect, the other was all foam. One of my gages must be wrong. What I did was unhook the keg, shake the hell out of it, then purged all the gas. I then repeated the shake method and then purged again. Then I put the gas back to it at a lower pressure, gave it time to settle and everything was fine.

 

[BierMuncher]

What time are you serving?

If you have a couple of hours...diconnect the gas. Bleed the pressure. Remove the lid. Dip a sanitized paddle in and give the beer a (very gentle) swirl. The beer will foam (hopefull slightly).

Let the beer sit for 15-20 minutes to settle down (lid off). Repeat the swirl process. Dip a measuring cup in and take a taste. It should still be adequately carb'd to falvor.

Reseat the lid...dial up to 5-6 PSI and start drawing samples.

At the very least...if it's still overcarb'd by serving time...utilize a pitcher.