Storing/Serving

[aaronc5150]

Few questions that I'm sure someone can answer pretty easily.

I have a 5 gallon Cornelius keg.

1. I don't leave the C02 hooked up to the keg when I'm not serving because of various reasons, mainly because of no room in fridge. I serve my beer at about 4-5 PSi, anything higher is too much. When I am done serving and going to leave the keg in the fridge - do I leave the 4-5 PSI in the keg or do I add a bit more before disconnecting the c02 and storing? I've heard a little of both.

2. When I serve the beer, it always spits out a bit of foam before it starts pouring clearly. When its pouring clearly, if I stop dispensing even for a second, and start dispensing more beer, it always starts with foam before serving clear. Would this be due to bad carbonation, dirty lines or what may it be?

Thanks in advance for you replies.
Aaron

 

[dregus]

As far as question number 1; you can leave the pressure in the keg at 4-5psi, you should not have to increase the pressure. CO2 is a mixture and should reach an equilibrium. The only reason you should have to increase the pressure is if the beer has not been kegged for long and then it might be saturated to 4-5psi throughout. The gas and liquid mixture will reach an equilibrium so that the pressure in the liquid is the same as at the surface. This may take some playing with.

I usually put my kegged beer under about 20psi for 3 to 4 days and then lower it to 3-5psi for serving. This is all done in the fridge.

For second question, I have experienced the same thing. Beer is going to lose a little carbonation in the serving tube. How long is the tube? It shouldn't be more than about 3 feet from what I have read. What is happening actually sounds normal especially if the beer line is longer that normal

 

[Fantastical]

2. It sounds to me like it could be the way that the tap closes or dispenses. Maybe try a different one? Just a guess.

 

[breez7]

I found that my lines work best if they are 6-7' long. I keep my temps around 39f and my pressure around 10-12. I have perlic faucets and they key is to open your tap quickly. Pull the handle fast so it doesnt spit foam.

That being said it is also very important to clean your lines often and use very clean glasses.

could be a number of things, need more info.

 

[aaronc5150]

Thanks all for the info.

Breez7, whats the best way to clean the lines?

 

[breez7]

I typically put star san in a keg and push a few gallons of it through the lines, it works better if it is warm. I do that after every keg.

Every few months though I use a keg line cleaner that is a little tougher on the beer stones and grime. But this has to be rinsed after with star san so it takes a little more time, but not nearly as much time as bottling!

cheers

 

[gr8shandini]

4-5 psi sounds a little low unless you're keeping your beer really cold. Most off-the-shelf systems are set up for 10-12 psi to get about 2.0-2.5 vols at 40 degs F. Check out the links below for how to figure out what pressure to store/serve at and how to calculate the proper line length. The idea is to have the beer come to atmospheric pressure just before it reaches the faucet. Any longer or shorter and you'll get foam.

Tubing and QDs are fairly cheap, so I just built up two sets - one for my English style beers that I serve at 50-55F and 8 psi and one for the rest which is about 12 psi at 42F.

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

http://kegman.net/balance.html

 

[aaronc5150]

I keep my keg in the fridge and if I try serving any higher than 4-5 PSI, it comes out way to fast and doesnt serve right at all.

 

[gr8shandini]

Yeah, that definitely sounds like a line balance problem. How long are your fluid lines and what inside diameter? For a "standard" beer, you should have 5 to 6' of 3/16" ID line. That'll let you keep it at about 12 psi without foaming.

So to answer your original question, if you're serving at 5 psi because of foaming and not because of your beer style, you should top off the keg with 10 to 12 before storing for any appreciable amount of time to keep it from going flat. Just make sure to slowly bleed off the storage pressure when it's time to serve as a rapid decompression has other undesireable side effects.

 

[aaronc5150]

I'll have to check when I get back home, but I believe the hose is about 3 -4' long, not sure of the diameter.

I have been doing what you suggested, I'll serve at a low pressure then pump it with about 10 psi before storing. Then when I serve I will bleed out all the pressure and then server it back at the lower pressure