Carb Issue

[archthered]

I have two kegs that I keep in the same fridge along with the CO2 tank. I currently have a Czech Pilsner that has been on tap for just under a month, additionally I have a Double IPA I put in on 7/19. I am having an issues with both.

The Pilsner, which has been set to 16 PSI from the start, has been foamy with lots of head but that is largely by design, I wanted to see if I could get the kind of traditional foaminess that requires time to to pour and why all advice I've heard about ordering beer in Czech Republic and Germany says order two at once, assuming you want more than one, and be ready to wait a long time. I know it is a bit on the high side for carb but it has been absolutely fantastic and has poured just fine, and in case it is relevant it is almost out, though I'm not sure just how close.

When I kegged the DIPA I set it to 11 PSI and did the roll the keg method of carbing it quick. I then poured a beer, because I always do after I carb, and it poured really slow, additionally it had crud in it, before you ask yes I had just cleaned the whole thing, it was crud but it looked like hop pellet crud which makes sense since it was dry hopped. I did some reading on previous posts and it seems like it is likely that hop crud got stuck in the line somewhere, though none said how to fix it without risking oxidizing the whole damn batch.

At any rate that is where I left things on Friday, I had to go out of town and hoped maybe the DIPA issue would resolve while I was away, ha ha. When I got back yesterday I poured myself a Pilsner and got a a glass of foam, even after letting it settle there was very little actual beer in it and there was some cloudiness to it. I finished the glass and tried another with the same results. I assume the cloudiness is because I had to move the keg around when I was putting the DIPA in and stirred it back up. After that I decided to try the DIPA, it still poured like molasses but I did not see any signs of hop crud.

So my question is why did my Pilsner get all foamy and how can I get my DIPA to pour like it should without ruining the batch?

Disclaimer: Although I have been kegging for close to two years I do not consider my self experienced with it, I've only kegged like a dozen batches and have not taken it seriously. To clarify when I say I haven't taken it seriously I mean I clean and sanitize it after every batch don't obsess about my PSI etc. I find a place on my regulator that is within style, it has ranges for styles labeled, take an educated guess from there, and then adjust it if it taste like it needs it.

I thought that maybe the Pilsner may just be running so low that all I'm getting is foam with trace beer but I'm inclined to think it is something else because all of my other beers just kind of ran out, while they made a foamy mess if you weren't paying attention they only did it for one beer and last night I had two 24oz pours of just foam without the rush of CO2 that typically signals the death of a batch. While the DIPA taste fine I would like to fix its pour rate without killing the beer. I'm not sure if it is relevant but it is possible that my CO2 tank is finally getting low, I've never had to change it yet, the needle has finally moved to the "order gas" section, however both kegs are at the level they were set to so even if I'm low I don't think it should be creating problems yet. Also potentially important, though I don't know why, I dropped the temp of the fridge a couple days before I went out of town.



Bonus Question since I'm posting: How long should my 14+% RIS take to carb in the bottle? I bottled it on 6/3 and it is still flat. I know it takes longer with this high of an ABV but it has been almost 2 months and I didn't see any sediment when I tried the last one.

 

[archthered]

I'm not sure what to make of the lack of replies, I'm guessing either my question was good and no one had a good answer or (more likely) it was stupid and no one could come up with a nice way of telling me I am an idiot and the issue was exactly what I thought it was.

At any rate I seem to have solved my problem. In the case of the Pilsner I think it was just over-carbed, though that still seems odd given the setting. I closed the valve at the regulator, cranked down the pressure, opened the pressure pressure relief valve, opened it back up, reset the pressure to 12 PSI and gave it a couple days. I got a couple more good pours... and then the keg ran dry. So I'm not completely sure the keg being low wasn't related, it just wasn't the primary issue.

For the DIPA I disconnected the beer line, cut the pressure, disconnected the air line, let off some (but not all) pressure from the relief valve, connected the air line to the beer line, opened back up pressure forcing air through the beer line, reassembled correctly and let it sit a day. It was fine, it seemed to force what ever was clogging it back through and I haven't had anymore issues.

In case you are wondering why I'm bothering to talk to my self since I've solved my problems it is so anyone who bothers to search the forums and finds this can see how my situation was resolved. All too often posts simply end with no clear resolution letting people know they aren't alone in their issue but not giving much advice on how to fix it. I think this is one reason some people don't bother to search the forums and instead just post the same questions everyone else has already asked, but maybe I'm wrong on that.

 

[kh54s10]

Just now saw this. My first thought on the Pilsner was that it was over carbonated. You should use higher pressure to get the carbonation to where you want it, then lower to serving pressure. For me serving pressure is about 10 PSI.

For the DIPA, I would have said to release the pressure then pull the dip tube and make sure it was clear. Then check from the keg through the faucet.

So that is what you did. Carry on.