Does Foam Waste Beer

[mjc279]

Hi All,

I recently modified a fridge to be a kegerator. For the past two kegs, I'm getting alot of foam. If I fill up a 1 L pitcher until the foam reaches the top, by the time it settles the pitcher is only 1/3 full of beer. While I need to do some more research of the forums to solve the problem my question is this foam wasted beer? As in, will the yield (in liquid beer) be any less if my beer pours foamy and I just let it settle? Or does the excessive foam actually decrease the yield somehow.

It seems like a stupid question, and I am guessing no, but just wanted to ask.

Thanks!

 

[hercher]

The answer is no. Your beer doesn't mysteriously disappear.

The bigger question is why you are getting so much foam. Can you describe the set up, pressure, etc.?

 

[zachattack]

The laws of physics (conservation of mass) are still in effect!

Foamy pours are easy to eliminate once you understand what causes the foam. I'm going to second hercher, tell us about your setup please.

What temperature and pressure are you at, what type of keg, how long are your liquid lines, do you have a tower? etc.

 

[mjc279]

Hi All, I thought as much about losing the beer, but wanted to confirm.

In terms of my set-up, I have a corny keg in a modified fridge. There is no tower, just a tap handle drilled through the door at a height slightly above the top of the keg. The beer line is 10 ft long. The temperature is around 5 C. I've tried all kinds of psis from 10-20 and keg the same result every time. Any suggestions?

 

[zachattack]

Thanks for the info! Is your line 3/16" ID? 10 feet should be decent. I'll ask a couple more questions:

Do you notice bubbles forming in the line, before you pour? How fast is the beer coming out of the faucet? Is the beer "spitting" out of the faucet or flowing smoothly?

How are you carbonating the beer?

 

[mjc279]

Yup it is 3/16" ID. No bubbles form in the line before I pour and it comes out fast. It does have some spitting, particularly in the beginning, but then flows pretty smoothly (just foamy). I'm force carbing the beer.

 

[zachattack]

I mean how exactly are you carbonating, set and forget vs. burst carb, etc. I was wondering if the keg could be overcarbed, but if there are no bubbles forming in the line before you pour then that's probably not the issue.

Beer coming out of the line really quickly is generally a sign that your lines aren't long enough, but 10' should be good. So I'm a little puzzled.

 

[hercher]

What pressure are you using? Have you tried reducing that?

 

[mjc279]

I set it at 25 psi for two days then drop it down to 10-12. Part of the problem could be my regulator as it was not intended for beer use (it goes up to 250 psi, so i don't know how accurate it is at the low end of the scale). However, even when I purge all of the gas and set the regulator to just a few psi, i still get a foamy pour so I'm not quite sure what is going on.

 

[Emma Hicks]

Hi All,

I recently modified a fridge to be a kegerator. For the past two kegs, I'm getting alot of foam. If I fill up a 1 L pitcher until the foam reaches the top, by the time it settles the pitcher is only 1/3 full of beer. While I need to do some more research of the forums to solve the problem my question is this foam wasted beer? As in, will the yield (in liquid beer) be any less if my beer pours foamy and I just let it settle? Or does the excessive foam actually decrease the yield somehow.

It seems like a stupid question, and I am guessing no, but just wanted to ask.

Thanks!

Don't listen to these people below, you are losing beer to the foam. They are correct when they talk about conservation of mass and stuff but I'm going to give u the facts. I'm not a brewer but I'm a chemist in university. Beer contains CO2. When it foams up u lose CO2 to the air, therefore your losing some of the mass of the beer. GASSES STILL HAVE MASS. THIS is why bars make sure their beer is not coming out warm. The colder a liquid is the more gas can stay dissolved in the beer. It's the opposite for solids by the way. More solids dissolve in warmer liquid. This is why a bar loses profits when they pour warm beer from a keg.

 

[day_trippr]

Hahahaha! That was pretty funny! On a couple of levels at least

 

[Dland]

Post # 10; Another amusing first post, someone practicing their AI program, someone joking around, or just another idiot on line? I don't know, but I'm confident the wiser elders on this forum will be able to discern. ;]

To the OP, probably just another somewhat over carbonated keg. Check your regulator and serve or dispense with the CO2 off until it starts to even out. In the mean time, allow extra time and/or a larger serving container to let the foam settle into beer.

 

[mac_1103]

someone practicing their AI program

Definitely seems A but not very I.

To the OP

Who was last seen on Feb 6, 2013.

 

[day_trippr]

Yup, that was one of the levels

 

[Snuffy]

I like foam.

 

[fluketamer]

wtf?

hello 2025!

 

[odie]

foam is...foamy beer...it's beer...

 

[bruce_the_loon]

the AS (artificial stupidity) got one thing right. A bar serving beer from a warm keg will lose money, because I'm going somewhere where the beer is cold.

 

[MicroMickey]

Foam is about 25% beer.

If you really want to understand the dynamics of kegging and draft systems, download the DRAFT QUALITY MANUAL
https://cdn.brewersassociation.org/...13094643/Draught-Beer-Quality-Manual-2019.pdf

Everything you'd ever want to know about setting up a system is in there!

 

[fluketamer]

seriously tho, i consider my beer wasted cause foamy beer is usually flat beer which i dont like.