Dumping the first few foamy pints - why I think YOU'RE crazy...

[ILMSTMF]

did all that work and you're going to just dump those foamy pours?? PSSSHT.

Night 1, force carb and roll keg at 30psi.
Night 2, connect to 12 psi line. Vent pressure to settle to 12.
Night 3, pour two foamy pints.
Night 4, pour three foamy pints.

Each time, I let the head settle down then pour to top up until arriving at a full pour. I have no problem with drinking these. Now tell me why I'M crazy to not dump these out...!

 

[day_trippr]

 

[Sbe2]

did all that work and you're going to just dump those foamy pours?? PSSSHT.

Night 1, force carb and roll keg at 30psi.
Night 2, connect to 12 psi line. Vent pressure to settle to 12.
Night 3, pour two foamy pints.
Night 4, pour three foamy pints.

Each time, I let the head settle down then pour to top up until arriving at a full pour. I have no problem with drinking these. Now tell me why I'M crazy to not dump these out...!

Glad I’m not the only one

 

[ILMSTMF]

...and now I'm beginning to wonder what I've done wrong.

Night 5, three more pours and still foamy.
Initially, keezer is set to 40F. The manifold serving this keg is at 12psi. The beer was cold crashed before transferring to keg. The keg was force carb'd at 30 in the keezer. The line is 18' long and coiled; next to the other lines low in the keezer, near the compressor hump.
I just lowered target to 38F, vented the keg, and connected a 10psi line to it from secondary manifold.
Glad I got these Perlick 650SS flow control taps!

Let's see how this pours tomorrow...

 

[day_trippr]

If the beer was cold when "Night 1, force carb and roll keg at 30psi." happened, it was likely well overcarbed.

"Rock'n'Roll" or "shake'n'bake" carbonation should use the same pressure as any carbonation calculator/table/chart would recommend for the given temperature and desired volumes of CO2. Doing it at 30 psi is basically an even-more-accelerated burst-carb process with all the trickiness that entails.

Lowering the pressure at this point will cause CO2 to come out of solution, which while heading in the right direction will cause dispensing issues. If you check your beer lines after leaving things be for a few hours I expect you'd notice some large gas pockets forming as the beer gives up some of the CO2.

If you have a way to hook a pressure gauge directly to the keg you can use the head pressure to give you some idea of where the carbonation level is now. If it's well above any chart/table/calculator for the temperature vs volumes of CO2 you want, the better part of valor might be to knock the carbonation level down quickly and get it over with...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/overcarbed-keg-heres-an-instant-solution.127655/

Cheers!

 

[6Tap]

When I’ve experienced foamy pints two things below have fixed the problem.

1. I’ve turned off the co2 to the keg and then purged the keg leaving only a few psi left. Beer sat overnight like this then next day turned co2 to 10 psi and fixed after a few pours.

2. Well, i had a few too many beers when reassembling my keg and I put the long out tube on the inlet side.

Anyway, hope you get it solved
Soon!! [emoji482]

 

[ILMSTMF]

1. I’ve turned off the co2 to the keg and then purged the keg leaving only a few psi left. Beer sat overnight like this then next day turned co2 to 10 psi and fixed after a few pours.

So, I'm now on my third attempt at this. First was an overnight. Last one was like, 24 hours. Still pouring pretty damn foamy. I feel like maybe with some more pouring it will have evened out...? Anyway. Last night, vented keg and left a few pounds of pressure in it. I am going to repressurize to 9psi after 48 hours. I will miss drinking the beer tonight... but, for the greater good!

2. Well, i had a few too many beers when reassembling my keg and I put the long out tube on the inlet side.

Anyway, hope you get it solved

Hahaha

If this latest attempt doesn't do it... I might be brave and attempt @day_trippr's linked-to advice. For now, I've been pouring patiently and it's fine... but annoying. Cheers!

 

[ILMSTMF]

Update!

In addition to the advice found in this thread, this article was a big help to finally fixing the foaming issue.

https://www.kegconnection.com/blog/managing-foam-on-a-home-draft-beer-system/

Thought I had it fixed with some venting / resting / re-gassing but the problem persisted... though not as bad as before those efforts.

Calibrated my thermometer and measured 45.5F in the glass. I don't remember what I had keezer set to, probably 40, maybe 42. So, dropped keezer to 36 and, two nights later... Two pints pour out without over-foaming!

The article's emphasis on using thermometer in the glass and to initially focus on temperature as the likely culprit were what, ultimately, solved the problem.

The unfortunate part of all this is that it took me to the last five pints left in the keg to make this temp adjustment / fix. Good learning experience though, cheers!

 

[ILMSTMF]

Another update!

Night 1, force carb and roll keg at 30psi.
Night 2, connect to 12 psi line. Vent pressure to settle to 12.
Night 3, pour two foamy pints.
Night 4, pour three foamy pints.

In addition to not-cold-enough beer, I have found one crucial flaw I've been making all along... After rocking the keg at 30psi, I left the gas connected for 12 hours before lowering to 12psi. WHOOPS. Here is the revised method for other poor folks who can benefit from this:

Night 1, after transferring beer into keg, force carb at 30psi. Rock and / or roll the keg back and forth (on the floor). Listen for the gas bubbles streaming into the beer. When the bubbles slow down, roll again. Stop rolling once the amount of bubbles sounds minimal. Disconnect the gas line, store keg in keezer or cool place. If you have the time, vent the keg a little bit every couple of hours.
After about 12 hours, vent the keg before connecting to 12 psi line. You can make the mistake that I made once... connecting a lower pressure line to a higher pressure vessel (in this case, 12psi line going into a 30psi charged vessel) can cause the beer to back up into the gas line. Especially if the beer is high in the keg and / or if the gas dip tube isn't trimmed (mine are not).

You can probably pull a pint now and expect a foamy pour. Or wait a while before pouring. I welcome experts to weigh in. Drink it, if you like. I do. :-D

I hope this helps others learn from my mistakes!

 

[Kickass]

Are you dead set against the “set it and forget it” method? Time is currency for which peace of mind is purchased with.

 

[ILMSTMF]

@Kickass - I am not against that method! However, have I misunderstood it? As I interpret it...

• transfer beer into keg, place in keezer.
• put the gas on at one's desired serving pressure.
• wait about a week and then serve

The last part, that's why I force carb. Want to pour sooner. Am I thinking about this correctly? Thanks!

 

[Steveg229]

Here is my method which can get me pouring almost fully carbed beer after 24 hours. Chill beer to 33 degrees before kegging. After kegged, set to 40 psi for 24 hours. Vent and then set to serving pressure. Depending on a few variables, most of the time the beer is about 90% -100% carbed. No shaking or rolling required. I have never overcarbed this way.....as long as you do not let go over 24 hours.

 

[Dland]

Of course if you spund, you have full carbonation even before it is ready to drink. If you set spunding valve or let off CO2 manually as when it goes over 30PSI at about 60F, it will never be over carbed.

 

[Kickass]

@ILMSTMF Thats the set and forget method. It sounds like the week or two to carb is the deal breaker for you.

 

[day_trippr]

It takes a bit more than two weeks to bring five gallons in a corny keg to equilibrium at, say, 2.0 volumes. Which nicely dovetails with cold conditioning time...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated.73328/

Cheers!

 

[ILMSTMF]

@ILMSTMF Thats the set and forget method. It sounds like the week or two to carb is the deal breaker for you.

yup!

It takes a bit more than two weeks to bring five gallons in a corny keg to equilibrium at, say, 2.0 volumes. Which nicely dovetails with cold conditioning time...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated.73328/

View attachment 674813

Cheers!

your note at 3 weeks is what scares me...

 

[day_trippr]

Not my graphic - Bobby_M posted the original. I found it handy to keep a copy as it helps 'splain things
But I don't disagree with his point, and my pipeline basically adopts it. Even beers best enjoyed young (which frankly are most styles) benefit from a good cold conditioning...

Cheers!

 

[ILMSTMF]

That's where I'm at. Getting through a Pliny clone that's not even 2 weeks in the keg and maybe... 30% left in keg.
Now the test of endurance will be to leave some in to the 3 week mark and beyond...!

 

[myndflyte]

@Kickass - I am not against that method! However, have I misunderstood it? As I interpret it...

• transfer beer into keg, place in keezer.
• put the gas on at one's desired serving pressure.
• wait about a week and then serve

The last part, that's why I force carb. Want to pour sooner. Am I thinking about this correctly? Thanks!

Just crank the pressure to 30 psi and leave it for 24 hours while it's cooling. It should be carbed enough to enjoy. I usually need another 24 hours at 30 psi before I turn it down to serving pressure. By that point, it's close enough to the right carb level and in about a week at serving pressure, it'll be at the correct pressure.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Indeed @myndflyte Just don't make the mistake that I did by rocking / rolling at 30psi and keeping the gas supply on for those 24 hours!