excessive foaming

[twobears]

I'm a beginner. I bought some kegs I saw on Craigslist, brewed my first batch, and went to a supply store to pick up a CO2 tank. I asked the clerk (which was a young girl, high school student) to fix me up with the necessary equipment to put a picnic tap together. She sold me the ball-lock coupler, a cheap plastic spout and about 3' feet of 1/4" tubing. I stopped at a buddys house (also a homebrewer) and borrowed a regulator. I got the beer kegged and carbed (30 psi, 2 days). I backed off the pressure to 5 PSI, hooked up the tap, and put a few ounces of beer in a glass to taste it. There was no foam at that time, the beer seemed under carbed. So I unhooked the tap, cranked the pressure back up to 30 PSI and rocked the keg back and forth for a few minutes. A few hours later, it was almost ALL foam. I backed the pressure down to about 3 psi which made it better but still not acceptable. Now 2 days later I'm still getting excessive foam. I read a few threads on here about using longer lines and going with a smaller diameter (3/16"). Is that what my issue is? I will also have to get a different coupler and spout that will accept the 3/16" line, correct? Am I on the right track? There are no issues with a temperature difference between the keg and spout as it is all stored inside the 'fridge.

 

[Stanleyjw]

I use 3/16" for the liquid line. According to the owner of my LHBS that's the way to go. That and you want some length (longer than 3'). I've been told that 10' is the way to go. I have a bit less than that because I can't fit all that hose in my mini fridge.

With that said, when I carbonate my beer I go 30 psi for 2 days, then drop it to around 5psi, purge and serve. That method has worked for me. I've never done the rocking method so I can't comment on that.

 

[Euphist]

^This^

3 feet is way too short

 

[baptistbrewer]

3 feet may be short, but something else must be the matter. I carbonate the same way and I have about 3-4 feet lines and don't have foam except maybe the first glass of a keg.

Does the beer taste carbonated? Foam and carbonation are two different monsters.

Also, consider what you did. High pressure situation, the. Relieved pressure, then pressurized shook and relieved pressure, you might not expect a perfect pour after that. I never rock my kegs. And if I did I would expect some feedback.

 

[Friedclutch]

If your cheap plastic tap is like mine, make sure you are not partially opening tjhe tap while pouring. Pull the trigger full open or you will create a venturi effect. Use a rapid pull movement to full throttle. I pour at 5-8 psi. My set up is ball locks with 1\4 inch 3 foot delivery. Mine doesn't really carb up good in 3 days of 30 psi. I do 2 to 3 days at 30 psi then 8 to 10 lbs for a week... Then its good and carved.

 

[acidrain]

There is a lot to balancing a keg.
A picnic tap is very different (in performance) than a beer faucet.
The picnic tap should work fine with 3/16" hose at only around 3 or 4 feet when carb'd to about 10psi.

The faucet flows much easier, and needs some back pressure. The long length of 3/16" hose (usually 10') gives the proper back pressure.

Your problem (I think) stems from your forced carb. technique. You have no idea what your Co2 volume is right now.

 

[twobears]

If your cheap plastic tap is like mine, make sure you are not partially opening tjhe tap while pouring. Pull the trigger full open or you will create a venturi effect. Use a rapid pull movement to full throttle. I pour at 5-8 psi. My set up is ball locks with 1\4 inch 3 foot delivery. Mine doesn't really carb up good in 3 days of 30 psi. I do 2 to 3 days at 30 psi then 8 to 10 lbs for a week... Then its good and carved.

I did notice that opening the spout full helped. Sounds like you have the same system I do given line diameter and length. Maybe I overcarbed the beer? After 2 days it still tasted flat which is why I rocked the keg. I read it on this forum somewhere about burst carbing so I tried it. The beer tastes great now! As far as I know it is good and carbed up, I just don't know if it is too much. What would releasing all the pressure for a couple hours do? I hate to keep messing with it since I really don't know what I'm doing.....yet. Right now I'm serving at about 3 PSI and it isn't bad as long as I'm filling a mug. It's about 30-40% foam. When I tried to fill a six pack of bottles to take ice fishing with me, I ended up with a 6 pack of 1/2 beers due to the foaming over prior to capping, and yes they were clean, sanitized bottles fresh out of the freezer.

 

[Toy4Rick]

My picnic tap is on 14 inches of 3/16 line and have no issues. Serve between 7-10 depending on style. Bottled a red ale a couple weeks ago and did so at about 1 psi and it worked like a champ. When you reduce the regulator pressure you must also bleed the pressure from the keg and let it settle then pour or bottle...

Good luck
Toy4Rick