Flat and foamy

[SecondWindBrewing]

I started kegging pretty soon after I started brewing. Bottling was a killer. I never had much of a problem until the last two or three batches. Beer has been flowing really foamy, but still flat.
I tried one batch force carbonating. I chilled the beer, pressurized and shook. Flat, foamy. Another batch I set it and forget it. Flat. And. Foamy.

Any tips? Do I need a new regulator?

 

[microbusbrewery]

What's your serving temp, serving pressure, line length, line diameter?

 

[b-boy]

You're losing carbonation between the keg and your tap. It could be pressure, line length, temperature of your beer lines, or over-carbonated beer. I have 10ft beer lines and I have a fan blowing on my beer lines in my keezer to keep them cool. I serve at ~10psi. I don't have a lot of foaming issues. I used to though.

 

[hunter_le five]

If it's foamy, it's not flat. The CO2 is just coming out of solution for some reason.

We need more details.
1) What temp is the beer at in the kegerator?
2) What temp is the beer in your glass immediately after pouring?
3) What is your line length?
4) What pressure are you carbonating at? Serving at?

Sounds to me like your lines are too short, but it could be over-carbonation, over pressurization, rapid temperature fluctuation, etc.

 

[SecondWindBrewing]

I'm not sure of the exact temp of my kegerator, it is cold though.
The gauge on the regulator is set at 12 psi.
I think the problem is the length of the beer lines. Right now they are 4' with an ID of 3/16". I have a 10' line with an narrower ID that I'm going to put on.

Thanks for the help!

 

[microbusbrewery]

10-11' of 3/16 ID should be good assuming you're in the 40F ballpark. I don't know that I'd go with smaller than 3/16

 

[SecondWindBrewing]

I just put the new line on. Had to turn up the PSI a little bit (12 up to 15) but the first pint was pretty near perfect.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[zachattack]

Why'd you turn up the PSI?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Why'd you turn up the PSI?

Probably because he said the line diameter <3/16 so now he's dealing with more resistance. It might just be a temporary solution. I think it'll over carb in time.

 

[zachattack]

Probably because he said the line diameter <3/16 so now he's dealing with more resistance. It might just be a temporary solution. I think it'll over carb in time.

That's my concern.

OP, did you really put a 1/8" ID line on there? Turning up the pressure will change the carbonation level in the beer. If the pour is unacceptably slow, just trim a little bit off the line. You want to set the pressure based off your desired carb level, then adjust other factors (line length / ID) to help you serve it at that carb level. Changing the carb level to something you don't want to satisfy your new tubing seems backwards to me.

 

[microbusbrewery]

that's my concern.

Op, did you really put a 1/8" od line on there? Turning up the pressure will change the carbonation level in the beer. If the pour is unacceptably slow, just trim a little bit off the line. You want to set the pressure based off your desired carb level, then adjust other factors (line length / id) to help you serve it at that carb level. Changing the carb level to something you don't want to satisfy your new tubing seems backwards to me.

+1