Foam Issue In Corny Keg on new brew?

[jim_CdY]

A bit of background first, I kegged a nice IPA about 10 days ago, let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours to adjust then added the CO2 at 30# for 48 hours. When tested it was good but need a bit more carb, I left if for an additional 24 hours at 30#. After all that when I added the out tap I got tons of foam. I found that the CO2 was empty ( at least 36 hours ).

It is now refilled, the pressure was reduced to 10# with lots of foam and a taste of somewhat flat beer. Today I kicked it back up to 30#, that is where I am now, my ' plan' was to leave it for 24 hrs and reduce it to serving pressure and test it tomorrow evening.

After research I found that the beer line, 1/4" at 12' needed to be level with the keg top, done. I am using good quality faucet, at least based on price, Perlick 650SS with flow control. Even with the flow setting at the lowest I'm still getting lots of foam.

The keg is not running out it is over 80% full.

What the heck have I done wrong, I will be happy to try most anything !

 

[day_trippr]

[...]
What the heck have I done wrong, I will be happy to try most anything !

Pretty much everything is wrong here.

First, if you're really using 1/4" ID beer line you need a crapload of it to tame even a properly carbonated keg of IPA (which this keg most certainly is not). Like 40 feet, as determined by the only beer line length calculator worth using.

Second, your keg is horribly, epically overcarbonated. When folks properly do a "burst carbonation" like you kinda started with, they chill the keg and use 30 psi for just 24 hours, after which they shut off the gas, pop the PRV to relieve the 30 psi head space pressure, then turn the gas to what we call "chart pressure", referring to our favorite carbonation table, and give the keg a few days/week to fully equalize the carbonation.

What you probably should do now is follow the process outlined here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/overcarbed-keg-heres-an-instant-solution.127655/, then put the keg on "chart pressure" and let it sit for awhile until the beast is fully tamed...

Cheers!

 

[jim_CdY]

Odd, as part of my research I read that link a few days ago, but I didn't fully understand it. I have a better grasp on the process now and I'm good to go to start tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up, and yes, if you wondered, I'm very new but learning fast. The forum is a great resource.

 

[brew703]

I agree with Trippr, you beer is probably over-carbed.

Purge all the CO2 out of your keg. You will have to do this several times until you get no more co2 release. Once that is done, set your PSI to 12 or whatever the chart says and let it sit for a couple days, maybe more. If you have a spunding valve you can use that to get your carb levels correct.

Also, if you are able to, swap out your beer line for EVA Barrier. It only takes 6' or so depending on your set up. Use John Guest fittings and it makes for easy connections. Since I switched to this line I've had zero foaming issues.

 

[Jag75]

I agree with them , it's over carbed . I set mine to 30psi for 36 hrs then 12psi for 36 hrs and perfect . When it comes to beer lines , pressure, regulators and set ups
@day_trippr knows his stuff .

 

[jim_CdY]

Thanks to all that have contributed to help me solve my mess!! I read every post above and followed all the links and I have a pretty good handle on what I did wrong. I followed the advise of fastricky and the beer now somewhat tamed, at least a lot better but it still has a ways to go. The next brew will be treated much differently, thanks to all of you....

The only way to learn is make the mistakes that many of you have already made and trust in your responses, thanks once again.

 

[jim_CdY]

Pretty much everything is wrong here.


What you probably should do now is follow the process outlined here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/overcarbed-keg-heres-an-instant-solution.127655/, then put the keg on "chart pressure" and let it sit for awhile until the beast is fully tamed...

Cheers!

Could I just use a similar process to carb my next keg? A quick Google seems to indicate that it is an option. This really resinates with me from a logical standpoint. CO2 is directly sent into the beer from the bottom up !

 

[day_trippr]

"resonates"
And there's all kinds of crap on the interwebs.

Pushing CO2 through the long dip tube results in huge bubbles. Totally unlike the tiny bubbles emitted by a carbonation stone, they'll rapidly rise to the head space with little absorption, so any gain over the typical "burst-carbonation" process is minor.
If you're bound and determined to go the rapid carbonation route, you can obtain a carbonation lid which at least makes the process practical.

Either way, be sure your gas feed has at least one check valve in the path as there's an intrinsic risk of blowing beer back into the regulator - with or without a stone under the beer...

Cheers!

 

[jim_CdY]

Morning day_tripper, just to clear up where I'm coming from, I'm not bound and determined to do a fast carb. I'm really annal and like to explore every option available to me for almost any new project. If I was really stuck on doing it fast I could use the Brinkman Fast Carb and move on, but why waste $.

More than anything I want to do it correctly and follow the best method for me. I have an IPA that will be ready to transfer to a keg this week. I'm going to be out of town for about a week and I would love to come home to a perfectly carbed beer. I have a question pending with a friend about setting the keg at serving pressure while I'm gone and wether that would be a good way to go.

Thanks for your input, even though it might not sound like like it I do truly value your opinion. If we were talking about woodturning I could offer some good insight on how to do a project that comes from over 20 years of experience.

 

[McKnuckle]

I know it's a bit boring compared to 30 psi, rolling, and shaking... but just setting the keg to serving pressure (12 psi @ 44F, 8' lines) and leaving it for about a week before tasting always works for me. Plus it gets partly conditioned while I'm waiting, which is always needed anyway.

 

[day_trippr]

The notion of a "serving pressure" different from "chart pressure" makes my teeth ache.
It's intrinsically the wrong way to go about dispensing beer.
Use "chart pressure" and tune the system to handle it.
Then we all can forget ever hearing of the phrase "serving pressure"...

Cheers!