Foam, so much foam!

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goodgreener

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Here is what we did. Transferred to the corny. Pressured up to about ~50. Let it sit in the fridge for a few days. Let some gas out to get the corny down to ~8 psi. All we get is foam! What have I effed up?
 
wow...... way overcarbed.

here is a chart that shows dissolved CO2 at different temps and pressures.

Carbonation Chart

Your only option now is to remove the keg from the fridge, and off gas it as often as possible. Just pull the top valve to let the gas escape. Do this a couple times a day for a couple days then try it again.
 
Yup, sounds like you over-carb'd, then just let head presuure out until it read 8psi. That doesn't deal with the saturated gas. You can disconnect your gas line, give the keg a good shake, then bleed the air. You will have to do this a few times. Then let the keg sit for several hours to over night and check pressure again. If still to high, repeat the previous steps. If you are unfamiliar with force carbing in a hurry, you may want to try the "set-it-and-forget-it" method.

FYI - on the flip side, if your beer is really at 8psi but your system is balanced for dispensing at 12psi, it is possibleto get foaming too, as the gas pushes past the beer instead of pushing the beer ahead. The other thing to remember is temp. Your system needs to be balanced to push beer through x' of line (depending on resistance) at a certain temp. So if any one variable is out of whack, you will still have foam.
 
Couple days at 50, I bet you're up in Root Beer territory!

Follow the above advice and it will come back down. Everyone has their own carbing method. For me, I keg the beer, purge the CO2, put it in the kegerator (so it can chill) with 25 PSI hooked to it for 24 hours. Then turn it down to 12 for 2 days, and then I am right at my serving pressure.

It will take a few trys, but you will find what works for you. A few searches on this board, and you will see hundreds of different ways to do it.
 
Right on man. Well the regulator is for a soda fountain and it has "NOT FOR BEER" stamped on the back of it. Could this have anything to do with it?
 
Not to dis these responses, but no one has asked what your serving methods are. Is this your first keg dispense? How long and what diameter of line are you using? What kind of faucet do you have? How cold is the beer?
In case you are new to kegging, your beer line needs to be 3/16" ID (not 1/4") for at least 6 foot long, and 8 foot would be a better starting point. Longer hose or larger diameter hose will make the beer come out too fast and it will be all foam.
If your beer is over carbed, which it may well be, shake and release pressure a few times like it has been suggested. 50psi is very high but for a day or 2 it may not have absorbed as much as you'd think. It takes over a week to fully absorb the 12psi I put on my kegs. Was the keg on the regulated 50psi for 3 days or did you just fill it to 50 and then disconnect?
-Ben
 
I just filled it and I shook it while doing so and disconnected it (50 psi). The reg is creeping, I guess I'll trade in the core. good tip on the hose length.
 
Longer hose or larger diameter hose will make the beer come out too fast and it will be all foam.

Is this true about longer hose making a faster pour and more foam? From everything I had read on here, if nothing else a long hose would actually slow down the pour.

I ask because I am using 10' of 3/16" line with a picnic tap located inside my refrigerator at 38F at 10psi and all I am able to get is big glasses of foam...
 
Is this true about longer hose making a faster pour and more foam? From everything I had read on here, if nothing else a long hose would actually slow down the pour.

I ask because I am using 10' of 3/16" line with a picnic tap located inside my refrigerator at 38F at 10psi and all I am able to get is big glasses of foam...

The way I understand it is a longer hose will slow down the pour because it takes more pressure to push it that length because of beer line resistance. A larger diameter hose would have more foam though. I have 6' of 3/16" hose with a picnic tap set at 10 PSI and it comes out fast but I don't get much foam unless I pour straight down the glass. How close are you to kicking this keg? I know if the keg is close to empty it will shoot lots of foam.
 
The way I understand it is a longer hose will slow down the pour because it takes more pressure to push it that length because of beer line resistance. A larger diameter hose would have more foam though. I have 6' of 3/16" hose with a picnic tap set at 10 PSI and it comes out fast but I don't get much foam unless I pour straight down the glass. How close are you to kicking this keg? I know if the leg is close to empty it will shoot lots of foam.

First keg, so I am trying to get it dialed in; Taking into account all of my samples I would hazard to guess that it is probably at about 4-4.5 gallons in the keg right now.
 
First keg, so I am trying to get it dialed in; Taking into account all of my samples I would hazard to guess that it is probably at about 4-4.5 gallons in the keg right now.

Has this been sitting for a few days? Did you use the 'shake the corny' method to carb it up? Describe what process you used to get to this point and we can see if anything sticks out as a cause for foam. So far though your PSI, line length, and hose diameter seems fine.
 
Started with trying to burst carb on 30 with shaking. Started this January 23. Left on 30psi at 38F for 48 hours. Vented, equalized, vented, equalized, etc. Set to 10psi. Pour, foam, pour, foam. Put on 10 psi for 3 days afterwards. Pour, foam, and no carb. Pour, foam, and no carb. Put on 30 again for 24 hours and went through the above routine. All foam and the beer was flat. Yesterday put it on 40psi, shook, and will vent, equalize over today/tomorrow, and set to serving/carb pressure of 10psi.

With the excessive foam, when it settles would properly carbed beer still turned out "flat"? Because it has now been on gas for 8+ days including about 72 hours at 30+psi with zero carb showing...
 
My first suggestion is to stop shaking the keg. Think about what happens when you shake a carbonated beverage- it foams like crazy when you open it.

The other thing is that putting it at 40 psi, 30 psi, etc is going to overcarb it.

Can you put it at 12 psi and leave it alone for about 3-4 days? Vent the keg every so often, just in case it's overcarbed.
 
Yooper, I am in the midst of what you suggest. In between my tinkering I have failed to mention that I would let it rest without being shaken anywhere from 40-80 hours without much difference. I guess for now I will let it sit for another 3-4 days again and then see how it does.

Currently it is sitting at 10psi after venting and equalizing a few times throughout the day today.
 
That was a typo on my part- to be clear:
Longer hose = more resistance
smaller ID hose = more resistance
more resistance = slower pours = less foam
There can be too much resistance, though but you are better off erring to the slower pour side than the faster.
1/4" ID lines are used for longer runs, like from your basement to a tap upstairs. 3/16" lines are for kegerator setups. It's good to start with 8' of 3/16" line and cut it back to suit your beer (when it's properly carbed)
So if it comes out fast, and you know the keg is at or around 10-12 psi, you may need more resistance. If it's coming out slow enough but is foaming still, you may be overcarbed, or have recently been shaking your keg. Or your faucet is warm and it's the first pint you've poured in awhile.
-Ben
 
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