Foamy 1st Pour

[Wemet]

I currently have two 5gal corny kegs in a fridge, going through 10ft of 3/16" line, through shanks that pass through the fridge door, to the faucets. The foamy 1st pour happens on all of my beers, but for information sake, I'm currently drinking a pale ale that is set to a serving pressure of 14psi. The 1st pour from the kegerator is 80% foam. All subsequent pours are perfect. If it sits for even 20 minutes, the foamy 1st pour returns. Even after the system has been sitting for a while, I never see visible pockets of CO2 anywhere in the lines.

I know people just recommend to pour a couple ounces, dump it, then proceed to pour your pint, but ideally, I would like to just walk up to the kegerator at any time and get a perfect pour right from the get-go.

Is this possible? Am I expecting too much? Does everyone with a similar setup experience the same problem?

 

[timdillon36]

I believe this is from the beer that is in the faucet and shank warm up. One of the easiest ways to try to fix this is to use longer shanks so they will conduct more cold into the faucet.

 

[treacheroustexan]

How cold are your actual beer lines? If they are cold and that's not your issue, see below.

I would take a look at this link and follow the formulas for balancing your system. You might not need that high of a serving pressure. This *should* take care of you. I know everyones system is different but with a 10 ft line I only use like 7 psi to serve and get the perfect pour.

http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/kegbalance.shtml

 

[BrewSRQ]

Sounds to me like a combo of warm shanks and a fairly high serving pressure. What temp is your beer at?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If its only the first pour its not a balancing issue its a temp issue. Its something most/all of us keggers deal with. The only thing outside the colder temps is the faucet that there is no real way to warm up. Longer shanks is an interesting idea though. Twenty minutes seems pretty quick for the tap to warm up unless your in a warm climate.
Are you running cheap Home Depot lines? I had issues with those. You could lookup "co2 breakout in beer lines" to get more info.

I suppose you could try to fill a glass with ice water and hold it under the faucet as much as possible for a minute or two. Or maybe a ziplock filled with ice would be easier to get around the faucet. Then pour your first pint of the day and see if it helps

 

[Wemet]

I'm using proper beer line from my LHBS. I'll try your idea of cooling down the faucet first to see if that's the cause.

 

[Floydmeister]

You may want to add a small fan. I had foamy first pours on my keezer and as soon as I installed a small AC fan my pours have been great from the get go. You will be able to tell because your taps will be cold to the touch if there is air movement. The cold air is settling at the bottom (which is where your beer is pulling from) and as it hits the warmer lines and shank/tap the co2 is coming out of solution and causing foam.

 

[Wemet]

Thanks, I'll give the fan a shot too.