Foamy pours

[crispydat]

Hey, I have recently made the jump from bottle conditioning to kegging and built my own kegerator out of an old fridge. I did my research and set everything up and put my latest APA in 2, 1.6 gallon stainless kegs and set the pressure to 12 psi. After a week I went to pour a glass and get a glass full of foam every time I pour. I have done the calculations and have 10 feet of 3/16 ID beer line from my keg to my faucet. The line is inside the fridge and stays cool, coiled above the keg. I did the double pour temperature check and my beer is coming in just under 38 degrees. The beer runs clear out the tap but as soon as it hits the glass it turns to foam. I have tried buying a flow control valve and that made things worse. I have sanitized my glasses and made sure they were spotless before pouring and I am just out of ideas of what could be causing such consistent foam.
Any suggestions would be awesome thanks.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

How did you carbonate in the kegs? And how long did you give it before tapping into it after you kegged it?

I typically do the rapid force carbonation (because I'm impatient like that), and have run into overcarbing issues on occasion. If that happens, I take the gas off the keg and bleed it from the valve (on a ball lock system) multiple times a day. I keep doing this until I barely hear a hiss when I release the pressure. I then drop the PSI to around 8psi or so, and usually that solves the problem. That being said, I've gone through three days of bleeding the pressure off before being able to pour a solid glass. Almost the same time as if I had just set it to 10PSI and let it carb itself over a week's time period or so.

 

[crispydat]

How did you carbonate in the kegs? And how long did you give it before tapping into it after you kegged it?

I typically do the rapid force carbonation (because I'm impatient like that), and have run into overcarbing issues on occasion. If that happens, I take the gas off the keg and bleed it from the valve (on a ball lock system) multiple times a day. I keep doing this until I barely hear a hiss when I release the pressure. I then drop the PSI to around 8psi or so, and usually that solves the problem. That being said, I've gone through three days of bleeding the pressure off before being able to pour a solid glass. Almost the same time as if I had just set it to 10PSI and let it carb itself over a week's time period or so.

I carbonated by just settin my regulator to 12 psi and waiting a week, shaking it about everyday. I let it rest for 2 days before pouring. I never changed the pressure so I dont think it should be over carbonated unless I am misunderstanding something

 

[SanPancho]

Same problem in both kegs?

 

[crispydat]

Same problem in both kegs?

Yes both kegs are set to the same pressure and both result in the same foamy pours. Its confusing because the beer is clear as it comes out the faucet, but the second it hits my glass I get foam. Very frustrating

 

[myndflyte]

What happens if you turn off the gas to the get and just do a quick pull of the pressure relief valve to release some of the gas, but not all, and then try a pour? There should be enough CO2 left in the headspace to push the beer out. It'll be pretty slow but if it doesn't foam, maybe you need to turn down the gas a little.

 

[crispydat]

What happens if you turn off the gas to the get and just do a quick pull of the pressure relief valve to release some of the gas, but not all, and then try a pour? There should be enough CO2 left in the headspace to push the beer out. It'll be pretty slow but if it doesn't foam, maybe you need to turn down the gas a little.

I still get foam when doing this and I have tried turning the gas down when dispensing with the same results

 

[camonick]

These problems can be quite difficult to diagnose. A few things that come to mind for me...
1-Faulty regulator
2-Warm/hot glasses or improper pour technique
3-Not opening faucet completely
4-Beverage line too short (I know you said you’ve used a line calculator, but many of these issues are solved by increasing line length. In my opinion/experience, 10 feet is too short for 12 psi)

 

[crispydat]

These problems can be quite difficult to diagnose. A few things that come to mind for me...
1-Faulty regulator
2-Warm/hot glasses or improper pour technique
3-Not opening faucet completely
4-Beverage line too short (I know you said you’ve used a line calculator, but many of these issues are solved by increasing line length. In my opinion/experience, 10 feet is too short for 12 psi)

How would a faulty regulator cause an issue?

 

[camonick]

It could be possible that you are applying more pressure than you realize. Not necessarily a faulty regulator per se, but actually a faulty low pressure gauge (I should have been more clear). I would say this is probably the least likely problem, but worth mentioning. A faulty regulator tends to creep and that is usually noticeable on the gauge.

 

[TheMadKing]

I still get foam when doing this and I have tried turning the gas down when dispensing with the same results

If you are getting foam when pouring with ~1 PSI, and it's coming out liquid and turning to foam in the glass, it sounds like your beer is over carbonated somehow.

Are you sure you got 3/16" ID lines and not 3/8" ID?.. That would be something to double check. I've been given the wrong tubing by a vendor before. Your tube should have been virtually impossible to get onto the hose barb of the shank without using boiling water. If it went on easily, that's a clue you might have the wrong sized line.

A couple other things to check, are you using frozen glasses? Ice in the glass will cause foaming if you store them in the freezer.

38 is also pretty cold, it could be that you have a partially frozen keg which has expanded and increased the pressure and jumped your carbonation up. Or a slug of ice in your tubing would cause foaming too. Try turning your temp up to 44 which is a commonly cited serving temp and waiting a day or two for it to thaw.

Have to ask, because I've seen it a lot, are you pulling your tap handle to the full open position? If you only open a tap partially, attempting to control the flow, you'll get foam every time.

 

[crispydat]

If you are getting foam when pouring with ~1 PSI, and it's coming out liquid and turning to foam in the glass, it sounds like your beer is over carbonated somehow.

Are you sure you got 3/16" ID lines and not 3/8" ID?.. That would be something to double check. I've been given the wrong tubing by a vendor before. Your tube should have been virtually impossible to get onto the hose barb of the shank without using boiling water. If it went on easily, that's a clue you might have the wrong sized line.

A couple other things to check, are you using frozen glasses? Ice in the glass will cause foaming if you store them in the freezer.

38 is also pretty cold, it could be that you have a partially frozen keg which has expanded and increased the pressure and jumped your carbonation up. Or a slug of ice in your tubing would cause foaming too. Try turning your temp up to 44 which is a commonly cited serving temp and waiting a day or two for it to thaw.

Have to ask, because I've seen it a lot, are you pulling your tap handle to the full open position? If you only open a tap partially, attempting to control the flow, you'll get foam every time.

Thanks Ill try this out and yes I am making sure to open the tap all the way

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I had some foaming issues awhile back and it seemed like it was because the keezer temp wasn't uniform from top to bottom, and the beer in the tubing was warmer than the keg. It was only the initial pour that would foam. If I poured again right after it would be better(because the liquid in the tubing was same temp as keg). I put some fans in my keezer and played around with different locations for the temp probe and it's better.

If every pour is foamy, not just the first one after it's been sitting awhile, then that's not your issue though. If that's the case I think your beer is somehow overcarbed or there's a clog in the tap or line somewhere.

 

[day_trippr]

"First pour" is an issue that can be reduced using recirculation and tower coolers if applicable. It's not just the beer line, the shank and faucet can easily be contributors. There's not much one can do about the latter in my systems, but decent cool airflow over the former can help.

My keezer stirring fan and tower cooler together usually can hold the tubing and shanks within ~7-8°F of the beer temperature, but in really warm weather (like today in the 90s) I'll help by pouring a couple of ounces, sip that over say 30 seconds to let the faucet cool and watch the air moisture start to condense on it, then pull a full pour. Makes a huge difference without wasting a drop...

Cheers!