Franziskaner Clone Over Carbonated?

[nitsuj80]

I am having issues with a Franziskaner Clone that I kegged a while back. After looking at a carb chart it stated to force carbonate at 22 psi for this particular hefe. I thought it was a little high but went ahead anyway. I then calculated that I needed around 10 ft of 3/16" line to balance everything out. Initially I was getting half head and half beer on my pours. I then went down to 18 psi and got the same thing. I have been at 14 psi for about a week now and am still getting way too much head on pours. Am I doing something wrong? I have a porter that is at 12 psi with less line and it pours really nice. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

 

[bigdaddybrew]

What temp is the beer at?

 

[nitsuj80]

It is at 40 degrees F.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Did you bleed off the excess pressure when turning down regulator? If not could just be the psi in the keg is still over what your serving pressure is currently set at.

 

[nitsuj80]

I did bleed off excess but don't know if it just takes a while for everything to equalize to the new pressure?

 

[bigdaddybrew]

22psi at 40f that's 3.37 volumes! What chart were you using? Disconnect the co2 and vent the keg. After at least a day or two of bleeding off co2 and after the beer sits overnight reconnect the co2 (before venting the co2) at maybe 12 or 13 psi and if there is no flow there is still too much co2 pushing back. Disconnect and keep bleeding for a couple more days until the co2 set at 12 or so flows in a little.

 

[zachattack]

3.4 volumes is certainly appropriate for a hefe

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Your right I overlooked that 3.4 volumes is appropriate but I think you'll struggle to dispense beer that fizzy through 10 feet of line even if you lower the pressure at serving. Anyone have experience dispensing beer this fizzy?

 

[nitsuj80]

Anyone dispensed a beer with this many volumes of co2 successfully?

 

[JuanMoore]

You'll need longer lines than 10' for that pressure. The line length calculators can be misleading, and aren't always accurate, especially for serving temps over ~36F. Even with a properly balanced system, there will be quite a bit of head serving any beer at 3.4 vol.

 

[JuanMoore]

Anyone dispensed a beer with this many volumes of co2 successfully?

Yes. I've served Belgians at 3.6 vol without any issues.