frothy kegs

[frumpy]

i am having trouble carbonating my kegs. i am following the techniques all my friends do (35-40psi for 48 hours) but all i am getting when i pour the beer is froth. and then the beer is usually flat aswell! i opened a keg after getting sick of this happening and the beer inside was great, carbonated properly and tasted really good, so i am unsure what is going wrong. i am only pouring at about 8psi and the froth still pours out. any suggestions?

 

[944play]

What temperature is the beer? It needs to be cold to pour without foaming.

 

[fishnfever]

What length is your beer lines? What P.S.I. are you pouring it at? I hope not at that 35-40 p.s.i. . I have 10' of line on each tap and keep my kegs at 12 psi for a week for carbing and dispense at that same 12 psi. Also I keep me keezer at 42 degrees.


You might have better results if you posted this in the Bottling/Kegging - Home Brew Forums

Although I am sure you will get good replies here aswell.

 

[JeepDiver]

i am having trouble carbonating my kegs. i am following the techniques all my friends do (35-40psi for 48 hours) but all i am getting when i pour the beer is froth. and then the beer is usually flat aswell! i opened a keg after getting sick of this happening and the beer inside was great, carbonated properly and tasted really good, so i am unsure what is going wrong. i am only pouring at about 8psi and the froth still pours out. any suggestions?

Stupid question, but are you dropping the pressure back down before serving? If you are leaving the keg at 35-40 psi to pour, then you will just have head coming out.

 

[malkore]

sounds like they're over carbed and still under too much pressure. you'd have to dial down to 8psi first, then dump all the excess pressure, then pour.

your lines might not have enough resistance depending on their inner diameter and length. we need to know the ID and the length for that.

also make sure you open the tap all the way, especially picnic/cobra taps. If you barely crack it open you'll spray CO2 out of the beer causing more foam.

 

[frumpy]

i am dropping the pressure when i dispense to around 10 psi, would the fact that my beer lines are about half to three quarters of a metre ( not sure what that is in inches sorry) have anything to do with it?

 

[Gremlyn]

0.5 metres is ~20 inches, that's not very long at all.

 

[fishnfever]

i am dropping the pressure when i dispense to around 10 psi, would the fact that my beer lines are about half to three quarters of a metre ( not sure what that is in inches sorry) have anything to do with it?

are you purging the kegs after you drop the psi? Not sure on meters and don't have time to look it up.

 

[android]

you need more like 2 meters of line.

 

[malkore]

yep, the lines are too short. I have 8 feet on my lines, which is over 2.5 metres.
Also i'm still not clear, do you dial down to 10psi AND vent the keg pressure to 10psi, or are you turning it to 10psi and then just trying to dispense? because the latter is still dispensing at a much higher psi...you've gotta bleed the keg pressure down to 10psi.

get longer lines, and leave your psi at 10 all the time. its better to balance your lines to your serving pressure, than messing with it all the time. I haven't touched my regulator in 6 months.

 

[hopsalot]

serving pressure

 

[frumpy]

yes i do vent the keg before pouring (made that mistake once and it went everywhere!!!) i will try using some longer hoses and see how i go

 

[BierMuncher]

You need 7-8 feet of 3/16ths inch line to provide enough resistance to hold your gas in solution.

Sorry...not sure what that is in mintometers.

 

[scinerd3000]

You need 7-8 feet of 3/16ths inch line to provide enough resistance to hold your gas in solution.

Sorry...not sure what that is in mintometers.

i have 5 feet of lines but there 1/4 inch. Im aware that the standards is supposedly 3/16 but i have yet to have problems....

 

[frumpy]

i have just tried using a six foot beer line and the pour is alot better i am getting some really good beer now, but there is still a fair amount of froth coming out. i have also noticed that when i close my tap the froth in the beer line all runs up to the top of the line and sits there so when i pour my next beer i get about two and a half feet of froth before any beer comes out. am i on the right track and need to keep experimenting with longer lines??

 

[Pangea]

Venting only once will not solve the problem of overcarbonation. Your beer is probably overcarbonated from being at high pressures for the first few days. Each time you vent, all you're doing is venting the gas in the head space. There is still a crapload of dissolved CO2 in the beer. If it were me, I would try the following:

1.) Remove your CO2 tank from the keg.

2.) Vent keg by pulling the pressure release valve, until the "pssssst" stops.

3.) Wait a few hours then vent keg completely again.

4.) Wait a few hours then vent keg again.

5.) Continue until you notice the amount of gas being released is becoming less and less. If you're noticing less gas each time, then you can probably try taking off some beer and see if it's less foamy.

 

[BierMuncher]

i have 5 feet of lines but there 1/4 inch. Im aware that the standards is supposedly 3/16 but i have yet to have problems....

1/4" lines are generally used by pubs and restaurants that have to push beer from long distances...like the cellar. Normally, 1/4" doesn't provide enough resistance but if it's working for you...leave it be.

 

[BierMuncher]

...There is still a crapload of dissolved CO2 in the beer....

Yeah...lots of immediate froth build up in lines usually means the beer is over carb'd.

One trick I used is to:
Shut off the gas.
Vent the excess pressure.
Loosen the lid and set it side ways.
Let it sit for half a day, then recap and set to serving pressure and see where you are.

At chilled temps, even a loosen corny will hold CO2 in solution a long time.